Basil Argyros

Agent of Byzantium is a collection of short stories by Harry Turtledove, centred around the exploits of the eponymous Basil Argyros, a Byzantine secret agent. The stories are set in an alternate 14th century, where Islam never existed and the great ancient empires of Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) and Sassanid Persia survive. In this universe, the Prophet Muhammad (Mouamet), instead of developing Islam, converted to Christianity and became a celebrated prelate and saint. Without the Muslim conquests, the Eastern Roman Empire remained the pre-eminent power in the Mediterranean world. The emperor Constans II subdued the Lombards in Italy, and the Iberian peninsula (Ispania) and the southern coast of Gaul were also recovered. Most of...