In the first volume, directed by Cecile Morrisson, titled "The Eastern Roman Empire (330-641)", the establishment of the Byzantine Empire is presented. The second volume, directed by Jean-Claude Cheynet, is dedicated to the subsequent centuries (7th-13th).
During the medieval period, the vast multinational Empire, almost shattered by the Slavic and mainly Arab-Muslim invasions, transforms back into a state centered again on the Greek population. However, it continues to welcome Slavic and Armenian minorities, while it has not completely severed ties with Italy.
The Byzantine rulers ultimately transform Byzantium into the greatest Christian power of the 10th and 11th centuries, before they need to confront a new adversary coming from the steppes of the East: the Turks.
The Empire's ability to adapt contradicts the image of a conservative and immutable society, which was presented to us by the Byzantines themselves, claiming that their innovations were nothing more than a return to the traditions of their ancestors.
Institutions, hierarchies, and armies are repeatedly modified to face new threats or to ensure expansion. The imperial power transforms into a family and dynastic system, perfected under the Comnenos.
The Empire, however, finds its identity in Orthodox Christianity which, after the end of the Iconoclasm, is founded on the veneration of images, inspiring a distinctive religious art.
The Byzantine Church distances itself from the Church of Rome, whose primacy it refuses to acknowledge, and extends its sphere of influence toward the daughter churches of Bulgaria and Russia.
During this period, Byzantine culture appropriates the pagan ancient Greek literature and is convinced of its superiority. The military and economic power of the Latins, culminating in the sack of Constantinople in 1204, leads the Byzantines to retract regarding their identity, which will later result in the creation of a "nation-state".
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