“The History of the Byzantine Empire” by A. A. Vasiliev is one of the unique phenomena in the history of historical thought. There are very few general histories of Byzantium written by one researcher. “History of the Byzantine Empire” by A. A. Vasiliev is an excellent example of a general work, which briefly, clearly, with a large number of references to the main sources and research, characterizes all periods of the history of Byzantium. Foreign policy history is presented in full by A. A. Vasiliev. The problems of internal history are treated unevenly, although the main problems of the internal life of each period are touched upon or mentioned. The second volume examines the history of the Byzantine Empire from the beginning of the Crusades to the fall of Constantinople.