Byzantium, Volume 1: The Early Centuries Direct

Norwich is often noted for his focus on "Great Men" and their "Great Quarrels". You could write about how the individual characters of emperors like Justinian or empresses like Theodora and Irene of Athens directly shaped the empire's survival and culture.

Based on the themes in the book, here are three strong angles for your paper: Byzantium, Volume 1: The Early Centuries

Analyze how Norwich tracks the shift from the Latin-speaking Roman Empire to a Greek-speaking Eastern nation, examining factors like the adoption of Christianity and the move of the capital to Constantinople . Norwich is often noted for his focus on

From Library Journal. Several works dealing with Byzantine history have recently appeared (see Nicolas Cheetham's Medieval Greece, Amazon.com Byzantium: The Early Centuries by John Julius Norwich From Library Journal

If you want to add depth to your paper, consider incorporating these common critiques of the work: Byzantium (I): The Early Centuries: Norwich, John Julius

Explore the "theological controversies" that gripped the empire, such as the first Iconoclasm or the intense debates over the nature of Christ, and how these spiritual disputes often mirrored political power struggles. Critical Perspective for Your Analysis

For a paper on Byzantium, Volume 1: The Early Centuries , you can focus on how he portrays the empire as the "vital shield" of Western civilization during its first five formative centuries, from the rise of Constantine the Great in A.D. 330 to the coronation of Charlemagne in 800. Potential Paper Topics