WINNER OF THE LONDON HELLENIC PRIZE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE RUNCIMAN AWARD

A Sunday Times, BBC History Magazine, and Evening Standard Book of the Year.

“Majestic, sparkling” - Peter Frankopan

“Superb and gripping” - Simon Sebag Montefiore

“Effortlessly erudite” - Rory Stewart

“Masterful” - Anita Anand

“Spectacularly good” - Dominic Sandbrook

The definitive story of the Roman Emperor who shaped modern times. This groundbreaking biography provides an intimate insight into Justinian, a man who rose from the humblest beginnings to become ruler of much of the known world, achieving an almost god-like status.

Justinian infused even the most mundane tasks with spiritual significance. He was a gifted administrator obsessed with detail and a middle-aged lover who fell for a dancing girl, ruling alongside empress Theodora for over twenty years. A brilliant military strategist who was never on the frontline, he faced challenges such as climate change, battles over culture and identity, and the first recorded global pandemic. Many of the solutions he found still resonate with us today.

His legacy remains all around us. In this tour de force, Sarris illustrates that in all his complexity and contradictions, Justinian was, in many ways, a very modern emperor.

Pages: 544, Year of Publication: 1210, Dimensions: 12.6x12.6cm