Justinian

Born to the throne of Byzantium -- the New Rome -- Justinian II was determined to bow to no man. Headstrong and stubborn, he fought with the very nobles on whom his reign depended. And so he was overthrown, mutilated, and exiled to beyond the Black Sea.

But not forever.

In this gripping novel of one of history's great desperados, H. N. Turteltaub puts us in the middle of the dust, the color, the savory smells and roaring crowds, and most of all, the blood and violence of Byzantium at its clangorous, glorious height.