Paul Stephenson

The Roman Empire in the East, AD 395 - 700

New Rome

The year is 2107. Earth is dying. For Wyn, Lois, and Judd, that’s the least of their problems. Wyn is the pilot on the ISS Minos. Its mission: a race to the ice moon of Europa to cure the disease destroying humanity’s crops. But not everyone on board seems to have the same agenda. Lois is an Interpol agent investigating the world’s worst criminals – those rich enough to get whatever they want and powerful enough to murder without consequence – and her cover’s been blown. Judd is hiding as far away from humanity as he can, working in a cheap tourist attraction on the Moon. But when an old man pries a long-forgotten secret from his head, he can no longer hide from the truth he’d buried even from himself. Because Judd is a telepath, and a weapon badly wanted by both sides of an unseen war. They might not know it, but each holds a key to Earth’s cure… and humanity’s survival. If you like pulse-quickening action, blood-soaked science fiction, revelations, and revolutions, you’ll love this first episode in Paul Stephenson’s Sunset Chronicles, the new monthly sci-fi horror serial from the author of the bestselling Blood on the Motorway saga. Pick up Last Light and start the epic saga of plague, conspiracy, murder, and monsters today. SEASON ONE OF THE SUNSET CHRONICLES WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE SUNRISE.

Season One, Episode One of The Sunset Chronicles

Last Light

In AD 312, Constantine - one of four Roman emperors ruling a divided empire - marched on Rome to establish his sole control of its western half. On the eve of the decisive battle he later claimed to have seen a 'Cross-shaped trophy of light' in the heavens, a sign that the Christian God was his patron, ensuring his victory. But Constantine's conversion was not a momentary revelation inspired by a vision. It was a lifelong process inspired by his own mother and aligned with radical developments in the later Roman world. During Constantine's lifetime, Christianity emerged from the shadows and under his rule, its adherents were no longer persecuted. Constantine the victorious general advanced a new triumphalist brand of Christianity, which became the empire's dominant faith and entrenched an institutional Church that could propagate and sustain the imperial religion. Constantine would go on to unite the eastern and western halves of the empire, establishing a new ceremonial stage, his eponymous victory city, Constantinople. This was not a new capital to replace Rome, nor was it an exclusively Christian construction. Yet it became the greatest Christian city in the world, the capital of Byzantium even as Rome itself fell to barbarian hordes. Paul Stephenson offers a nuanced and deeply satisfying account of a man whose cultural and spiritual renewal of the Roman empire gave birth to the idea of a unified Christian empire from which Europe would emerge. In Constantine: Unconquered Emperor, Christian Victor, a seminal figure in political and cultural history has found the biographer he deserves.

Unconquered emperor, Christian victor

Constantine

Part 1. Life in the later Roman world: Life at the end of the 'Lead Age' -- Family and faith -- An empire of cities -- Culture, communications, commerce -- Constantinople, the new Rome -- Part 2. Power and politics: The Theodosian Age, AD 395-451 -- Soldiers and civilians, AD 451-527 -- The Age of Justinian, AD 527-602 -- The Heraclians, AD 602-c. 700 -- Part 3: The end of antiquity: The end of ancient civilisation -- Apocalypse and the end of antiquity -- Emperors of New Rome.

The Empire in the East

Professor of History and Head of the School of History and Heritage Paul Stephenson

Stephenson Paul

Byzantium's Balkan Frontier is the first narrative history in English of the northern Balkans in the tenth to twelfth centuries. Where previous histories have been concerned principally with the medieval history of distinct and autonomous Balkan nations, this study regards Byzantine political authority as a unifying factor in the various lands which formed the empire's frontier in the north and west. It takes as its central concern Byzantine relations with all Slavic and non-Slavic peoples - including the Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians and Hungarians - in and beyond the Balkan Peninsula, and explores in detail imperial responses, first to the migrations of nomadic peoples, and subsequently to the expansion of Latin Christendom. It also examines the changing conception of the frontier in Byzantine thought and literature through the middle Byzantine period.

A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900-1204

Byzantium's Balkan Frontier

The Byzantine World presents the latest insights of the leading scholars in the fields of Byzantine studies, history, art and architectural history, literature, and theology. Those who know little of Byzantine history, culture and civilization between AD 700 and 1453 will find overviews and distillations, while those who know much already will be afforded countless new vistas. Each chapter offers an innovative approach to a well-known topic or a diversion from a well-trodden path. Readers will be introduced to Byzantine women and children, men and eunuchs, emperors, patriarchs, aristocrats and slaves. They will explore churches and fortifications, monasteries and palaces, from Constantinople to Cyprus and Syria in the east, and to Apulia and Venice in the west. Secular and sacred art, profane and spiritual literature will be revealed to the reader, who will be encouraged to read, see, smell and touch. The worlds of Byzantine ceremonial and sanctity, liturgy and letters, Orthodoxy and heresy will be explored, by both leading and innovative international scholars. Ultimately, readers will find insights into the emergence of modern Byzantine studies and of popular Byzantine history that are informative, novel and unexpected, and that provide a thorough understanding of both.

The Byzantine World

Constantine is a masterly survey of the life and enduring legacy of the greatest and most unjustly ignored of the later Roman emperors - from a richly gifted young British historian. In 312, Constantine - one of four Roman emperors ruling a divided empire - marched on Rome to establish his sole control of its western half. Having claimed the imperial capital for himself, he then converted to Christianity and led its emergence from the shadows, its adherents no longer persecuted. Constantine founded Constantinople on the site of the ancient trading colony of Byzantium, a new Christian capital set apart from Rome's pagan past. Thereafter the Christian Roman Empire endured in the East as Byzantium, while Rome itself fell to the barbarian hordes in AD 476. Paul Stephenson offers a nuanced and deeply satisfying account of a man whose cultural and spiritual renewal of the Roman Empire gave birth to the historically crucial idea of a unified Christian Europe. In Constantine, a seminal figure in the political and cultural history of the West has at last found the biographer he deserves.

Unconquered Emperor, Christian Victor

'Conventional histories of the last days of the Roman Empire will no longer suffice after you read this book.' Averil Cameron, author of Byzantine Matters Long before Rome fell to the Ostrogoths in AD 476, a new city had risen to take its place as the beating heart of a late antique empire, the glittering Constantinople: New Rome. In this magisterial work, Professor Paul Stephenson charts the centuries surrounding this epic shift of power. He traces the cultural, social and political forces that led to the empire being ruled from a city straddling Europe and Asia, placing all into a rich natural and environmental context informed by the latest scientific research. Blending narrative with analysis, he shows how the city and empire of New Rome survived countless attacks and the rise of Islam. By the end, the wide world of linked cities had changed into a world founded on new ideas about government and God, art and war, and the very future of a Christian empire: Byzantium.

Ingela Nilsson

The Desire for a Lost Empire

Wanted : Byzantium

Stephanie Scott

Yvonne Smith

Jessica Mitchell

Niall Campbell

Grace Cleary

Sarah Hegarty

German Munoz

Samantha Jackson

Jerwood/Arvon Mentoring Scheme Staff

Swimming Lessons

An apocalyptic storm. A killer on the loose. The battle for humanity’s survival starts here. Tom is a layabout ex-student waiting for his life to start or the power to get cut off, whichever comes first. Jen works two jobs, hates both, and most days is too hungover to deal with either. Detective Burnett is trying to work out who the hell turned his sleepy Yorkshire village into a murder town. When the skies fill with a mysterious storm, each of them wakes to find streets filled with dead. The world they knew has gone, and their old lives with it. Tom finds himself at the mercy of a deranged soldier, Jen has to flee the fires burning her city to the ground, and Burnett must track down a killer who sees the apocalypse as an opportunity for more mayhem. If they can’t band together, the fate of what remains of humanity hangs in the balance. Blood on the Motorway is the first in the British apocalyptic horror trilogy readers have called “gripping from the first page’’. If you love edge-of-the-seat action, end-of-the-world tension, and characters you’ll be rooting for with every turn of the page, you’ll love the first instalment in Paul Stephenson’s apocalyptic trilogy. Pick up Blood on the Motorway today to start the epic journey of murder at the world’s end.

Book one of the bestselling British apocalyptic thriller trilogy

Blood on the Motorway

An apocalyptic storm. A killer on the loose. The battle for humanity’s survival starts here. Tom is a layabout ex-student waiting for his life to start or the power to get cut off, whichever comes first. Jen works two jobs, hates both, and most days is too hungover to deal with either. Detective Burnett is trying to work out who the hell turned his sleepy Yorkshire village into a murder town. On a flight back to her family, Lydia is too busy trying to ignore the annoying passenger next to her to notice the sky filling with lights. Max works for a bank, more concerned that people might mistake him for a banker than how to survive each day. When the skies fill with a mysterious storm, all will wake to find the world they knew has gone, and their old lives with it. Together, this disparate group must attempt to survive psychotic murderers, genocidal monsters, and a final deadly storm. The Blood on the Motorway Trilogy is the British apocalyptic horror saga readers have called “gripping from the first page”. If you love edge-of-the-seat action, end-of-the-world tension, and characters you’ll be rooting for with every turn of the page, you’ll love Paul Stephenson’s apocalyptic trilogy. Buy Blood on the Motorway – The Complete Trilogy today to experience the full epic journey of murder at the world’s end.

The complete saga of the bestselling apocalyptic horror trilogy

Blood on the Motorway: The Complete Apocalyptic Trilogy

Simon Williams

Saiyid Amīr Alī

An Inquiry Into Racial Strife and Violence in Tower Hamlets

Brick Lane & Beyond

Who will prevail in the battle for humanity's future? The final book in the bestselling British horror trilogy, Blood on the Motorway. Before the storm that ended the world brought humanity to its knees, Max worked for a bank, more concerned that people might mistake him for a banker than how to survive each day. Six months later he's desperately trying to stay ahead of a psychotic gang leader making a play for the ruined city of London. In Birmingham, Burnett's new Government is trying to stand on its own feet, while Lydia tries to find some peace. Out on the road, Tom and Mira are grieving, just trying to stay alive, when bandits come to tear them apart. But the sky is full of lights once more, and they'll need more than luck to get them through the coming storm. Who will survive, and who will thrive, in this heart-pounding finale to the Blood on the Motorway saga?

A Final Storm

An illustrated revisionary account of the reign of the Byzantine emperor Basil II (976-1025).

The Legend of Basil the Bulgar-Slayer

Paul Stephenson twists together multiple strands to relate the cultural biography of a unique monument, the Serpent Column, which stands today in Istanbul 2500 years after it was raised at Delphi

A Cultural Biography

The Serpent Column

The end of the world was just the start. Now see how it ends. Before the storm that ended the world brought humanity to its knees, Max worked for a bank, more concerned people might mistake him for a banker than how to survive each day. Six months later he’s trying to stay ahead of a psychotic gang leader making a play for the ruined city of London. In Birmingham, Burnett's new Government is trying to stand on its own feet, while Lydia tries to find some peace. Out on the road, Tom and Mira are grieving, just trying to stay alive, when bandits come to tear them apart. But the sky is full of lights once more, and they'll need more than luck to get them through the coming storm. A Final Storm is the thrilling and emotional finale to the bestselling British apocalyptic horror Blood on the Motorway. If you love breath-taking apocalyptic action, tenterhook tension, and characters you’ll be rooting for with every turn of the page, you’ll love the final instalment in Paul Stephenson’s thrilling trilogy. Buy A Final Storm today to find out who will survive, and who will thrive, in this heart-pounding finale to the Blood on the Motorway saga.

The Epic Conclusion to the apocalyptic thriller trilogy, Blood on the Motorway

The Serpent Column, a bronze sculpture that has stood in Delphi and Constantinople, today Istanbul, is a Greek representation of the Near Eastern primordial combat myth: it is Typhon, a dragon defeated by Zeus, and also Python slain by Apollo. The column was created after the Battle of Plataia (479 BC), where the sky was dominated by serpentine constellations and by the spiralling tails of the Milky Way. It was erected as a votive for Apollo and as a monument to the victory of the united Greek poleis over the Persians. It is as a victory monument that the column was transplanted to Constantinople and erected in the hippodrome. The column remained a monument to cosmic victory through centuries, but also took on other meanings. Through the Byzantine centuries these interpretation were fundamentally Christian, drawing upon serpentine imagery in Scripture, patristic and homiletic writings. When Byzantines saw the monument they reflected upon this multivalent serpentine symbolism, but also the fact that it was a bronze column. For these observers, it evoked the Temple's brazen pillars, Moses' brazen serpent, the serpentine tempter of Genesis (Satan), and the beast of Revelation. The column was inserted into Christian sacred history, symbolizing creation and the end times. The most enduring interpretation of the column, which is unrelated to religion, and therefore survived the Ottoman capture of the city, is as a talisman against snakes and snake-bites. It is this tale that was told by travellers to Constantinople throughout the Middle Ages, and it is this story that is told to tourists today who visit Istanbul. In this book, Paul Stephenson twists together multiple strands to relate the cultural biography of a unique monument.

The year is 2107. Earth is dying. For Wyn, Lois, and Judd, that’s the least of their problems. If Lois thought getting out of Tijuana was hard, her next mission sees her investigating the most powerful corporation on Earth over the death of her fellow Interpol officer. But the investigation has her looking a little too close to home for her liking. Wyn and the crew of the Minos are making their final approach to the ice moon of Europa, and the cure for the plague that’s decimated humanity’s food supplies. But tempers are fraying the closer they come to their destination. Judd’s secret is out in the open, and the old man Walker has convinced him to come back to Earth, where he can be amongst others like him. But he soon finds out that not all is what it seems amongst his fellow telepaths, and that his search to belong may not yet be over. If you like pulse-quickening action, blood-soaked science fiction, revelations, and revolutions, you’ll love this second episode in Paul Stephenson’s Sunset Chronicles, the new monthly sci-fi horror serial from the author of the bestselling Blood on the Motorway saga. Buy Fault & Fracture to continue the epic saga of plague, conspiracy, murder, and monsters today. SEASON ONE OF THE SUNSET CHRONICLES WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE SUNRISE.

Paul Stephenson

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