Selected Writings of
J. B. Bury*

* This material is presented solely for non-commercial educational/research purposes.

Maps of the Aegean, Asia Minor, Armenia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East are available on our Maps page. Chronologies are available on the Chronological Tables page.

Clicking the link will download the book or article in pdf format from Internet Archive or from our own site.

A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great (London, 1900). This is a scholarly work which is also easily accessible to the general public. Chapters: 1. The Beginnings of Greece and the Heroic Age; 2. The Expansion of Greece; 3. Growth of Sparta; 4. The Union of Attica and the Foundation of the Athenian Democracy; 5. Growth of Athens; 6. The Advance of Persia to the Aegean; 7. The Perils of Greece. The Persian and Punic Invasions; 8. The Foundation of the Athenian Empire; 9. The Athenian Empire under the Guidance of Pericles; 10. The War of Athens with the Peloponnesians (431-421 B.C.); 11. The Decline and Downfall of the Athenian Empire; 12. The Spartan Supremacy and the Persian War; 13. The Revival of Athens and Her Second League; 14. The Hegemony of Thebes; 15. The Syracusan Empire and the Struggle with Carthage; 16. Rise of Macedonia; 17. The Conquest of Persia; 18. The Conquest of the Far East; Chronological Table; Notes and References, with maps and plans (London, 1900). 930 pdf pages. File size: 39.8 MB.

The Ancient Greek Historians (New York, 1909). File Size: 5.4 MB.

The Hellenistic Age, (323-276 B.C.) by J. B. Bury and others (Cambridge, 1923). Includes Bury's "The Hellenistic Age and the History of Civilization"; "Alexandrian Literature" by E. A. Barber; "Hellenistic Popular Philosophy" by Edwyn Bevan; "The Social Question in the Third Century" by W. W. Tarn. File size: 4.7 MB.

History of the Roman Empire, from its foundation to the death of Marcus Aurelius (27 B. C.-180 A.D.), (New York, 1893). File size: 42 MB.

A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene (395 A.D. to 800 A.D.) volume 1, (London, 1889) File Size: 18.1 MB; volume 2, (London, 1889), File Size: 19.1 MB.

A History of the Eastern Roman Empire from the fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil I (A.D. 802-867), (London, 1912). File Size: 24.7 MB.

The Constitution of the Later Roman Empire, (Cambridge, 1910). File Size: 1.6 MB.

De Administrando Imperio [On the Governance of the Empire]. This study appeared in Byzantinische Zeitschrift (Leipzig, 1906) pp. 517-577. It is a description and analysis of the 10th century Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus' manual known as De Administrando Imperio. This document was written by the emperor in 948-952 for his son and heir Romanus II, as a guide to foreign and domestic policies. It describes among many other things, the histories and characters of the nations neighboring the Empire or incorporated into it, including the Kievan Rus', Arabs, Lombards, Armenians, Georgians, Venetians, Magyars, Pechenegs, and Turks. 62 pdf pages.

The Ceremonial Book of Constantine Porphyrogennetos. This study appeared in the English Historical Review 22 (1907) pp. 209-227 and 426-448. It is a description and analysis of the 10th century Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus' Book of Ceremonies. Contents include: 1. General Analysis of the Treatise; 2. The Ecclesiastical Ceremonies of Book I; 3. The Secular Ceremonies of Book I; 4. Conclusions as to the Sources of Book I. 42 pdf pages.

The Imperial Administrative System in the Ninth Century, with a revised text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos (London, 1911). File size: 5 MB.

Origins of the Turks. Two fine essays on the early history of the Turks from volumes of the English Historical Review: E. H. Parker's "The Origin of the Turks" (EHR, vol. 11, 1896) pp. 431-445 and J. B. Bury's "The Turks in the Sixth Century" (EHR, vol. 12, 1897) pp. 417-426. Parker meticulously describes and translates portions of Chinese historical sources, while Bury discusses Greek accounts by Menander and Theophylact Simocatta. 27 pdf pages.

The Empire of the Khazars and the Peoples of the North. This study, which appeared as Chapter 13 of J. B. Bury's excellent History of the Eastern Roman Empire (London, 1912), examines Arabic, Armenian, Greek, Persian, and Syriac sources on the history of the Turkic Khazar Empire (7-10th centuries). The Khazars, whose leadership converted to Judaism in the 9th century, posed a grave danger at times to Byzantium as well as to the Muslim world. "The Empire of the Khazars and the Peoples of the North" (pages 402-426) treats: 1. The Khazars; 2. The Subjects and Neighbors of the Khazars; 3. The Russians and Their Commerce; 4. Imperial Policy. The Russian Danger; 5. The Magyars. Includes Appendix 12, The Magyars (pp. 489-492), and full Bibliography (pp. 493-510). File Size: 33.8 MB.

The Science of History, an inaugural lecture delivered in the Divinity School of Cambridge (January 26, 1903). 53 pdf pages.

A History of Freedom of Thought (New York, 1913). File Size: 5.6 MB.

The Idea of Progress, an inquiry into its origin and growth (London, 1921). File Size: 5.7 MB.

The Life of St. Patrick, and His Place in History (London, 1905). File Size: 14.8 MB.

The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians. This material is presented in fifteen very readable lectures delivered by the great historian J. B. Bury. The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians (London, 1928) contains: 1. The Germans and Their Wanderings; 2. The Roman Empire and the Germans; 3. The Clash of Roman and Barbarian; 4. The Visigothic Entry into the Empire; 5. The Raiding of Italy and Gaul; 6. The Visigoths in Italy and Gaul; 7. Gaul, Spain, and Africa in Transition; 8. A New Menace to the Empire; 9. Attila's Attack on Gaul and Italy; 10. The Decline of Roman Power in the West; 11. The Ostrogothic Conquest of Italy; 12. Visigoths and Franks in Gaul; 13. The Reign of Clovis; 14. The Lombard Invasion of Italy; and 15. The Lombard Law. Includes five beautiful maps. Online at rbedrosian.com

The Notitia Dignitatum, from the Journal of Roman Studies Vol. 10 (1920), pp. 131-154. Online at LacusCurtius.

John Bagnell Bury (1861-1927), a great classical scholar and author of many enduring works, was also editor of the early volumes of the Cambridge Ancient History.

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