Mark Whittow presents a clear, up-to-date reassessment of the Byzantine empire during a crucial phase in the history of the Near East. Against a geopolitical background (superbly illustrated with fourteen maps), his book covers the last decade of the Roman empire as a superpower, the catastrophic crisis of the seventh century, and the means whereby the embattled Byzantine empire hung on in Constantinople and Asia Minor until the Abbasid Caliphate's decline opened up new perspectives for Christian power in the Near East.
A thousand years ago, the Byzantine Empire was reaching the height of its revival as a mediaeval state. The ten contributions to this volume by scholars from six European countries reassess key aspects of the empire's politics and culture in the long reign of the emperor Basil II.
Rosser (history, Boston Coll.), an active participant in field research related to Byzantine archaeology, begins this volume with a chronology that summarizes the history of Byzantium from its beginnings in 324 C.E. to the fall of its last outpost in 1461. This is followed by an introduction that provides concise overviews of Byzantine civilization. The dictionary proper covers people, events, and important aspects of Byzantine culture, such as art and economics, with a useful bibliography wrapping up the text.
The Byzantine Empire, founded by Constantine as the core of power in the East, began to flourish in the fifth century AD, yet its culture and history are still not as well-known as that of the Western and Roman Empire. InFrom Rome to ByzantiumMichael Grant provides a fresh insight into the nature of the Byzantine Empire in the fifth century, and the history of invasion prior to the genesis of the Empire. In this lavishly illustrated book, Grant examines a comparatively unexplored area and constructs the history of an empire which rivals the former richness and diversity of ancient Rome.
The first volume of The New Medieval History covers the transitional period between the later Roman world and the early middle ages, c. 500 to c. 700. This was an era of developing consciousness and profound change in Europe, Byzantium and the Arab world, an era in which the foundations of medieval society were laid and to which many of our modern myths of national and religious identity can be traced.
