Introduction -- New Rome and the New Romans -- Government and the social order -- From Christian nation to Roman religion -- The first Christian emperors (324-361) -- Competing religions of empire (337-364) -- Toward an independent east (364-395) -- City and desert: Cultures old and new -- The political class ascendant (395-441) -- Barbarian terrors and military mobilization (441-491) -- Political consolidation and religious polarization (491-518) -- Chalcedonian repression and the eastern axis (518-531) -- The Sleepless Emperor (527-540) -- "Death has entered our gates" (540-565) -- The cost of overextension (565-602) -- The great war with Persia (602-630) -- Commanders of the Faithful (632-644) -- Holding the line (641-685) -- Life and taxes among the ruins -- An empire of outposts (685-717) -- The lion and the dragon (717-775) -- Reform and consolidation (775-815) -- Growing confidence (815-867) -- A new David and Solomon (867-912) -- A game of crowns (912-950) -- The triumph of Roman arms (950-1025) -- A brief hegemony (1025-1048) -- The end of Italy and the east (1048-1081) -- Komnenian crisis management (1081-1118) -- Good John and the Sun King (1118-1180) -- Disintegration and betrayal (1180-1204) -- "A new France": Colonial occupation -- Romans west and Romans east (1204-1261) -- Union with Rome and Roman Disunity (1261-1282) -- Territorial retrenchment and cultural innovation (1282-1328) -- Military failure and mystical solace (1328-1354) -- The noose tightens (1354-1402) -- The cusp of a new world (1402-1461) -- State revenues and payments to foreign groups, fifth-seventh centuries list of emperors -- Glossary -- Abbreviations -- Bibliography.
Summary:
"This is the first comprehensive, single-author history of the eastern Roman empire (or Byzantium) to appear in over a generation. It begins with the foundation of Constantinople in 324 AD and ends with the fall of the empire to the Ottoman Turks in the fifteenth century, covering political and military history as well as all major changes in religion, society, demography, and economy. In recent decades, the study of Byzantium has been revolutionized by new approaches and sophisticated models for how its society and state operated. The book's core is an accessible and lively narrative of events, free of jargon, which incorporates new findings, explains recent models, and presents well-known historical characters and events in new light. Two overarching themes shape the narrative. First, by projecting accountability the Roman state persuaded its subjects that it was working in their interests and thereby forestalled separatist movements. To do so, it had to restrain the tendency of elites to extract ever more resources from the labor-force. Second, the effort to sustain a common identity, both Roman and Christian, was subject to powerful forces of internal division and put under severe strain by western Europeans in the later Middle Ages. The book explains in detail the alternating periods of success and failure in the long history of this polity. It foregrounds the dynamics of Christian identity, asking why it tended to fracture along lines of doctrine, practice, and ultimately over Union with the Catholic West" -- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.