Ebook: Heirs of the Roman Empire

First published 1960.

Sullivan has accomplished both what he set out to do and what the series, "The Development of Western Civilization," was projected to do: a neat summary of the Mediterranean area between the sixth and tenth centuries and a "narrative essay in the history of our tradition." In three solid chapters he traces from the late Roman Empire the emergence of its diadochi, the Byzantine, Muslim, and Western European worlds. He shows how they were the legitimate heirs of the older world and how they created unique features of their own. Each of the three is given approximately the same space - something which is often missing in other treatments. The Index is adequate and the bibliography ("Suggestions for Further Reading") is brief but excellent.