Edenfield, Luke Rome, Persia and the War that Shaped the World, 565-630

For 700 years, Rome and Persia faced each other as superpowers of the ancient world. The final phase of their great war is one of the most dramatic, surprising and decisive events in world history. The victor would remain for another eight centuries, while the vanquished would sink into oblivion its religion almost wiped out, its people almost forgotten. In 626, Persia had conquered most of the Roman Empire and was on the verge of destroying Constantinople, the city that preserved the knowledge of Greece and Rome, as well as the vulnerable Western world that would one day inherit it. Then came the most astonishing comeback in military history. Led by Emperor Heraclius himself, the Romans entrusted their unprotected capital to God and marched deep into Persia with almost insane boldness. Hunted by three different armies, they had to somehow survive, defeat the great King of Kings, and save Constantinople. The battle on a knife's edge decided which civilisation would survive into the Middle Ages, thus shaping the contours of the modern world. Yet despite all its drama and significance, the war and its heroes are little known. Rome, Persia and the War that Shaped the World is a captivating and easy-to-understand historical account that traces the decisive phases of the war.