100 books like Africa and Byzantium

By Andrea Myers Achi (editor),

Here are 100 books that Africa and Byzantium fans have personally recommended if you like Africa and Byzantium. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of Christianity in Roman Africa: The Development of its Practices and Beliefs

Vince L. Bantu Author Of Those for Whom the Lamp Shines: The Making of Egyptian Ethnic Identity in Late Antiquity

From my list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have had a love for the early Church in Africa since I took a trip to Egypt when I was in seminary. Since then, I’ve had a chance to visit all of the countries on the continent with ancient churches. It is my greatest joy to share what I learn with my students and any anyone else who will listen. I research and teach in the area of early African Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Meachum School of Haymanot. I have published two monographs on this topic and hold a doctoral degree in languages and literatures of Northeastern Africa during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 

Vince's book list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism

Vince L. Bantu Why did Vince love this book?

This book is the best overall summary of Christianity in North Africa I have ever read. There are so many books that are close to this topic but are usually more specialized, focusing only on Augustine or archaeology.

This book not only surveys the influential theologians from North Africa, Perpetua, Tertullian, and Cyprian, but also illumines the lived worship practices of everyday Christians in what we now call Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria.

I love the well-rounded and comprehensive survey of North African Christianity that this book provides. 

By J. Patout Burns, Robin M. Jensen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Christianity in Roman Africa as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In-depth, illustrated exploration of how early North African Christians lived out their faith

Using a combination of literary and archeological evidence, this in-depth, illustrated book documents the development of Christian practices and doctrine in Roman Africa -- contemporary Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco -- from the second century through the Arab conquest in the seventh century.

Robin Jensen and Patout Burns, in collaboration with Graeme W. Clarke, Susan T. Stevens, William Tabbernee, and Maureen A. Tilley, skillfully reconstruct the rituals and practices of Christians in the ancient buildings and spaces where those practices were performed. Numerous site drawings and color…


Book cover of The Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahido Church

Vince L. Bantu Author Of Those for Whom the Lamp Shines: The Making of Egyptian Ethnic Identity in Late Antiquity

From my list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have had a love for the early Church in Africa since I took a trip to Egypt when I was in seminary. Since then, I’ve had a chance to visit all of the countries on the continent with ancient churches. It is my greatest joy to share what I learn with my students and any anyone else who will listen. I research and teach in the area of early African Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Meachum School of Haymanot. I have published two monographs on this topic and hold a doctoral degree in languages and literatures of Northeastern Africa during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 

Vince's book list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism

Vince L. Bantu Why did Vince love this book?

Ethiopian Christianity is a rich and diverse phenomenon that has a nuanced history. So many books on the history of this ancient Church are highly specialized and not accessible to popular audiences. 

Ephraim Isaac’s book is the best overview of Ethiopian Christian history and practice that I have ever seen. It introduces the history of the Church and helpfully focuses on different aspects of worship, organization, and social engagement.

I refer back to this book often as it is so full of useful information, and I find new information every time.

By Ephraim Isaac,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahido Church as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ethiopia is an extraordinary symbol of continuity amid a restive and crisis-ridden world. In a few decades, Africa has passed from colonialism, to modernity, to a congress of now largely independent black powers, whose views and votes are at long last heeded on the floor of the global parliament of nations. The capital of Ethiopia is also the headquarters of both the United Nations mission to the continent and of the indigenous continental African union. Ethiopia is unique, not only in the antiquity of her continuous religious and political history, but also in the ever accelerating involvement of the nation…


Book cover of Coptic Civilization: Two Thousand Years of Christianity in Egypt

Vince L. Bantu Author Of Those for Whom the Lamp Shines: The Making of Egyptian Ethnic Identity in Late Antiquity

From my list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have had a love for the early Church in Africa since I took a trip to Egypt when I was in seminary. Since then, I’ve had a chance to visit all of the countries on the continent with ancient churches. It is my greatest joy to share what I learn with my students and any anyone else who will listen. I research and teach in the area of early African Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Meachum School of Haymanot. I have published two monographs on this topic and hold a doctoral degree in languages and literatures of Northeastern Africa during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 

Vince's book list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism

Vince L. Bantu Why did Vince love this book?

Many books on the history of Coptic Christianity have very specialized subject matter that are written for specialists. Gabra’s book is a great resource that introduces broad audiences to the Coptic tradition.

This is a great book for people with little or no knowledge of this tradition. I especially love the diverse perspective of this book, which includes history, art, liturgy, archaeology, and daily life in the Coptic community.

I learn something new every time I go back and look at this book. 

By Gawdat Gabra (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Coptic Civilization as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Egypt’s Copts make up one of the oldest and largest Christian communities in the Middle East. Yet despite the availability of a large number of books on aspects of Coptic culture, including art and architecture, monasticism, theology, and music, there is to date no single volume that provides a comprehensive cultural history of the Copts and their achievements. Coptic Civilization aims to fill this gap, by introducing the general reader, the interested non-specialist, to Coptic culture in all its variety and multi-faceted richness. With contributions by twenty scholars, Coptic Civilization includes chapters on monasticism, the Coptic language, Coptic literature, Christian…


Book cover of Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia: Pagans, Christians and Muslims in the Middle Nile

Vince L. Bantu Author Of Those for Whom the Lamp Shines: The Making of Egyptian Ethnic Identity in Late Antiquity

From my list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have had a love for the early Church in Africa since I took a trip to Egypt when I was in seminary. Since then, I’ve had a chance to visit all of the countries on the continent with ancient churches. It is my greatest joy to share what I learn with my students and any anyone else who will listen. I research and teach in the area of early African Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Meachum School of Haymanot. I have published two monographs on this topic and hold a doctoral degree in languages and literatures of Northeastern Africa during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. 

Vince's book list on Christianity in Africa before colonialism

Vince L. Bantu Why did Vince love this book?

Finding accessible books on ancient Nubian Christianity is very difficult. There are very few books that are entirely dedicated to the ancient Nubian Church, and the few that exist are usually very specific in terms of subject matter.

Welsby’s book is one of the few that does a great job of giving a comprehensive history of Christianity in the various kingdoms of the Nubian region. I especially love the images in this book which are numerous and very engaging. 

By Derek A. Welsby,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Medieval Kingdoms of Nubia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As well as discussing the turbulent political and religious history, Derek Welsby devotes much of his study to an examination of Nubian culture and society, and the impact of Christianity on every aspect of Nubian life. He examines in detail Nubian architecture, one of the most enduring legacies of the mediaeval kingdoms; Nubian art, literature and language; and finally, the economy and the importance of agriculture and trade. Broad-ranging and meticulously researched, "The Mediaeval Kingdoms of Nubia" is a fully comprehensive study of this intriguing subject.


Book cover of The Station

Dana Facaros Author Of Northern Greece

From my list on evocative travel about Greece.

Why am I passionate about this?

I fell in love with Greece 50 years ago, when I had the good fortune of spending a summer on my father’s native island of Ikaria. I bagged my first writing job four years later when I wrote a guide to all the Greek islands. As a travel writer I tend to fall in love with all the places I write about! But Greece is where I feel most at home, and it has inspired some truly memorable travel books. I hope you like some of my all-time favorites.

Dana's book list on evocative travel about Greece

Dana Facaros Why did Dana love this book?

As a woman, I’ll never be able to visit the fantastical Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos, although I’ve looked at from land and sea often enough! But after reading this evocative account from the 1920s by a very young Robert Byron (best known for his classic, The Road to Oxiana) I feel as if I had been there, in a completely other (and rather eccentric) world long before the monasteries’ current revival and modernization—they say the monks even have mobile phones these days! Byron’s black-and-white photographs and drawings add to the charm. 

By Robert Byron,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Station as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mount Athos, the spiritual heart of Eastern Orthodox Monasticism, is perhaps the most sacred and mysterious place in Greece: an autonomous state, where no woman can set foot, which has its own calendar and its own time. This ruggedly beautiful peninsula in Macedonia boasts a history that stretches back to Herodotus and has been a sanctuary from the earliest days of Christianity, through the Byzantine and Ottoman eras, two world wars and up to the present day. In 1927, at the age of 22, Robert Byron journeyed to Athos with his friends and embarked on an adventure whose influence would…


Book cover of The Image of the Black in African and Asian Art

Geraldine Heng Author Of The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages

From my list on race before the modern era.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m that infamous medievalist who wrote the big book on medieval race. It took 20 years of thinking and research, and a whole lot of writing, but now people are convinced that there was, indeed, such a thing as race and racism between the 11th and 15th centuries in the West (aka Christendom/Europe). I'm Perceval Professor of English and Comparative Literature, with a joint appointment in Middle Eastern studies and Women’s studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Geraldine's book list on race before the modern era

Geraldine Heng Why did Geraldine love this book?

The Image of the Black in Western Art is a multi-volume series that extends from antiquity to the modern era, and it’s famous for its extraordinary images.  This series now has an excellent additional volume—on how Black peoples were portrayed in African, Middle Eastern, and Asian art.  The images from these non-Western regions of the world are incomparable, and the accompanying essays take us all the way from the beginnings to the present day. 

By Suzanne Preston Blier, Henry Louis Gates, David Bindman

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Image of the Black in African and Asian Art as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Image of the Black in African and Asian Art asks how the black figure was depicted by artists from the non-Western world. Beginning with ancient Egypt-positioned properly as part of African history-this volume focuses on the figure of the black as rendered by artists from Africa, East Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The aesthetic traditions illustrated here are as diverse as the political and social histories of these regions. From Igbo Mbari sculptures to modern photography from Mali, from Indian miniatures to Japanese prints, African and Asian artists portrayed the black body in ways distinct from the European tradition,…


Book cover of The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church

Victor Roudometof Author Of Globalization and Orthodox Christianity: The Transformations of a Religious Tradition

From my list on a quick introduction to Orthodox Christianity.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been a scholar of Orthodox Christianity for more than 20 years; & authored or (co-)edited several books. It took the fall of communism to overcome the relative poverty of Western literature & gain better knowledge of the Orthodox religious landscape. Personally, I am interested in the relationship between Orthodoxy and culture/politics. This relationship runs deep into the heart of several Orthodox nations – as the war in Ukraine aptly demonstrates. By the 21st century, Orthodox Christianity is no longer exclusively affiliated with its historical birthplace of Eastern and Southeastern Europe but there are millions of Orthodox Christians in North America and Western Europe.

Victor's book list on a quick introduction to Orthodox Christianity

Victor Roudometof Why did Victor love this book?

John Meyendorff’s works are indispensable for understanding the theology and history of Orthodox Christianity. 

While several of his contributions belong to the must-read list for students of Orthodox Christianity, this book in particular offers a lucid account and an indispensable introduction to the broader and enduring problematic regarding the deep-seated connections between Byzantium and the historical development of the Orthodox Church.

The book addresses a series of historical events rarely researched and studied and it is a pioneer work highly suited for scholars of religious history.

By John Meyendorff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For more than a millennium the Byzantine Empire and its capital, Constantinople guided the spiritual destinies of the Christian East. Even after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the influence of its culture, thought and institutions remained powerful, above all in the Orthodox Church.

In this collection of essays, Fr John Meyendorff, one of the most prominent Orthodox historians and theologians of our day, delineates the many facets of this Byzantine legacy. After an initial survey of the Byzantine Church, he explores such varies subjects as Byzantine political ideology, spirituality and ecclesiology. He clearly demonstrates the significance of Byzantium not…


Book cover of A Short History of Byzantium

Lilith Saintcrow Author Of A Flame in the North

From my list on European history books for writing Western epic fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like any writer, I’m fascinated with what makes people tick and why they act the way they do. Naturally, this means I read a lot of history. I love reference reading; I love researching arcane questions for a tiny detail that will bring a character or their world to life. Creating epic fantasy is an extension of both my drives as a reader and a writer. Pouring myself into characters who inhabit different settings is a deeply satisfying exercise in both craft and empathy, and each history book has some small bit I can use to make my settings more compelling, more enjoyable for readers, and more real.

Lilith's book list on European history books for writing Western epic fantasy

Lilith Saintcrow Why did Lilith love this book?

I love reading history and am fascinated by the Byzantines.

Norwich has an absolute gift not just for overviewing the major trends and events in history but also for choosing telling details that solidify the picture, reaching across centuries to empathize with people who were not so very different than us.

Plus, he’s scorchingly funny when the occasion calls for it. Both the abridged and the three-volume work walk that fine line between major events and small, crystalline, and often poignant or hysterically amusing details.

By John Julius Norwich,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Short History of Byzantium as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Norwich is always on the lookout for the small but revealing details. . . . All of this he recounts in a style that consistently entertains."
--The New York Times Book Review

In this magisterial adaptation of his epic three-volume history of Byzantium, John Julius Norwich chronicles the world's longest-lived Christian empire. Beginning with Constantine the Great, who in a.d. 330 made Christianity the religion of his realm and then transferred its capital to the city that would bear his name, Norwich follows the course of eleven centuries of Byzantine statecraft and warfare, politics and theology, manners and art.

In…


Book cover of God in the Marketplace: 45 Questions Fortune 500 Executives Ask About Faith, Life, and Business

Jerry Meek Author Of While You Wait: Finding Purpose in the “Not Yets”

From my list on Christian business leaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

It has been an incredible journey, starting with $200 in assets 45 years ago and finally starting to achieve what I had dreamed of in life and business after struggling for two decades. I learned through the value of reading and building quality relationships, with God's help, I would be successful in life and business. Based in Cave Creek, Arizona, I've spent my career building Desert Star Construction, known by clients and industry colleagues as "the best team in the luxury home business." It is an online community that helps overwhelmed Christian marketplace leaders rediscover their eternal purpose and find unending joy in their life and leadership. 

Jerry's book list on Christian business leaders

Jerry Meek Why did Jerry love this book?

This book allowed me to read 45 questions from Fortune 500 executives asking about faith, life, and business. Have you ever felt you were missing the answers to success in business? If you aren't getting what you need to know, you may not ask the right questions. With God in The Marketplace, we see the emphasis on not letting anyone do your thinking for you. We all consider what we can do to change our family, business, and church. Nothing can happen without first seeing how God wants to transform us. We all know that without solving problems, our company has no profits; by applying the principles in the book and trusting God, we can become more like Christ in every situation. When you finish this book, you will realize that God will raise you up, and people will observe your conduct as a Christian Businessperson. At the end…

By Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked God in the Marketplace as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Aside from Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby has made his greatest impact by ministering directly to Fortune 100 and 500 CEOs, advising them on how to effectively blend their faith with their business. Out of that ministry’s success comes God in the Marketplace, a book to help everyone from the front desk to the executive suite best experience God’s will in his or her work.

Blackaby believes that just as Jesus had businessmen among His original disciples, so may God be calling out businesspeople today in preparation for a worldwide spiritual revival. However, while those in the marketplace may have excellent…


Book cover of Reaching for Heaven on Earth: The Theological Meaning of Economics

Ronnie D. Lipschutz Author Of Political Economy, Capitalism, and Popular Culture

From my list on explaining how capitalism works.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a product of Sputnik and the threat of nuclear war. Both turned me into a long-time reader of science fiction and a perpetual student in trying to understand how the world works and why? If we have free will, why do so many things seem to be predetermined? If we are rational beings, why do so many of our choices seem so absurd? And if a new world is possible, why can’t we bring it into existence? I was a professor of politics for 30 years (and I was respected! See “Soylent Green.”) and most of my research and writing try to answer these questions.

Ronnie's book list on explaining how capitalism works

Ronnie D. Lipschutz Why did Ronnie love this book?

Did it ever occur to you that economics might be theological, even a form of religious idolatry?

This is not, by the way, about the Worship of Mammon; it is about capitalism as a system of beliefs and practices.

Nelson carefully maps out the genealogy of modern economics, showing that its underlying foundation can be traced back to competing Greek philosophies as filtered through Catholicism and Protestantism. We have never been secular!

By Robert H. Nelson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Reaching for Heaven on Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

this is the most profound book on the boundary of theology and economics in the past couple of decades. It has a depth of perspective, a scope of scholarship and a discernment that is rare in this field.-CHRISTIAN CENTURY


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