Giovanni Zimisce is “son of the truce” between the Curcuas and Foca families. He was initiated into a military career by Leo and Nicephorus Phocas, his mother’s brothers. Confronting the treacherous machinery of the Empire, Giovanni turns out to be tenacious and ambitious. His role model, even in adulthood, is the inflexible uncle Nicephorus, the man that all the children of Anatolia would like to be, an example of absolute dedication to Constantinople, so much so that he stated that: “we all may live or die, but the Empire… our duty to the Empire: that’s the only thing that matters.”
Since childhood, starting from the death of his friend Michele, Giovanni faces painful losses: he will lose his father, his wife Maria, his son, his uncle Costantino. Despite everything, does not fail to fulfill the duties deriving from his duties. Guided – and haunted – by the prophecy of three witches (a reference to the Macbeth) which predict his future from basileus ton Romaion, it becomes a fundamental piece of Byzantine rule.
Giovanni Zimisce is a tormented protagonist, who alternates acts of courage with ruthless exploits in his rise to power. Everything in his world is precarious: alliances, conflicts, even the position of emperor. On the battlefields and in the emperor’s palace, on every page there is a constant tension towards deathwhich always accompanies the characters.
The narrative is organized into sections that address specific time intervals, from 935 to 976 AD. Both the “Small Byzantine Dictionary” and the family trees with which the book is supplied assist the reader.
Sonia Aggio returns a clear and acute image of the Eastern Empire and its leaders. In the emperor’s room it’s a historical novel that does not give in to excess: neither to those of the mere historical account, nor to those of the novelistic re-elaboration. While conveying the information necessary to understand the political structures of the 10th century, the story never feels overloaded.
