Byzantium

by Herron, Judith

• ISBN13: 9780691143699
• ISBN10: 0691143692
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-08
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

"This book provides an introduction to Byzantium in a nonconventional fashion. It explores, in chronological order, basic questions about Byzantine history and society. I know of no other book that attempts this approach to the millennium-long history of Byzantium. Judith Herrin is a scholar at the top of her form."--Michael Maas, author of "Exegesis and Empire in the Early Byzantine Mediterranean" "A very readable and enjoyable introduction to Byzantium. Judith Herrin is a major scholar of Byzantium with much to teach us."--Robert Ousterhout, author of "Master Builders of Byzantium"

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
List of Maps	p. xii
Introduction: A Different History of Byzantium	p. xiii
Foundations of Byzantium
The City of Constantine	p. 3
Constantinople, the Largest City in Christendom	p. 12
The East Roman Empire	p. 22
Greek Orthodoxy	p. 33
The Church of Hagia Sophia	p. 50
The Ravenna Mosaics	p. 61
Roman Law
The Transition from Ancient to Medieval
The Bulwark Against Islam	p. 83
Icons, a New Christian Arc Form	p. 98
Iconoclasm and Icon Veneration	p. 105
A Literate and Articulate Society	p. 119
Saints Cyril and Methodios, 'Apostles to the Slavs'	p. 131
Byzantium Becomes a Medieval State
Greek Fire	p. 141
The Byzantine Economy	p. 148
Eunuchs	p. 160
The Imperial Court	p. 170
Imperial Children, 'Born in the Purple'	p. 185
Mount Athos	p. 192
Venice and the Fork	p. 203
Basil II, 'The Bulgar-Slayer'	p. 212
Eleventh-Century Crisis	p. 220
Anna Komnene	p. 232
A Cosmopolitan Society	p. 242
Varieties of Byzantium
The Fulcrum of the Crusades	p. 255
The Towers of Trebizond, Arta, Nicaea and Thessalonike	p. 266
Rebels and Patrons	p. 281
'Better the Turkish Turban than the Papal Tiara'	p. 299
The Siege of 1453	p. 310
Conclusion: The Greatness and Legacy of Byzantium	p. 321
Further Reading	p. 339
List of Emperors Named in the Text	p. 354
Chronology	p. 357
Maps	p. 363
Acknowledgements	p. 375
Index	p. 37
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