A History of the Later Roman Empire
From Arcadius to Irene (395 A.D. to 800 A.D)
A History of the Later Roman Empire 2 Volume Set Series

The classical historian J. B. Bury (1861?1927) was the author of a history of Greece which was a standard textbook for over a century. He also wrote on later periods, and, in this two-volume work of 1889, examines Byzantine history from 395 to 800. Arguing for the underlying continuity of the Roman empire from the time of Augustus until 1453, Bury nevertheless begins his account in the year in which, on the death of Theodosius I, the empire was divided into eastern and western parts, and Constantinople began to take on the metropolitan role formerly held by Rome. Volume 2, after reviewing Justinian's legacy, takes the history down from the accession of Justin II to the death of Irene in 803. Topics examined include civil strife, including the period of iconoclasm, and the increasing problems of maintaining the imperial borders against incursions from both east and west.

Book IV, Part I continued. The House of Justin: 11. Justinian's Caesaropapism; 12. The slaves; 13. Changes in the provincial administration; 14. The geography of Europe at the end of Justinian's reign; 15. Byzantine art; 16. Notes on the manners, industries, and commerce in the age of Justinian; Book IV, Part 2. The Collapse of Justinian's System: 1. Justin II and Tiberius II; 2. Maurice; 3. The Persian war (572–591 AD); 4. Slaves and Avars in Illyricum and Thrace; 5. The Lombards in Italy; 6. The empire and the Franks; 7. The language of the Romaioi in the sixth century; 8. Literature of the sixth century; Book V. The House of Heraclius: 1. Phocas; 2. Heraclius (610–622 AD); 3. The Persian war; 4. Monotheletism; 5. Literature in the reign of Heraclius; 6. Dismemberment of the empire by the Saracens; 7. The Slavonic settlements in Illyricum and Thrace; 8. Constans II; 9. Constantine IV; 10. Justinian II; 11. Foundation of the Bulgarian kingdom; 12. Origin of the system of themes; 13. Twenty years of anarchy; 14. Social and religious decay in the seventh century; Book VI. The House of Leo the Isaurian: 1. The repulse of the Saracens; 2. The administration of Leo III; 3. The iconoclastic movement; 4. Imperial Italy in the eighth century; 5. Constantine V; 6. Iconoclastic policy of Constantine; 7. Bulgaria; 8. Leo IV; 9. Constantine VI and Irene; 10. The reaction against iconoclasm; 11. The popes, the Lombards, and the Franks; 12. The geographical aspect of Europe at the end of the eighth century; 13. Society in the eighth century; 14. Conclusion; Index.