POWER AND THRONES | FURTHER READING
The list below is not comprehensive, but it’s a good start. I specifically chose those titles because each one references not only the subject of an empire or leading group but also examines the effects these powers had on economics, society, politics, and religion
The decision to leave out links for each book suggestion is intentional. The goal is for you to visit your local library or explore second-hand bookstores to find the listed titles.
Copy of original attributed to Lysippos. Marble head of Herakles, 1st or 2nd century CE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Romans
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History by Peter Heather
How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower by Adrian Goldsworthy
Eugene Delacroix. Detail of Attila from the romanticist painting Attila and his Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts, 1838-1847. Palais Bourbon, Paris (France)
Barbarians
The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe by Hyun Jin Kim
The End of Empire: Attila the Hun & the Fall of Rome by Christopher Kelly
History of the Goths by Herwig Wolfram
The Goths by Peter Heather
Visigothic Spain 409 - 711 by Roger Collins
Culture: Byzantine. Archangel Gabriel, early 20th century (original dated 9th century). The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Byzantines
Byzantium: A History by John Haldon
Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin
The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium by Anthony Kaldellis
The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire by Edward N. Luttwak
Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 AD to the First Crusade by Anthony Kaldellis
Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium by Judith Herrin
Attributed to Eastern Iran or present-day Afghanistan. Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript, ca. 1180. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Arabs
A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani
Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires by Tim Mackintosh-Smith
The Rise and Fall of the Arab Empire and the Founding of Western Pre-eminence by Rodney Collomb
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain By Maria Rosa Menocal
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. The Entrance of Charlemagne into Pavia, 1840. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Franks
The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours
The Franks by Edward James
The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians, 751-987 by Rosamond McKitterick
Charlemagne: Father of a Continent by Alessandro Barbero
King and Emperor: A New Life of Charlemagne by Janet L. Nelson
Circle of Hugo van der Goes (Netherlandish, early 1480s). A Benedictine Monk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Monks
Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages by C.H. Lawrence
Monks and Their Decline by George Zurcher
The Rise and Fall of the Medieval Monastery by Christopher Brooke
Pierre du Coudroy. Closed Burgonet, about 1610. The Art Institute of Chicago
Knights
The Rise and Fall of the Mounted Knight by Clive Hart
The Knight in History by Frances Gies
The History of Chivalry: Knighthood and Its Times by Charles Mills
Culture: German. Battle of Crusaders and Saracens, late 16th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Crusaders
Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands by Dan Jones
The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge
The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf
The Song of Roland By Anonymous
Culture: China. Figure of Mongol. Yuan dynasty, 14th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Mongols
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
The Mongols by David O. Morgan
The Rise and Fall of the Mongol Empire in 9 Chapters by Dr. Timothy May
The Secret History of the Mongols by (Anonymous)
Raphael. Portrait of Lorenzo di Medici, Duke of Urbino, circa 1516-1519. Private collection of Ira Spanierman
Merchants
The Rise of Merchant Banking by Stanley Chapman
The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages, 950-1350 by Robert S. Lopez
Power and Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe by Peter Spufford
The Rise of Merchant Classes in Medieval Europe by Ryan Evans
French. Allegory of the Life of a Scholar in a Rich Household [fol. 3 verso / 4 recto], c. 1512/1515. National Gallery of Art
Scholars
The Rise of Universities by Charles Homer Haskins
Heretics and Scholars in the High Middle Ages, 1000–1200 by Heinrich Fichtenau
The Scholastic Culture of the Middle Ages, 1000-1300 by John W. Baldwin
Culture: French. Capital with the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (from Saint-Guilhem Cloister), late 12th–early 13th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Builders
The Cathedral Builders by Jean Gimpel
The Master Builders: Architecture in the Middle Ages by John Hooper Harvey
The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg
Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre. St. Charles Borromeo Distributing Communion to the Victims of the Plague in Milan, ca. 1760. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Survivors
The World the Plague Made: The Black Death and the Rise of Europe by James Belich
From the Brink of the Apocalypse: Confronting Famine, War, Plague and Death in the Later Middle Ages by John Aberth
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly
The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
Sitter: Leonardo da Vinci. Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, from "Characaturas by Leonardo da Vinci, from Drawings by Wincelslaus Hollar, out of the Portland Museum", 1786. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Renewers
Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages by Frances and Joseph Gies
The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science by Seb Falk
Medieval Technology and Social Change by Lynn White Jr.
Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson
Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvellous Works of Nature and Man by Martin Kemp
Culture: Germany. Portable Compass Sundial, 17th century. The Art Institute of Chicago
Navigators
Seafarers, Merchants and Pirates in the Middle Ages by Dirk Meier
Navigation Through the Ages by Donald Launer
The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World by Lincoln Paine
Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder. Martin Luther, probably 1532. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Protestants
Long Before Luther: Tracing the Heart of the Gospel From Christ to the Reformation by Nathan Busenitz
The Age of Reform 1250-1550 by Steven Ozment
Dissent and Order in the Middle Ages: The Search for Legitimate Authority by Jeffrey Burton Russell
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton
A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation by Craig Harline