The Lost World of Byzantium
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
The acclaimed author of Byzantium and the Crusades "offers a fresh take on this fabled but hidden civilization" across 11 centuries of history (Colin Wells, author of Sailing from Byzantium).
For more than a millennium, the Byzantine Empire presided over the juncture between East and West, as well as the transition from the classical to the modern world. Rather than recounting the standard chronology of emperors and battles, leading Byzantium scholar Jonathan Harris focuses each chapter of this engaging history on a succession of archetypal figures, families, places, and events.
Harris's introduction presents a civilization rich in contrasts, combining orthodox Christianity with paganism, and classical Greek learning with Roman power. Though frequently assailed by numerous armies, Byzantium survived by dint of its unorthodox foreign policy. Over time, its sumptuous art and architecture flourished, helping to establish a deep sense of Byzantine identity in its people.
Synthesizing a wealth of sources to cover all major aspects of the empire's social, political, military, religious, cultural, and artistic history, Harris's study illuminates the heart of Byzantine civilization and explores its remarkable and lasting influence on the modern world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Harris (The End of Byzantium), professor of the history of Byzantium at the University of London, challenges the commonplace view of the Byzantine empire as a forgettable relic. He contends that the empire, which endured for over 1000 years, was one of history's most incredible institutions. Chronicling Byzantium's cultural, political, and military achievements, he asks, "If its inhabitants really were so utterly supine and pathetic that they were incapable of defending themselves, then why did their society last so long?" Drawing on a diverse array of sources from numerous disciplines, Harris presents an accessible introduction to the major personalities, important disputes, and defining events of the Byzantine polity. Though the empire stretched for millions of square miles, the bulk of the action takes place within the walls of Constantinople, the unshakeable lodestar of Byzantine life. Harris identifies Constantinople's centripetal force as the seed of the empire's destruction. As palace-educated ministers and intellectuals neglected the provinces and dreaded postings in the hinterland, the administration increasingly depended on Latin mercenaries an alluring, if dangerous, stopgap that turned disastrous as the empire lost the ability to finance them. Casual readers as well as specialists will appreciate Harris's insightful and well-informed paean to an intriguing and resilient culture. Maps.
