Peter Frankopan

The war that changed the world in the early seventh century

James Howard-Johnston describes how the last great conflict between the Roman and Persian empires led to the Arabs and Islamism sweeping all before them

The Emperor Heraclius receives the submission of the Shah of Persia Khusro II (12th-century gilt copper plaque, The Louvre, Paris). [Bridgeman Images]
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  • The Last Great War of Antiquity

    James Howard-Johnston

    OUP, pp. 446, £35

It was not a war to end all wars, writes James Howard-Johnston at the start of this illuminating and thought-provoking book about the confrontation between the empires of Rome and Persia that began at the start of the 7th century and lasted the best part of three decades; it was not even a war with ambitious goals.

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