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to start or tap the banner to

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go to monday.com. Hello

0:52

everyone. In our last episode we

0:54

talked quite a bit about Heraclius and his era of history.

1:11

So I thought this was the ideal moment to

1:13

tell you about two books that have just been

1:15

published. Both are historical

1:17

fiction set in that period. One

1:20

is a romance set against the backdrop

1:23

of the Sassanid invasions. The other brings

1:25

you the story of Heraclius himself. I

1:28

asked both authors to record

1:30

a short message to you giving their pitch for

1:33

why you should read their novel. But

1:36

before we get to those I thought

1:38

you might also want to know about

1:40

a talented artist who's creating beautiful historical

1:42

maps. In particular he's just

1:44

finished a fabulous looking

1:46

map of the Crusader States. It's

1:48

amazingly detailed and it's a beautiful

1:51

piece of art. Adamas

1:53

the artist is offering 15% off

1:55

any map for listeners of this podcast.

1:57

So just use the code by at

2:01

his online store, mapklimantas.etsy

2:04

dot com,

2:09

and I'll put that link on the website. So

2:12

you can just click through from there, and it

2:14

should be in the episode description as well. So

2:17

our first book is called

2:19

The Emperor by Matthew Storm. The

2:22

Heraklios story is so epic that it took

2:24

two books to cover. Book one is called

2:26

The Exarch's Sun, and book two is

2:29

Heraklios but on Persia for the life

2:31

of Rome. It

2:35

is the year 610 CE,

2:37

150 years after the fall

2:39

of the Western Roman Empire,

2:42

the Eastern Empire is collapsing.

2:44

Eviscerated by the Black Plague, hobbled

2:46

by civil war, and under all-out

2:49

assault by the Persian Empire, Rome's

2:51

borders crumple. This

2:53

is the world that young Heraklios inherited

2:56

after he seized Constantinople from the usurper

2:58

focus and was crowned Emperor of Rome.

3:01

Though Heraklios knew the situation was dire,

3:04

no one truly knew that he

3:06

had inherited Rome on the verge

3:08

of extinction. Rome had

3:10

been at war with Persia for 40 years, but the

3:12

war had now entered its endgame. There

3:15

were no more Roman armies in the field. The

3:17

Empire had lost all her great cities

3:19

to Persia, but for Carthage and Constantinople,

3:22

and Persian watch fires could be seen from

3:24

the capital's walls at night. Left

3:28

with no other choice, this young Emperor

3:30

began to design an audacious plan to

3:32

rescue the Empire, drawing upon a

3:34

small circle of trusted friends for help, his

3:37

father's ancient counselor bonus, Marcus,

3:40

the grizzled commander of the guard from Carthage,

3:42

the patriarch Sergius, his brother

3:45

Theodoris, and his niece

3:47

Martina, for whom he could not deny

3:49

feelings, had scandalized the

3:51

palace. No Roman Emperor had

3:53

led troops into the field for 250 years. For

3:57

centuries, Emperors allowed Rome's generals to do

3:59

the fighting. but there were no more

4:01

generals left, and there were

4:03

no more endless legions. Only

4:06

shattered fragments of Roman field armies, filled

4:08

with broken men, remained. So

4:11

it was that on April 4th

4:13

622 Heraclius sailed alone from Constantinople to

4:15

meet his ragtag force of some 20,000

4:18

men that waited for him in the field. This

4:22

was the last army of Rome. There

4:25

was nothing else. There was no

4:27

one more. It would be a

4:29

fight to the death, and if Heraclius

4:31

lost a single battle, it would spell the

4:33

end of Rome. The

4:35

stakes could not have been

4:38

higher. So begins

4:40

the Emperor, a work of historical fiction based

4:42

on the life of the Roman Emperor Heraclius,

4:44

written by me, Matthew Jordan Storm. If

4:47

you loved hearing about Heraclius and Robin's

4:49

incredible podcast, and wish to know more,

4:51

then I trust you will enjoy The Emperor.

4:54

You can find the book in

4:56

softcover, hardcover, Kindle and audiobook formats

4:58

on amazon.com. Thank you Robin

5:01

for allowing me to spread the word about

5:03

The Emperor. You and the History

5:05

of Byzantium podcast are an inspiration.

5:15

Our second book is called The Gardens

5:17

of Byzantium, a romance about

5:19

a Persian woman and a Roman soldier

5:22

who were brought together by Heraclius's war.

5:25

The year is 622 AD, and the Persian

5:27

and Byzantine empires have been fighting a war

5:30

in the desert since before she was born.

5:33

Astana's life has been one of turmoil and

5:35

change. Every year found

5:37

her uprooted and brought to another foreign land to

5:39

live an austere life in a garrison with

5:41

her father, an officer in the Persian army.

5:44

But the middle of a war is no place for

5:46

such a gentle soul. Before

5:48

long she has swept away from her family and forced

5:50

to flee on the back of her beloved horse. Fate

5:53

leads her into the hands of a handsome and

5:55

mysterious Roman soldier who sequesters her in a beautiful

5:58

palace in the heart of the Roman Empire. Of

6:00

Constantinople. The. Capital of the

6:03

Byzantine Empire. She. Began to

6:05

fall. For him and alleged it seems as

6:07

though she may I found an oasis of

6:09

happiness in her war torn world. That

6:11

is and sell news. Of a Persian army

6:13

marching towards the city. Of answer life again.

6:16

Setting. In motion and unstoppable chain

6:18

of events that brings. The story so

6:20

it's breathtaking and tragic. Conclusion: This.

6:23

Is the story of The Guards of

6:25

Byzantium by J F. Use. A

6:28

tale of war, faith, Mystery.

6:31

Love. Mercy and vengeance. Set.

6:34

During the reign of Emperor Hercules,

6:36

Their users leave their story through the

6:39

digestive. The Near East. Culminating

6:41

in the Seas of Constantinople and

6:43

Six Twenty Six A D. Play.

6:46

The accompanying musical Sandjak as you read

6:48

and immerse yourself in the world of

6:50

The Persians. And Roman. See

6:52

why the book has been caused An evocative

6:54

and bridge. Portrait of a tumultuous time.

6:58

The. Guards of the fancy on will make an

7:00

excellent a thoughtful gift for the readers in your

7:02

life. This. Book is

7:04

an especially for figure for lovers this

7:06

history as. Well as fans have a good romance

7:08

or to answer novel. Available.

7:11

On October twenty fourth through amazon.com

7:13

and J F H Books that.

7:16

Special. Thanks to Robin Pearson. And.

7:18

The history of to the Anti on podcast

7:20

for carrying the Torch is history for the

7:23

Eastern Empire. Episodes forty three

7:25

through forty six of This. Podcast for

7:27

an invaluable resource during the research

7:29

for the guards. As as and him. The.

7:32

Guards if is as on by

7:34

J S Issues available on October

7:36

Twenty Fourth, Twenty Twenty Three. On

7:39

amazon.com. And J S H

7:41

of Com. Again, that

7:43

is J S H both.com.

7:46

On with the south. A

7:52

cast powers as. A

7:56

shot. At

7:59

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a good life? How much do work, health,

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or in pain? These are

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podcast hosted by me, award-winning author,

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