Author | Harry Turtledove |
---|---|
Cover artist | J. K. Potter |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Publisher | Congdon & Weed |
Publication date | 1987 |
Media type | Print (Hardback and paperback) |
Pages | x + 244 |
ISBN | 0-86553-183-8 |
- Byzantine Empire Roman Empire Similarity
- Alternate History Byzantine Empire Survived
- Alternate History Byzantine Empire Pictures
May 19, 2016 Flag map of the Byzantine Empire from my alternate history timeline concept 'Imperium Byzantium'. I'm still working on the details, but this is the maximum extent the Empire reaches. Southern Italy might be either made independent of seceded to Italy. Depending on when they get it, how long they hold it, and what the demographics are. An alternative to brick was ashlar stone blocks, which were more popular in the eastern half of the Byzantine Empire.Some buildings, particularly in the 6th century CE, combined the two and had a lower part in brick and an upper part in stone cut blocks. Agent of Byzantium is a collection of related short stories of alternate history by Harry Turtledove. Based on the 6th-century break-point detailed in the story 'Departures,' the stories in Agent of Byzantium chronicle the adventures of imperial agent Basil Argyros in the mighty Roman (Byzantine) Empire, whose chief rival is a longer lived Persian Empire. The stories cover the period 1305 to. Mar 09, 2018 To save the Byzantine Empire, history must be drastically changed. My romanticized version of a Byzantine survival usually sets the territory around the lands that the Byzantine Empire controlled in 1025 AD, at the death of Emperor Basil II, arguably one of the greatest Byzantine and Roman Emperors in history.
Agent of Byzantium is a collection of short stories by Harry Turtledove, centred on the exploits of Basil Argyros, a Byzantine secret agent. Adobe air for mac 10.5 8 download. The stories are set in an alternate 14th century, where Islam never existed and the great ancient empires of Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) and Sassanid Persia survive.
Setting[edit]
The world of the Agent of Byzantium series.
In this universe, the point of divergence occurs when the Prophet Muhammad (Mouamet), instead of developing Islam, converted to Christianity and became a celebrated prelate and saint. Without the Muslim conquests, the Eastern Roman Empire remained the pre-eminent power in the Mediterranean world. The Emperor Constans II subdued the Lombards in Italy, and the Iberian peninsula (Ispania) and the southern coast of Gaul were also recovered. Most of Gaul, Britain and Germania are in 'barbarian' hands, and have broken away from Byzantine orthodoxy, following the doctrine of filioque and a separate line of Popes. In the East, the Byzantines are still—as it was in our history up to the advent of Islam—involved in a never-ending cold war (occasionally flaring up into actual fighting) with its Persian arch-enemy, represented in the series by the female spy Mirrane. Michael buble everything piano sheet music pdf.
Argyros works as an army scout, and later as a magistrianos for the Master of Offices, under the (fictional) Emperor Nikephoros III, and as such is sent across the Empire to solve problems — sometimes as a spy, sometimes as a negotiator, and sometimes as a soldier. The cover of the 1994 re-issue compares Argyros to James Bond and Dominic Flandry.[1]
Stories and publication history[edit]
Stories in the Agent of Byzantium universe (in order written) are:
- 'Unholy Trinity', first published in the July 1985 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories. It takes place on Etos Kosmou 6824 (AD 1315/16) in the Abbey of Saint Gall
- 'Archetypes', first published in the November 1985 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories. It takes place on Etos Kosmou 6825 (AD 1316/17) in the frontier city of Dara
- 'The Eyes of Argos', first published in the January 1986 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories. It takes place on Etos Kosmou 6814 (AD 1305/6), dealing with an invasion by nomadic Jurchens across the Danube frontier
- 'Strange Eruptions', first published in the August 1986 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. It takes place on Etos Kosmou 6816 (AD 1307/8), and is set during an epidemic in Constantinople
- 'Images', first published in the March 1987 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. It takes place on Etos Kosmou 6826 (AD 1317/18) and is set in Constantinople during an ecumenical council dealing with the question of iconoclasm
- 'Superwine', first published in the April 1987 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. It takes place on Etos Kosmou 6829 (AD 1320/21), and takes place in Alania
- 'Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire', first published in the December 1989 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. It takes place on Etos Kosmou 6818 (AD 1309/10), and takes place in Alexandria
- 'Departures', first published in the January 1989 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. It is the only story that does not feature Argyros, and instead focuses on the future St. Mouamet (formerly Muhammad) during his time in a monastery in Syria.
The first six stories comprise the first edition of Agent of Byzantium, published in 1987 by Congdon & Weed. 'Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire' and 'Departures' were first published in the Departures collection in 1993. 'Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire' was included in the second edition of Agent of Byzantium, published in 1994 by Baen Books. 'The Eyes of Argos' was also published in the There Will Be War IV: Guns of Darkness collection in 1987.
Reception[edit]
Orson Scott Card praised Turtledove as 'a very talented science fiction writer, with a gift for finding a way to present a fascinating idea through strong, believable characters.'[2]
Byzantine Empire Roman Empire Similarity
Alternate History Byzantine Empire Survived
Differences[edit]
Turtledove, who has a PhD in Byzantine history, created a setting for the series in which the world of Late Antiquity is projected seven centuries into the future. In each story, several familiar inventions and social institutions crop up far ahead of schedule, and under very different circumstances than they did in our world. Among these are:
- The telescope, discovered among the shamans of the Jurchen nomads who threaten the Byzantine Empire from the north.
- Vaccination for smallpox, which is discovered during a terrible plague afflicting Constantinople itself.
- Trade unions and strikes, appearing first among the builders engaged in the dangerous rebuilding of a great lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt (an Egyptian village, Deir el-Medina, is where the first recorded strike in history occurred in 1152 BC).
- Black powder, developed by the monks in the Abbey of St. Gall and used with great effect by the empire's Frankish enemies — until stolen by Argyros, with the help of agents from an Anglo-SaxonEngland which has known no Norman Conquest.
- Printing, invented by the Byzantium's Persian enemies and used to foment sedition and dissension inside its borders, until this secret is also apprehended by Argyros.
- Distilling, invented by a wine-seller in Constantinople and purchased for the empire by Argyros.
References[edit]
- ^Turtledove, Harry. Agent of Byzantium. Baen, 1994.
- ^'Books to Look For', F&SF, May 1987
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agent_of_Byzantium&oldid=931204448'
Alternate History Byzantine Empire Pictures
- Aug 2015
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- Chalfont, Pennsylvania
One definition of 'empire' is the Roman Empire in all its forms.
Thus by this definition the first empire was the Roman Empire and it began at the date when one considers that Rome became an empire by beginning to dominate the Mediterranean about 200 BC or when the imperial system began about 27 BC, and ended possibly as early as the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire in about 476 or 480, or with the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, or with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, or with the capture o fthe Morea by the Turks in 1460, or with the capture of Trebizond by the Turks in 1461, or with the capture of the principality of Theodoro by the Turks in 1475, or with the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.
One can consider the Roman/Byzantine/Holy Roman Empire(s) to be the only empire(s) in the history of European civilization, and all other alleged 'empires' in western civilization to be cheap imitations and 'inferiums' instead of imperiums, and their alleged 'emperors' to be 'inferiortors' instead of imperators.
And certain non western societies can be considered to be empire equivalents such as the Mughal empire, the Inca Empire, the Islamic Caliphate, etc. And the earliest one of those non European empire equivalents might be considered to be the Chinese Empire founded in 221 BC or the Persian Empire of the Achaemenid Dynasty founded in 550 BC.
In any case one can consider the Persian Empire to be the first great empire in history and to be far above any previous states which could be called empires.
And if relatively small states previous to the Persian Empire are considered to be empires, where does it stop? Where to you draw the line?
Maybe some prehistoric state which was the first to unit ten previously independent agricultural settlements and villages would count as the first empire if it could be identified.
Maybe the chief of a band of hunter-gatherers persuaded the chiefs of a few other bands to follow his leadership in some project for their common good in 51,825 BC and that might count as the first empire.
Maybe several herds of prehistoric probscideans united to dig water holes during a drought 10,000,000 years ago and that could be considered to be the first empire.
Thus by this definition the first empire was the Roman Empire and it began at the date when one considers that Rome became an empire by beginning to dominate the Mediterranean about 200 BC or when the imperial system began about 27 BC, and ended possibly as early as the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire in about 476 or 480, or with the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, or with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, or with the capture o fthe Morea by the Turks in 1460, or with the capture of Trebizond by the Turks in 1461, or with the capture of the principality of Theodoro by the Turks in 1475, or with the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.
One can consider the Roman/Byzantine/Holy Roman Empire(s) to be the only empire(s) in the history of European civilization, and all other alleged 'empires' in western civilization to be cheap imitations and 'inferiums' instead of imperiums, and their alleged 'emperors' to be 'inferiortors' instead of imperators.
And certain non western societies can be considered to be empire equivalents such as the Mughal empire, the Inca Empire, the Islamic Caliphate, etc. And the earliest one of those non European empire equivalents might be considered to be the Chinese Empire founded in 221 BC or the Persian Empire of the Achaemenid Dynasty founded in 550 BC.
In any case one can consider the Persian Empire to be the first great empire in history and to be far above any previous states which could be called empires.
And if relatively small states previous to the Persian Empire are considered to be empires, where does it stop? Where to you draw the line?
Maybe some prehistoric state which was the first to unit ten previously independent agricultural settlements and villages would count as the first empire if it could be identified.
Maybe the chief of a band of hunter-gatherers persuaded the chiefs of a few other bands to follow his leadership in some project for their common good in 51,825 BC and that might count as the first empire.
Maybe several herds of prehistoric probscideans united to dig water holes during a drought 10,000,000 years ago and that could be considered to be the first empire.