Byzantium, Its Neighbours and Its Cultures

Byzantium, Its Neighbours and Its Cultures PDF Author: Danijel Dzino
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004344918
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
Byzantium was one of the longest-lasting empires in history. Throughout the millennium of its existence, the empire showed its capability to change and develop under very different historical circumstances. This remarkable resilience would have been impossible to achieve without the formation of a lasting imperial culture and a strong imperial ideological infrastructure. Imperial culture and ideology required, among other things, to sort out who was ʻinsiderʼ and who was ʻoutsiderʼ and develop ways to define and describe ones neighbours and interact with them. There is an indefinite number of possibilities for the exploration of relationships between Byzantium and its neighbours. The essays in this collection focus on several interconnected clusters of topics and shared research interests, such as the place of neighbours in the context of the empire and imperial ideology, the transfer of knowledge with neighbours, the Byzantine perception of their neighbours and the political relationship and/or the conflict with neighbours.

Byzantium, Its Neighbours and Its Cultures

Byzantium, Its Neighbours and Its Cultures PDF Author: Danijel Dzino
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004344918
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
Byzantium was one of the longest-lasting empires in history. Throughout the millennium of its existence, the empire showed its capability to change and develop under very different historical circumstances. This remarkable resilience would have been impossible to achieve without the formation of a lasting imperial culture and a strong imperial ideological infrastructure. Imperial culture and ideology required, among other things, to sort out who was ʻinsiderʼ and who was ʻoutsiderʼ and develop ways to define and describe ones neighbours and interact with them. There is an indefinite number of possibilities for the exploration of relationships between Byzantium and its neighbours. The essays in this collection focus on several interconnected clusters of topics and shared research interests, such as the place of neighbours in the context of the empire and imperial ideology, the transfer of knowledge with neighbours, the Byzantine perception of their neighbours and the political relationship and/or the conflict with neighbours.

Cyprus in the Long Late Antiquity

Cyprus in the Long Late Antiquity PDF Author: Panayiotis Panayides
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1789258766
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Cyprus was a thriving and densely populated late antique province. Contrary to what used to be thought, the Arab raids of the mid-seventh century did not abruptly bring the island’s prosperity to an end. Recent research instead highlights long-lasting continuity in both urban and rural contexts. This volume brings together historians and archaeologists working on diverse aspects of Cyprus between the sixth and eighth centuries. They discuss topics as varied as rural prosperity, urban endurance, artisanal production, civic and private religion and maritime connectivity. The role of the imperial administration and of the Church is touched upon in several contributions. Other articles place Cyprus back into its wider Mediterranean context. Together, they produce a comprehensive impression of the quality of life on the island in the long late antiquity.

From Justinian to Branimir

From Justinian to Branimir PDF Author: Danijel Džino
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000206831
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
From Justinian to Branimir explores the social and political transformation of Dalmatia between c.500 and c.900 AD. The collapse of Dalmatia in the early seventh century is traditionally ascribed to the Slav migrations. However, more recent scholarship has started to challenge this theory, looking instead for alternative explanations for the cultural and social changes that took place during this period. Drawing on both written and material sources, this study utilizes recent archaeological and historical research to provide a new historical narrative of this little-known period in the history of the Balkan peninsula. This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in Byzantine and early medieval Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. It is important reading for both historians and archaeologists.

Aspar and the Struggle for the Eastern Roman Empire, AD 421–71

Aspar and the Struggle for the Eastern Roman Empire, AD 421–71 PDF Author: Ronald A. Bleeker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350279285
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
The first full-length biography in English of Aspar, the eastern Roman general and statesman, this book explores his central role in the history and politics of the fragmenting Roman Empire in the fifth century. It also considers what his life and career may suggest as to the differing fates of the eastern and western parts of the empire. Taking a chronological approach, Bleeker guides us through what is known of Aspar's life and his changing influence in the eastern Roman army and court. Born and raised in Constantinople, Aspar primarily viewed and presented himself as a Roman general, consul, and senator. Yet he also stood outside the Roman mainstream in two important ways–as a member of the empire's “barbarian” military leadership and as a devout Arian Christian. Early chapters treat his formative military experiences with the Persians, a Roman usurper in Italy, the Vandals in Africa, and the Huns of Attila, while later chapters focus on Aspar's political role in resolving the two imperial succession crises that struck the eastern Roman empire in the mid-fifth century and his extended struggle to control the succession to Leo I. Bleeker builds on earlier studies in three ways. First, previous work has largely concentrated on the role of “barbarian” generals in the western Roman empire, while much less attention has been paid to similar figures (such as Aspar) in the east. Secondly, while important recent work has explored the prevalence of “child-emperors” in the late-fourth and early-fifth centuries, this book suggests a further evolution of the imperial role in the mid-fifth century. Finally, while previous studies of this period have focused on Aspar's late career role in the succession struggles, a full study allows us to see how and why his relations with other key figures within and outside the eastern Roman government changed over the course of his lengthy career.

Severus of Antioch

Severus of Antioch PDF Author: Youhanna Youssef
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004307990
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
Severus of Antioch: His Life and Times offers many fresh insights into the life, theology, reception history, exegetical approach, and asceticism of Severus, a key figure in the Oriental Orthodox Church, and central to the current discussions on Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox reunion. It includes articles from established Syriac scholars and theologians including well-known international authors Pauline Allen, Sebastian Brock, Rifaat Ebied and Ken Parry. The topics covered have immense theological and historical significance for the churches of the Middle East and the history of Late Antiquity, and explore new understandings of Severus’ exegetical context, the theological and political impact of his sermons, and his relation to the many ideological currents of his time.

The Byzantine City from Heraclius to the Fourth Crusade, 610–1204

The Byzantine City from Heraclius to the Fourth Crusade, 610–1204 PDF Author: Luca Zavagno
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030843076
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
This book explores the Byzantine city and the changes it went through from 610 to 1204. Throughout this period, cities were always the centers of political and social life for both secular and religious authorities, and, furthermore, the focus of the economic interests of local landowning elites. This book therefore examines the regional and subregional trajectories in the urban function, landscape, structure and fabric of Byzantium’s cities, synthesizing the most cutting-edge archaeological excavations, the results of analyses of material culture (including ceramics, coins, and seals) and a reassessment of the documentary and hagiographical sources. The transformation the Byzantine urban landscape underwent from the seventh to thirteenth centuries can afford us a better grasp of changes to the Byzantine central and provincial administrative apparatus; their fiscal machinery, military institutions, socio-economic structures and religious organization. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of the history, archaeology and architecture of Byzantium.

Lived Spaces in Late Antiquity

Lived Spaces in Late Antiquity PDF Author: Carlos Machado
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 0429763123
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
This volume considers “lived space” as a scholarly approach to the past, showing how spatial approaches can present innovative views of the world of Late Antiquity, integrating social, economic and cultural developments and putting centre stage this fundamental dimension of social life. Bringing together an international group of scholars working on areas as diverse as Britain, the Iberian Peninsula, Jordan and the Horn of Africa, this book includes burgeoning fields of study such as lived spaces in the context of ships and seafaring during this period. Chapters investigate the history, function and use of different spaces in their own right and identify the social and historical logic presiding over continuity and/or change. They also explore the fluidity of lived space in both its physical and conceptual dimensions, analysing issues like agency and intentionality as well as meaning and social relations. Space is the fundamental dimension of social life, the arena where it unfolds and the stage where social values and hierarchies are represented; analysis of space allows us to understand history through different means of shaping, occupying and controlling space. Considering Late Antiquity through a spatial perspective offers a complex and stimulating picture of this pivotal period, and this volume provides avenues for the development of further research and discussion in this area. Lived Spaces in Late Antiquity is a fascinating resource for students and scholars interested in space and spatiality in the late antique world, as well as archaeology, classical studies and late antique studies more generally.

Political Culture in the Latin West, Byzantium and the Islamic World, c.700–c.1500

Political Culture in the Latin West, Byzantium and the Islamic World, c.700–c.1500 PDF Author: Catherine Holmes
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009021907
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 719

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Book Description
This comparative study explores three key cultural and political spheres – the Latin west, Byzantium and the Islamic world from Central Asia to the Atlantic – roughly from the emergence of Islam to the fall of Constantinople. These spheres drew on a shared pool of late antique Mediterranean culture, philosophy and science, and they had monotheism and historical antecedents in common. Yet where exactly political and spiritual power lay, and how it was exercised, differed. This book focuses on power dynamics and resource-allocation among ruling elites; the legitimisation of power and property with the aid of religion; and on rulers' interactions with local elites and societies. Offering the reader route-maps towards navigating each sphere and grasping the fundamentals of its political culture, this set of parallel studies offers a timely and much needed framework for comparing the societies surrounding the medieval Mediterranean.

Byzantium to China: Religion, History and Culture on the Silk Roads

Byzantium to China: Religion, History and Culture on the Silk Roads PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004517987
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 694

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Book Description
This volume celebrates the outstanding achievements of Samuel N. C. Lieu and his contribution to Manichaean, Roman, Byzantine, and Silk Road Studies. Readers will find his wide range of scholarly interests reflected in the contributions of his colleagues and former students.

Seafaring and Mobility in the Late Antique Mediterranean

Seafaring and Mobility in the Late Antique Mediterranean PDF Author: Antti Lampinen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350201723
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
More than any other type of environment, with the possible exception of mountains, the sea has been understood since antiquity as being immovable to a proverbial degree. Yet it was the sea's capacity for movement – both literally and figuratively through such emotions as fear, hope and pity – that formed one of the primary means of conceptualizing its significance in Late Antique societies. This volume advances a new and interdisciplinary understanding of what the sea as an environment and the pursuit of seafaring meant in antiquity, drawing on a range of literary, legal and archaeological evidence to explore the social, economic and cultural factors at play. The contributions are structured into three thematic parts which move from broad conceptual categories to specific questions of networks and mobility. Part One takes a wide view of the Mediterranean as an environment with great metaphorical and symbolic potential. Part Two looks at networks of seaborne communication and the role of islands as the characteristic hubs of the Mediterranean. Finally, Part Three engages with the practicalities of tackling the sea as a challenging environment that needs to be challenged politically, legally and for the means of travel.