A classic history, painstakingly researched and utterly absorbing, of the seventh-century conqest of the eastern roman world. Insights on the great campaigns, political alliances and economics of the empire are accompanied by copious charts, maps, graphs and back-and-white illustrations. This book explores the evolution of the 1100-year-old Constantinople into the powerful capital of the Ottoman sultans, an essential reference to the Medieval east including Syria, Armenia and Palestine.  (TKY19, $45.00)