Mistra

I have finished reading on the train tonight 'Lost Capital of Byzantium' by Stephen Runciman.

This is a history of the hilltop city in the Peloponnese that was once, the capital of the region. Mistra is close to ancient Sparta, however, it was the Franks who after their conquest in the 13th Century who built a castle on the hill. After the defeat of the Franks the city prospered under Byzantine rule and became a centre of learning and the arts. It also prospered under Ottoman rule but was finally destroyed in the Greek War of Independence.

This book tells a great narrative history of the city and its role in the events of its time. Written by one the finest historians of the Byzantine period.