(P/B) A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Παρουσίαση

The Byzantine Empire was one of the most impressive imperial adventures in history. It ruled much of Europe and Anatolia for a remarkable eleven hundred years. From Constantine I's establishment of Byzantium (renamed Constantinople) as his capital in 324 CE, until the fall of the city to the Ottomans in 1453, the Byzantine domain became a powerhouse of literature, art, theology, law and learning.
Dionysios Stathakopoulos here tells a compelling story of military conquest, alliance and reversal, including the terrifying secret of Greek fire: of a state constantly at war, but not warlike, resorting wherever possible to a sophisticated diplomacy with its neighbours and enemies.
Breaking with outdated notions of Byzantium as an unchanging, theocratic state, Stathakopoulos uses the most recent research to explore its political, economic, social and cultural history.
He evokes the dynamism of a people whose story is one of astonishing resilience and adaptability; and whose legacy, whether it be the bronze horses of the Hippodrome, or the very term 'Byzantine', everywhere endures. (From the publisher)

Περιεχόμενα

Acknowledgements
List of Maps and Illustrations
About the Book
Introduction: What is Byzantium?
Timeline
Becoming the Eastern Roman Empire, 330 - 491
Masters of the Mediterranean, 491 - 602
Negotiating Retraction, 602 - 717
From Survival to Revival, 717 - 867
Expansion and Radiance, 867 - 1056
The Appearance of Strength 1056 - 1204
The Legacy of Fragmentation, 1204 - 1341
Heading for the Fall, 1341 - 1453
Aftermath and Afterlife
Peoples around Byzantium
Further Reading
Index