Introduction to Byzantium, 602–1453

Introduction

i. What’s in a Name?

ii. The Study of Byzantium

iii. Byzantium in 602 CE

iv. The Tragic End of Emperor Maurice

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

1. Major Literary Sources for the Period 602-820

i. Byzantine Literature and Education

ii. Patriarch Nikephoros

iii. Theophanes Confessor

iv. Other types of Source: Hagiography and Military Manuals

v. Sources from Outside Byzantium

Points to Remember

Primary Sources in English Translation

Suggestions for Further Reading

2. Herakleios and the Wars of Survival (602-642)

i. The Spiralling Crisis (602-622)

ii. Defeat into Victory (622-629)

iii. Why the War was Won

iv. Victory into Defeat (629-642)

v. What Went Wrong?

vi. The Balkans and the Western Provinces

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

3. The Dark Age (642-718)

i. The New Enemy: The Umayyad Caliphate

ii. Constantinople under Siege

iii. The Battle for Asia Minor

iv. The Reorganisation of Asia Minor

v. The Balkans and the Western Provinces

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

4. The Beginnings of the Revival (718-820)

i. The North Syrian Dynasty

ii. Iconoclasm

iii. The Reign of Irene (780-802)

iv. The Limits of Revival: Bulgaria

v. The Limits of Revival: Italy

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

Part II: Reconquest and Hegemony 820-1045

5. Major Literary Sources for the Period 820-1045

i. The ‘Macedonian Renaissance’

ii. Historians at the Court of Constantine VII (945-959)

iii. Leo the Deacon

iv. Michael Psellos

v. Another Kind of Source: Letters

Points to Remember

Primary Sources in English Translation

Suggestions for Further Reading

6. Amorians, Macedonians and Lekapenids (820-959)

i. The Amorian Dynasty (820-867)

ii. Basil I and the Macedonian Dynasty (867-912)

iii. Church and State under the Amorians and Early Macedonians

iv. Romanos I and the Lekapenid Interlude (912-945)

v. The Macedonians Restored (945-959)

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

7. Economy and Culture

i. Economic Revival

ii. Art and Architecture

iii. Monasteries

iv. Cultural Influence

v. Urban Life

vi. Rural Life

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

8. Expansion and Social Change (959-1045)

i. The Rise of a Landed, Military Aristocracy?

ii. The Soldier Emperors (963-976)

iii. Basil II (976-1025)

iv. After Basil (1025-1045)

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

Part III: Contraction, Recovery and Calamity 1045-1204.

9. Major Literary Sources for the Period 1045-1204

i. Historians at the Komnenian court

ii. Anna Komnene and the Alexiad

iii. Niketas Choniates

iv. Other sources: Political Speeches and Views from the West

Points to Remember

Primary Sources in English Translation

Suggestions for Further Reading

10. The Eleventh-Century Crisis (1045-1091)

i. The Watershed Moment? The Reign of Constantine IX (1042-1055)

ii. The End of the Macedonian Dynasty (1055-1067)

iii. Romanos IV and the Battle of Manzikert (1067-1071)

iv. The Fall of Asia Minor (1071-1081)

v. The Struggle for the Balkans (1081-1091)

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

11. Stability under the Komnenos Dynasty (1091-1180)

i. A New Style of Government under Alexios I

ii. Alexios I and the First Crusade (1091-1118)

iii. After Alexios: John II (1118-1143)

iv. ‘Most happy emperor of illustrious memory’: Manuel I (1143-1180)

v. Art and Architecture under the Komnenos Dynasty

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

12. The Road to Catastrophe (1180-1204)

i. Instability Returns (1180-1185)

ii. Alienation in the Provinces

iii. From Alienation to Separation: Isaac II Angelos (1185-1195)

iv. The Threat from the West: Alexios III Angelos (1195-1203)

v. The Fourth Crusade (1203-4)

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

Part IV: Decline and Disappearance 1204-1453

13. Major Literary Sources for the Period 1204-1453

i. George Akropolites

ii. The Last Attic Historians

iii Historians writing after 1453

iv. Other Sources: Western and Archival

Points to Remember

Primary Sources in English Translation

Suggestions for Further Reading

14. Exile and Restoration (1204-1282)

i. The Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1204-1221)

ii. John III and the Expansion of Nicaea (1221-1259)

iii. Michael VIII and the Recovery of Constantinople (1259-1267)

iv. The Challenge of Charles of Anjou (1267-1282)

v. The Palaiologan Renaissance in Art and Education

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

15. Decline and Downfall (1282-1453)

i. The Calamitous Reign of Andronikos II (1282-1328)

ii. Civil War and Controversy (1328-1354)

iii. Urban and Rural Economy and Society

iv. The Descent into Vassaldom (1354-1394)

v. The Last Phase (1394-1453)

Points to Remember

Suggestions for Further Reading

16. Conclusion: Byzantium’s Legacy

Glossary

List of Emperors

Timeline

Web links

Bibliography of Secondary Literature

Index

Biography

Jonathan Harris is Professor of the History of Byzantium at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. His recent publications include: Byzantium and the Crusades (2nd ed., 2014); The Lost World of Byzantium (2015) and Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium (2nd ed., 2017).

'This book provides a fresh and up-to-date treatment of the Byzantine empire from 602 to 1453. It will be particularly useful for undergraduates encountering the Byzantine empire for the first time. Despite its broad coverage it conveys key debates and differences of interpretation. It is particularly distinguished by its use of boxes, which allows for deeper engagement with sources and also reflection on the development of the field of Byzantine Studies itself.'

Shaun Tougher, Cardiff University, UK