The End of Byzantium
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- $39.99
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- $39.99
Publisher Description
By 1400, the once-mighty Byzantine Empire stood on the verge of destruction. Most of its territories had been lost to the Ottoman Turks, and Constantinople was under close blockade. Against all odds, Byzantium lingered on for another fifty years until 1453, when the Ottomans dramatically toppled the capital’s walls. During this bleak and uncertain time, ordinary Byzantines faced difficult decisions to protect their livelihoods and families against the death throes of their homeland. In this evocative and moving book, Jonathan Harris explores individual stories of diplomatic maneuverings, covert defiance, and sheer luck against a backdrop of major historical currents and offers a new perspective on the real reasons behind the fall of this extraordinarily fascinating empire.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Greek-speaking culture of Byzantium, the eastern region of the Roman Empire, continued long after the Fall of Rome and well into the 15th century. Harris picks up Byzantium's storied history in the last 50 years of the empire, when it had been reduced to a mere kingdom attempting to fight off the sieges of the Ottoman Turks. Attempts to gain help from the West in the form of crusades were largely ineffective. Even the unification of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman churches approved by the Council of Florence wasn't enough to secure the military aid so desperately needed to save the empire, and in 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople. Western education has given us so little background on the Byzantines that Harris's thorough study will whet readers appetite for more about this intriguing kingdom.
