The war that is mentioned as a world war is mainly from just before the First Crusade to just after the fall of the Crusader Kingdoms (in the late 1200s). Though Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) didn't fall until 1453, after the fall of the Crusaders, the Byzantine's had lost the homeland of Anatolia and were just the area around Constantinople, with mercenary armies to protect them.

The main coverage is a narrative of the beginning of the ERE continually losing more and more of their easternmost empire to the Seljek Turks. After the fall of the Crusader Kingdoms, the Turks were constantly attacking across Armenia and Cappadocia. After the defeat of ERE at the Battle of Manikurt, the Seljuks began to slowly absorb the ERE lands of Eastern Anatolia.

The narrative of the First Crusades and the building of the Latin Kingdoms in the Outrmere (the Holy land, Antioch, Nicea and Syria), that only lasted one hundred years, after which the Holy Land was lost. The Second Crusade didn't even make it to Jerusalem. The Fourth Crusade led to the sacking of Constantinople in 1200, marked the end of the ERE, they were just waiting for the last walls to be destroyed.

I am a history aficionado. Admittedly, I haven’t read many history books in the last year or so, so I was eager to dive back in. I am glad I chose, The Byzantine World War. Anatolia, Byzantium, The Ottoman Empire, Turkey…this region is steeped in history and culture and has always fascinated me. Author Nick Homes does a superb job telling the story of the fall of Byzantium, the First Crusade and the modern origins of Turkey. His writing style, rather than dry and monotonous like many history books, is conversational and engaging. I especially appreciated the comprehensive yet succinct chronology of the Byzantine Empire and the list of rulers by year included at the end of the book.

Ah this is a nice piece of nonfiction which reads more like historical fiction. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction but I enjoyed this a lot. Interesting and easy to read!

Excellent! Fascinating and easy to read.
This is a great book to give an introduction to the history of the first crusade for readers of historical fiction.