Hello everyone, as you may remember our last episode was an interview with author Gordon Doherty.

Gordon generously offered to give away a copy of his book, Stratigos, born in the Borderlands

to one of you.

We set a competition and a winner has been chosen.

I will leave it to Gordon to tell you about the best entries that he read and to announce

the winner. I will just remind you all to check out Gordon Doherty.co.uk to learn more

about his excellent work.

Hi there, it's Gordon Doherty and I'd just like to start by saying thank you very much

to everybody who contributed to their answers to the competition to win a copy of my book,

Stratigos, born in the Borderlands.

So I just wanted to run through a few of my favourite picks from the many brilliant

entries I received.

So this one was from someone called Bison Simp and it came I presume and he or she says

I wish to go back to the period of the last great Byzantine sassanid war and witness

Emperor Heraclius leading his Roman army through Anatolia and Persia and tumbling the

ties of a devastating war for the Romans within six short years.

I want to marvel at how Constantinople withstood a siege by the combined forces of the Persians

and Avars in 26 and of course I couldn't miss attending the triumph of Heraclius in

628 when the war was won and everything seemed fine.

Even though we know things will fall apart soon.

Make defying historical events like this war or what makes me a door Byzantine history

so if I could pick only one period this would be it.

...