Author: Eric McGeer
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004419403
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
The Continuation of the Chronicle of John Skylitzes provides a contemporary narrative of the events and people that shaped the course of Byzantine history in a time military and political crisis.
Author: John Meyendorff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521135337
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358
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Book Description
This book describes the role of Byzantine diplomacy in the emergence of Moscow in the fourteenth century.
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004689354
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 570
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Book Description
How did humans and the environment impact each other in the medieval Eastern Mediterranean? How did global climatic fluctuations affect the Byzantine Empire over the course of a millennium? And how did the transmission of pathogens across long distances affect humans and animals during this period? This book tackles these and other questions about the intersection of human and natural history in a systematic way. Bringing together analyses of historical, archaeological, and natural scientific evidence, specialists from across these fields have contributed to this volume to outline the new discipline of Byzantine environmental history. Contributors are: Johan Bakker, Henriette Baron, Chryssa Bourbou, James Crow, Michael J. Decker, Warren J. Eastwood, Dominik Fleitmann, John Haldon, Adam Izdebski, Eva Kaptijn, Jürg Luterbacher, Henry Maguire, Mischa Meier, Lee Mordechai, Jeroen Poblome, Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Abigail Sargent, Peter Talloen, Costas Tsiamis, Ralf Vandam, Myrto Veikou, Sam White, and Elena Xoplaki
Author: Harry Turtledove
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 9780345380470
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 372
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Book Description
THE BORDER WARS An uneasy peace had prevailed these last few years between the Empire of Videssos and rival Makuran. But now Makuran's King of Kings alerted his border holdings--even the small fortress where Abivard's father was lord--to prepare for barbarian raids. But Abivard himself received a warning of a different sort: an eerie prophecy of a field, a hill, and a shield shining across the sea. Before a season had turned, his father and his King lay dead upon the field of battle--the very place foreseen in the vision. Abivard hastened home to defend his family and his land. To his dismay, the most urgent danger came not from marauding tribes, or from Videssos, but from the capital. An obscure and greedy bureaucrat had captured the crown; the rightful heir had disappeared, and no mortal man would say where he might be found. Abivard's strange fate would lead him to his King, though, and on through peril to the very brink of greatness--and of doom! FIRST TIME IN PRINT
Author: Cyril Mango
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191500828
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 378
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Book Description
The Oxford History of Byzantium is the only history to provide in concise form detailed coverage of Byzantium from its Roman beginnings to the fall of Constantinople and assimilation into the Turkish Empire. Lively essays and beautiful illustrations portray the emergence and development of a distinctive civilization, covering the period from the fourth century to the mid-fifteenth century. The authors - all working at the cutting edge of their particular fields - outline the political history of the Byzantine state and bring to life the evolution of a colourful culture. In AD 324, the Emperor Constantine the Great chose Byzantion, an ancient Greek colony at the mouth of the Thracian Bosphorous, as his imperial residence. He renamed the place 'Constaninopolis nova Roma', 'Constantinople, the new Rome' and the city (modern Istanbul) became the Eastern capital of the later Roman empire. The new Rome outlived the old and Constantine's successors continued to regard themselves as the legitimate emperors of Rome, just as their subjects called themselves Romaioi, or Romans long after they had forgotten the Latin language. In the sixteenth century, Western humanists gave this eastern Roman empire ruled from Constantinople the epithet 'Byzantine'. Against a backdrop of stories of emperors, intrigues, battles, and bishops, this Oxford History uncovers the hidden mechanisms - economic, social, and demographic - that underlay the history of events. The authors explore everyday life in cities and villages, manufacture and trade, machinery of government, the church as an instrument of state, minorities, education, literary activity, beliefs and superstitions, monasticism, iconoclasm, the rise of Islam, and the fusion with Western, or Latin, culture. Byzantium linked the ancient and modern worlds, shaping traditions and handing down to both Eastern and Western civilization a vibrant legacy.
Author: Timothy E. Gregory
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444359975
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 480
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Book Description
This revised and expanded edition of the widely-praised A History of Byzantium covers the time of Constantine the Great in AD 306 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Expands treatment of the middle and later Byzantine periods, incorporating new archaeological evidence Includes additional maps and photographs, and a newly annotated, updated bibliography Incorporates a new section on web resources for Byzantium studies Demonstrates that Byzantium was important in its own right but also served as a bridge between East and West and ancient and modern society Situates Byzantium in its broader historical context with a new comparative timeline and textboxes
Author: Neil Churchill
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003835589
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 215
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Book Description
Throughout the history of Byzantium 65 emperors were dethroned and only 39 reigns ended peacefully. How might a usurper get away with murdering his predecessor? And how could a bloody act of regicide lead to one of the most glorious of all eras in Byzantium? These were questions that puzzled Michael Psellos as he looked back at Basil I’s assassination of Michael III and the origin of the Macedonian dynasty. Might the imperial art of Basil, his sons and grandson help to explain how the dynasty overcame its violent beginnings and secured the loyalty of its subjects? It has long been recognised that the early Macedonian emperors were active propagandists but royal art has usually been viewed thematically over the span of centuries. Official iconography has been understood to project imperial power in ways which were impersonal and unchanging. This book instead adopts a chronological approach and considers how Basil justified his seizure of power, and how his successors went on to articulate their own ideas about authority. It concludes that imperial art did at times reflect the personality of the emperor and the political demands of the moment, such as the need for an heir, the nature of court politics or the choice of successor. This innovative account of the forging of the Macedonian dynasty will appeal to those interested in how early medieval kings and emperors used art to create their own image, to differentiate themselves from rivals and to extend the boundaries of their personal power.
Author: Alexander Vasiliev
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781512110692
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
The Byzantine Empire; a state which can said to have been in continuous existence from 324 A.D. to 1453 A.D. During this time, its fortunes have waxed and waned; it has celebrated great triumphs and suffered the basest defeats, defeated the strongest powers of the time and been overrun mere years later. To the historian, a subject of intense interest then, a history of which could only be brought together in the most illustrious of ways, through strenuous research and meticulous compilation. The first Volume of A.A. Vasiliev's ?History of the Byzantine Empire? has been achieved thus. This History was originally published in Russia, and accordingly in Russian. It was first released in 1917, without the footnotes that make it such a complete study in the revised version. Vasiliev continued to update and revise his history, publishing versions in French, Spanish, Turkish and English, until the revised issue being now reviewed was released in 1952. Since then, the history has not been changed, except (according to the publisher of the book) for the correction of typographical errors. Spanning the history of the Byzantine Empire from 324 A.D. to the beginnings of the Empire's period of decline after the Battle of Manzikert and the rise of the Comneneid Dynasty, this first volume painstakingly and efficiently accounts for the many events of the Byzantine history; from religious issues to biographies of Emperors, from political and social developments to literature, learning, education and arts. The book is begun with an actual introduction by Mr Vasiliev himself, accounting for the evolution of his history. The history begins with the study of Byzantium, eruditely summarizing the study of Byzantium in Western scholarship. It continues to include the study of the Byzantines in Russia in the modern day. Russia indeed can be said to have gained much of its culture from the Byzantines, which makes it rather appropriate that Russian study accounts should be included. Vasiliev goes on to comprise many other sources which he himself has referred to or that he recommends to those interested in the history of Byzantium should research. The history itself begins with Constantine and Christianity; going to include the changes of religion in the Byzantine Empire and the beginning troubles with the Church and Papacy in Rome. His and Diocletian's reforms are succinctly recorded, and an extremely detailed line of Emperors and the Byzantine society up until the sixth century follow. The amazing depth of knowledge can already be grasped at its overwhelming size, and these are only the first two comprehensive chapters! The first Volume continues to deeply consider the amazing history of this longevous Empire; through the time of Justin and his amazing successor, Justinian I and their immediate successors, to the ?Heraclian Epoch?, the ?Iconoclastic Epoch? and the ?Macedonian Epoch?, all of which are separate chapters, deeply detailed, referenced and analysed. Footnotes adorn each page, providing a further wealth of detail. Throughout the volume, the political, social and religious developments are considered, the notable Emperors discussed and the literature and arts canvassed, providing a magnificently comprehensive picture of the Byzantine era. A light read it is not; it takes dedication and resolve to continue to read; but once the reader has immersed him or herself in this rich history, they will never wish to stop, and as a book for references or random information on the Byzantines, it has few equals. Vasiliev has created a volume that is virtually impossible to surpass for sheer detail and interest. For those who have an interest in the Byzantine history, this book should be a bible, as I myself have read few books that could equal this one in the provision of information. Truly, a masterpiece of in-depth history and culture; to be read and admired by all whose interest leads them down the path of the amazing Byzantines.
Author: Antony Eastmond
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351942131
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
The eastern frontier of Byzantium and the interaction of the peoples that lived along it are the themes of this book. With a focus on the ninth to thirteenth centuries and dealing with both art history and history, the essays provide reconsiderations of Byzantine policy on its eastern borders, new interpretations and new materials on Byzantine relations with the Georgians, Armenians and Seljuqs, as well as studies on the writing of history among these peoples. Presenting research from Russia and Georgia as well as Europe and the USA, the contributors stress the interaction and interdependence of all the peoples along this frontier zone, and consider the different ways in which the political and cultural power of Byzantium was appropriated. They provide important comparative evidence for the relationship between local and Byzantine cultures, and open up new avenues for research into the history of eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus. The volume arises from the thirty-third Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies held at the University of Warwick in March 1999.
Author: Stephen R. Lawhead
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061841889
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 880
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Book Description
Born to rule Although born to rule, Aidan lives as a scribe in a remote Irish monastery on the far, wild edge of Christendom. Secure in work, contemplation, and dreams of the wider world, a miracle bursts into Aidan's quiet life. He is chosen to accompany a small band of monks on a quest to the farthest eastern reaches of the known world, to the fabled city of Byzantium, where they are to present a beautiful and costly hand-illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, to the Emperor of all Christendom. Thus begins an expedition by sea and over land, as Aidan becomes, by turns, a warrior and a sailor, a slave and a spy, a Viking and a Saracen, and finally, a man. He sees more of the world than most men of his time, becoming an ambassador to kings and an intimate of Byzantium's fabled Golden Court. And finally this valiant Irish monk faces the greatest trial that can confront any man in any age: commanding his own Destiny.
