Michael was a bureaucrat who wrote up every emperor he had to do with. Sadly there's only the outlier Comnenian, Isaac Comnenius (r. 1057 - 59) in this collection ably translated by Mr. Sewter. A basic book for the student of the height of the Empire. No maps as it's a Penguin. ( )

An imperfect history of his era by an intelligent and well-informed philosopher and courtier. While it ends in hagiography, the first three-quarters of the book are insightful and illuminating. Psellus is a strong narrator and while his focus is primarily on court life and descriptions of the various emperors, there's enough here to get a lively picture of the time. ( )

Psellus's account of the Byzantine monarchs of his time. Coloured by his prejudices in favour of the court bureaucracy.

Haavikon Bysantti-tiedot perustunevat enimmäkseen tähän kirjaan (Neljätosita hallitsijaa jne.)

History of emperors from Basil II (976-1025) to Michael VII (1071-8); "Psellus can have few rivals as a vivid narrator of events... No Byzantine was a better craftsman of words."