Lost to the West: the Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization

AUTHOR: Lars Brownsworth

PUBLISHED: 2010

GENRE: History



In 2006, former high-school history teacher Lars Brownsworth created a podcast called 12 Byzantine Rulers.  Given its obscure subject matter, it was probably more a labor of love than a grab for fame or fortune.  But the podcast rocketed up the most popular list on iTunes, and suddenly Brownsworth had an agent, a publisher, and book contract.  Thus Lost to the West: the Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization was born. 



The Hagia Sophia, once the greatest church in Christiandom



In 7 years of undergraduate and graduate work in the field of history, I was offered not a single course that discussed the Byzantine Empire and its capital of Constantinople.  Why is it that when Rome falls in the 5^th century, Western civilization seems to skip ahead almost 5 centuries and a couple hundred miles north, to William the Conqueror and his 1066 invasion of England?  Why this seemingly deliberate refusal to acknowledge the Byzantines?  Most people blame Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which apparently had a serious anti-Byzantine edge.* This is a great crime, because the Byzantines were a fascinating group, and Constantinople is said to have inspired wonder in the greatest of kings and popes, from its palaces to its legendary walls. 

The story begins with Diocletian, who had the brilliant idea to take the unmanageable Roman Empire and halve it.  Brownsworth then skips through a thousand years of history by focusing on Constantinople’s 12 most important rulers, from her founder, Constantine I, to her last emperor, Constantine XI, last seen plunging into the battle on the walls of the city. (Constantine XI is also known as the Marble King, and is the center of a Camelot-esque fable that says he will one day return to rule Constantinople again.  I like to think he and King Arthur are hanging out together in the meantime.  Also, no, they are not all named Constantine.)

Brownsworth seems to be well aware of his limited audience and that if he wants to attract a larger following, he will have to work to keep the reader’s attention.  As a result, his writing has quickness and sense of suspense sometimes lacking in history books.  The story also serves as a reminder that the history we learned in school is not the only history out there.  It makes clear that our advanced culture wasn’t always so advanced, and that history is quite a bit dirtier than most would imagine.  Brownsworth deals with the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all.  Sometimes, it can almost seem like Constantinople is the innocent virgin and the rest of the world, the leering farmer, but that’s mostly because we have a hard time imagining that the great leaders of Europe would do such things.  Brownsworth’s history is clean and without dispute, and it needs to be told.

At a time when Rome was in ruins, being invaded by mongrels and abandoned for Rivena, Constantinople was the richest and most advanced city in Europe.  While the Romans were struggling just to survive, the Byzantines were codifying state law and building the Hagia Sophia.  While the dark ages were descending on the rest of Europe, the Byzantines were preserving history and culture and the tenets of civilization, and for that they deserve a lot of respect and a little more attention. 

LENGTH: 352 pages

MAINSTREAM OR NOT: Most people couldn’t even tell you what the Byzantine Empire was, apart from that fact that Istanbul is Constantinople, baby.  But that’s nobody’s business but the Turks.**

SO, SHOULD I READ IT OR NOT?:  It’s a good introduction to a subject that most people – myself included – know virtually nothing about.  Brownsworth intentionally hits only the major points and players but it’s still a pretty traditional history book.  For people who are vaguely interested but not thrilled about lugging the book around, it might be a good idea to check out the 12 Byzantine Rulers podcast (on iTunes or at http://12byzantinerulers.com).  The podcast contains virtually the same information as the book, with the added benefit of it being free.  In fact, the podcast might be the better of the two.  But don’t tell anybody I said that.

*I will fully admit that I have never read The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.  I’m pretty sure no one actually has.  I do, however, listen to the Libravox reading of it when I can’t sleep.  Works like a charm.

**That’s a little They Might be Giants reference for you there.  You’re welcome.