Roman Emperor Zeno: The Perils of Power Politics in Fifth-Century Constantinople

by Peter Crawford

“A very useful read for anyone interested in the Later Roman Empire, the fall of the Western Empire, and the emergence of the Byzantine State.” —The NYMAS Review    Peter Crawford examines the life and career of the fifth-century Roman emperor Zeno and the various problems he faced before and during his seventeen-year rule. Despite its length, his reign has hitherto been somewhat overlooked as being just a part of that gap between the Theodosian and Justinianic dynasties of the Eastern Roman Empire which is comparatively poorly furnished with historical sources.   Reputedly brought in as a counterbalance to the generals who had dominated Constantinopolitan politics at the end of the Theodosian dynasty, the Isaurian Zeno quickly had to prove himself adept at dealing with the harsh realities of imperial power. Zeno’s life and reign is littered with conflict and politicking with various groups—the enmity of both sides of his family; dealing with the fallout of the collapse of the Empire of Attila in Europe, especially the increasingly independent tribal groups established on the frontiers of, and even within, imperial territory; the end of the Western Empire; and the continuing religious strife within the Roman world. As a result, his reign was an eventful and significant one that deserves this long-overdue spotlight.   “Crawford’s work on the life and reign of Zeno is a good introduction for a general audience to the complexities of the late fifth-century Roman Empire, telling a series of long and complex stories compellingly in a traditional fashion.” —Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Genres: History, Medieval History, Nonfiction

375 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2020

Reviews

[Dave Iskowich · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very much looking forward to this but became disappointed about halfway through before giving up. If the writing had been less verbose, the book would be about 1/3 shorter. The book is well-sourced, but poorly composed, with a lot of direct quotations from current scholars about Zeno and his times, which made it read more like a term paper than a scholarly work. I hate to say that, but such was my disappointment. One sentence starts, "In order to be able to [verb]. . .," instead of "To [verb]. . ." Just one example. Small things, but over several hundred pages it becomes a problem.

[Reuben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book opens with a quote from Cersei Lannister which reads "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die there is no middle ground" From this I expected a book filled with court politics, daring military campaigns and assorted back stabbings, which is did indeed have plenty of, but the manner it was written in was slow going! It's clear there wasn't quite enough material to fill an entire book so quite a bit of the book is filler discussing sources, and christological debates which grinds the interesting parts of the narrative to a stand still. When this book gets going it's extremely interesting but the narrative is constantly stopping for a chapter here and there on christological debates that are I think important to Zeno and his Reign but should probably have been shortened down for the sake of the general reader. I think this book could have been alot better if the pacing was better and perhaps the writing was a little sharper with some more input by the author. Overall I'd still recommend this book to anyone interested in the period, it does a good job covering the fall of the west, Rise of Theodoric the Great and Leo and Zeno's Reign over the eastern empire.
3.5/5

[Chris Linehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lost interest from time to time. It may be more accurate to describe history as potentially this, maybe that, or even possibly the other but probably not because then this and why that? But it makes it easier to read when the author is confident, even if their confidence is not fully justifiable.

[Mick Maye · Rating 4 out of 5]

complex history

Very interesting read considering the various sources which are Imperfect and at times contradictory. A picture is formed of a previous Goliath depending on its previous reputation whilst actually being the Emperor’s new suit in reality. The frailty of its position is alluded to but never confirmed. Interesting is the religious issues which are to understand now but clearly we’re all consuming then. We.l worth a read, though the religious segments were taxing at times.