''Agent of Byzantium'' is a 1987 collection of short stories by

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...

, centered on the exploits of Basil Argyros, a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

secret agent. The stories are set in an alternate 14th century, where

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

never existed and the great ancient empires of Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) and

Sassanid Persia The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

survive.

Setting

In this universe, the

point of divergence Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

occurs when the Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

(Mouamet), instead of developing

, converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and became a celebrated prelate and saint. Without the

Muslim conquests The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc. *Early Muslim conquests ** Ridda Wars **Muslim conquest of Persia *** Muslim co ...

, the Eastern Roman Empire remained the pre-eminent power in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

world. The Emperor

Constans II Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist unti ...

subdued the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

in Italy, and the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

( Ispania) and the southern coast of

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

were also recovered. Most of Gaul,

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

are in "barbarian" hands, and have broken away from Byzantine

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

, following the doctrine of ''

filioque ( ; ), a Latin term meaning "and from the Son", was added to the original Nicene Creed, and has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. The term refers to the Son, Jesus Christ, with the Father, as th ...

'' and a separate line of Popes. In the East, the Byzantines are still—as it was in our history up to the advent of Islam—involved in a never-ending

cold war The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

(occasionally flaring up into actual fighting) with its arch-enemy, the

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

, represented in the series by the female spy Mirrane. Argyros works as an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

scout, and later as a magistrianos for the Master of Offices, under the (fictional) Emperor Nikephoros III, and as such is sent across the Empire to solve problems—sometimes as a spy, sometimes as a negotiator, and sometimes as a soldier. The cover of the 1994 re-issue compares Argyros to

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

and

Dominic Flandry Dominic Flandry is a fictional character and the protagonist of the second half of American writer Poul Anderson's Technic History science fiction series. He first appeared in 1951. The space opera series is set in the 31st century, during the ...

. The Jurchens - who in actual history played an important role in Chinese history and never showed an inclination to migrate westwards - did in this changed timeline move across Siberia, reach the borders of the Byzantine Empire and there pose a serious threat. Turtledove does not explain how Muhammad becoming Christian had this eventual drastic effect on the behavior of the Jurchens in the Far East.

Stories and publication history

Stories in the ''Agent of Byzantium'' universe (in order written) are: *"Unholy Trinity", first published in the July 1985 issue of ''

Amazing Science Fiction Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

''. It takes place on ''

Etos Kosmou The Byzantine calendar, also called the Roman calendar, the Creation Era of Constantinople or the Era of the World (, also or ; 'Roman year since the creation of the universe', abbreviated as ε.Κ.), was the calendar used by the Eastern Orth ...

'' 6824 (AD 1315/16) in the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had er ...

*"Archetypes", first published in the November 1985 issue of ''Amazing Science Fiction Stories''. It takes place on ''Etos Kosmou'' 6825 (AD 1316/17) in the frontier city of

Dara Dara is a given name in several languages. Dara, Daraa, or DARA may also refer to: Geography Africa * Dar'a, region in northern Ethiopia * Dara (woreda), region in southern Ethiopia Asia * Dara (Mesopotamia), an archeological site in Mard ...

*"The Eyes of Argos", first published in the January 1986 issue of ''Amazing Science Fiction Stories''. It takes place on ''Etos Kosmou'' 6814 (AD 1305/6), dealing with an invasion by nomadic

Jurchens Jurchen (, ; , ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking people. They lived in northeastern China, also known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. The Jurchens wer ...

across the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

frontier *"Strange Eruptions", first published in the August 1986 issue of ''

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac ...

''. It takes place on ''Etos Kosmou'' 6816 (AD 1307/8), and is set during an epidemic in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

*"Images", first published in the March 1987 issue of ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine''. It takes place on ''Etos Kosmou'' 6826 (AD 1317/18) and is set in Constantinople during an

ecumenical council An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are ...

dealing with the question of

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

*"Superwine", first published in the April 1987 issue of ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine''. It takes place on ''Etos Kosmou'' 6829 (AD 1320/21), and takes place in

Alania Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans ( Proto-Ossetians) that flourished between the 9th–13th centuries in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of the latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia ...

*"Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire", first published in the December 1989 issue of ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine''. It takes place on ''Etos Kosmou'' 6818 (AD 1309/10), and takes place in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

*"Departures", first published in the January 1989 issue of ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine''. It is the only story that does not feature Argyros, and instead focuses on the future St. Mouamet (formerly

) during his time in a monastery in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The first six stories comprise the first edition of ''Agent of Byzantium'', published in 1987 by Congdon & Weed. "Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire" and "Departures" were first published in the '' Departures'' collection in 1993. "Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire" was included in the second edition of ''Agent of Byzantium'', published in 1994 by

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

. "The Eyes of Argos" was also published in the ''There Will Be War IV: Guns of Darkness'' collection in 1987.

Reception

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

praised Turtledove as "a very talented science fiction writer, with a gift for finding a way to present a fascinating idea through strong, believable characters.""Books to Look For"
''

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...

'', May 1987

Differences

Turtledove, who has a PhD in Byzantine history, created a setting for the series in which the world of

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

is projected seven centuries into the future. In each story, several familiar inventions and social institutions crop up far ahead of schedule, and under very different circumstances than they did in our world. Among these are: * The

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

, discovered among the

shamans Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of th ...

of the Jurchen nomads who threaten the Byzantine Empire from the north. *

Vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

for

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

, which is discovered during a terrible plague afflicting Constantinople itself. *

Trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s and strikes, appearing first among the builders engaged in the dangerous rebuilding of a great lighthouse in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

(an Egyptian village,

Deir el-Medina Deir el-Medina (), or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 1550–1080 BC). ...

, is where the first recorded strike in history occurred in 1152 BC). *

Black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

, developed by the monks in the

Abbey of St. Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had er ...

and used with great effect by the empire's

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

enemies—until stolen by Argyros, with the help of agents from an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

which has known no

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. *

Printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

, invented by the Byzantine Empire's Persian enemies and used to foment sedition and dissension inside its borders, until this secret is also apprehended by Argyros. *

Distilling Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

, invented by a wine-seller in Constantinople and purchased for the empire by Argyros.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argyros, Basil Alternate history anthologies Alternate history characters Alternate history novels set in ancient Rome Alternate history short stories Works set in the Byzantine Empire Works set in the Sasanian Empire Novels set in Iran Novels set in the 14th century Novels set in the Byzantine Empire Short story collections by Harry Turtledove Spy short stories

Setting

Stories and publication history

Reception

Differences

See also

References