The study of the Late Roman/Early Byzantine world has been of great interest to scholars throughout the centuries. However, this fascinating historical epoch has proved obscure to many modern students as well as interested readers among the general public. To study this period in detail in English, the reader is often forced to consult a few well-known works, such as Gibbon's The Fall of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, the works of many of Gibbon's predecessors, contemporaries and successors, as well as the primary sources used by them, are not as easy to lay hands on absent a first-class library. This can be a cause of some frustration for a student or researcher wanting to trace references back to their original sources, or seeking a confirmation or counterpoint for claims made in modern works.
 
The goal of the Christian Roman Empire (CRE) series is to make these hard-to-find and out-of-print resources more readily available. With a wide scope, covering the years from AD 300 to AD 700, the series will reprint English language translations of major and minor historical works from late antiquity. It will focus on works that deal directly with the military, civic, ecclesiastical, and regnal vicissitudes of the Eastern and Western halves of the Empire, but will also publish those that shed light on the various barbarian nations that surrounded the Roman state and which subsequently became its allies, invaders, and conquerors.

Many of the books in the CRE series will be digital scans directly from editions long out-of-print. Others will be completely re-typeset and include editorial notations and references to more modern works. With attractive four-color covers, the CRE series aims to spark renewed interest in the study of this complex, poorly-understood, and often confusing period of history.

     Long out of print, this volume chronicles the remarkable career of Belisarius (A.D. 505(?)-A.D. 565), the last great general of Imperial Rome. Rising from obscure beginnings, Belisarius became the right-hand man of the emperor Justinian I in his 6th century bid to reconquer the lost western provinces of the Roman Empire. In an epic sequence of campaigns, Belisarius destroyed the Vandalic kingdom in North Africa and the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy but ultimately, the exhausted resources of the weakened empire and intrigues of the imperial court in Constantinople resulted in the undoing of the man and much of his work.
    Lord Mahon’s detailed, well-researched, and referenced biography of Belisarius is the only work in existence which focuses so authoritatively on this fascinating historical figure. This reprint of the 1848 second edition has been re-formatted and typeset and includes editorial annotations which help bring Mahon's work up-to-date, along with a supplemental reading list of ancient and contemporary works in English which were not available in Mahon's day.
     The Life of Belisarius belongs in the collection of any library with a collection in classics, late Roman/Byzantine studies, or military history. Likewise, it is a useful addition to the bookshelves of Byzantinists and researchers of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

February 2006 [1848] ~ paperback ~ 265 pp. + Map ~ ISBN 978-1-889758-67-1 ~ $19.95

Volume 2:

The Gothic History of Jordanes
In English Version with an Introduction and a Commentary
Charles Christopher Mierow, translator (1915)

     Though written by a man who admits himself to be "unlearned," the Origin and Deeds of the Goths is a important as the earliest surviving work of a Gothic historian. Jordanes wrote in the mid-6th century and was believed to be a bishop of Gothic ethnicity residing in Constantinople--possibly an associate of Pope Vigilius. His work recounts the history of the Goths from their legendary origins in Scandinavia, to their invasion of Scythia and their mythical connections to the Amazons. While much of Jordanes's early history is fabulous, of much greater value is his chronicling of the movements and activities of the Gothic nations in the 4th through 6th centuries. Jordanes cut-and-pasted his history together based on the works of other more eminent ancient scholars, many of which are now lost. These include the works of Ablabius, the Gothic history of Cassiodorus, descriptions of the Huns by Priscus, and several others.
     Jordanes wrote from a nakedly pro-Goth viewpoint, spending a great deal more time on the glory years of the 5th century when the Gothic nations were plundering and conquering the western Roman Empire, and considerably less on the subsequent downfall of the Ostrogoths at the hands of Justinian's armies during his own time. Of particular interest are the long passages detailing the ultimately triumphant Romano-Gothic struggle with the armies of Attila the Hun.
     This new reprint has been digitally scanned from the 1915 edition and amended to include 17 corrections from an errata sheet that was supplied after the original publication. The book includes a thorough introduction and commentary by Charles Mierow.

Volume 3:

The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis)
To the Pontificate of Gregory I
Louise Ropes Loomis, translator (1916)

     The Liber Pontificalis is an invaluable historical document, cataloging the names and dates of the first 65 Pontiffs of Rome (click here for a list) beginning with St. Peter himself. Though of unknown authorship, its antiquity is well established. Modern scholarship has determined that the Liber was probably first compiled in the 6th century AD and continued piecemeal thereafter. This English edition, originally published in 1916, covers up through the end of the 6th century. As such, it coincides with the rise of Christianity from the catacombs to become the preeminent faith of the Mediterranean world. It includes significant biographies of many noteworthy Popes such as Sylvester, Leo the Great, John I, and Silverius and touches upon the reigns of secular rulers such as Constantine I, Attila, Justinian I, and Theodoric. The Liber is a valuable source of information on the various heresies of the early Church and the councils called to deal with them. The work also provides archaeological clues about the ecclesiastical monuments of Rome, both those which survive to the present day and those which were destroyed.
    Though many of the earliest biographies are brief, devoid of detail and littered with obvious errors, the biographies of the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries are considerably more fleshed-out and of much greater scholarly value. The translator, Louise Ropes Loomis, provides an informative introduction and includes footnotes mainly derived from the authoritative commentaries of Mommsen and Duchesne, two of the foremost 19th century scholars of the Liber. These notes are helpful in identifying and correcting the problematic sections of the work and otherwise providing context. Furthermore, several manuscript traditions have been reproduced in parallel in this edition so that the reader may compare them side-by-side.
    The 2006 edition includes 14 black & white illustrations from the lives of various Popes, as well as a short preface.

Volume 4:

The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu
Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text
R. H. Charles, translator (1916)

     The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu is an important source for the history of the turbulent 6th and 7th centuries. Focusing on Egypt where he was a Monophysite bishop, John is one of the few contemporary historians who describes the conquest of this formerly Roman province by the Muslims.
     Though his Chronicle follows closely that of John Malalas and the anonymous Paschal Chronicle, John includes numerous unique points of local interest. He is among our best sources for the rebellion of the Roman armies in Thrace against the Emperor Maurice in AD 602 and the degenerate reign of the Emperor Phocas. John also provides our best account of the subsequent rebellion of Heraclius against Phocas in AD 609 and covers in detail the battles which took place between the partisans of each in Egypt. He records natural disasters, plagues, and strange portentious events that occured throughout Egypt—such as the appearance of a merman and mermaid in the Nile. He focuses on the turmoil in the churches and comments on the numerous quarrels and frequent violence that erupted between the Monophysites and Chalcedonian factions. As a Monophysite himself, John offers a rarely seen glimpse into the controversy that was still simmering even 250 years after the Council of Chalcedon.
     The most noteworthy section of the Chronicle is John's description of the conquest of Roman Egypt by the Muslims under the General Amr.  John credits the triumphant Muslims for not destroying Christian churches, but he also records the atrocities perpetrated and the onerous tax burden laid upon the conquered Egyptians by their new rulers.
     Out of print for nearly a century, this volume represents the only English translation of the work, made from an Ethiopic manuscript of 1602. The Ethiopic text was made from an Arabic translation of the original Greek—both the original Greek and Arabic versions were subsequently lost. The translator, R. H. Charles, has provided an introduction to the text, detailing the manuscript history and offering insight into the often confused proper names and spots where his own interpretation of the text is at odds with that of Zotenberg. Despite several lacunae and some obvious corruptions introduced across the translations, this edition of The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu offers a wealth of insight into a very poorly understood era.