Jonathan Harris' new edition of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, Constantinople, provides an updated and extended introduction to the history of Byzantium and its capital city. Accessible and engaging, the book breaks new ground by exploring Constantinople's mystical dimensions and examining the relationship between the spiritual and political in the city. This second edition includes a range of new material, such as: * Historiographical updates reflecting recently published work in the field * Detailed coverage of archaeological developments relating to Byzantine Constantinople * Extra chapters on the 14th century and social 'outsiders' in the city * More on the city as a centre of learning; the development of Galata/Pera; charitable hospitals; religious processions and festivals; the lives of ordinary people; and the Crusades * Source translation textboxes, new maps and images, a timeline and a list of emperors It is an important volume for anyone wanting to know more about the history of the Byzantine Empire.

This volume deals with relations between the West and Byzantium, from the accession of Otto I the Great in Germany in 962, until the Fourth Crusade when Constantinople was conquered by the Western crusading armies in 1204. The impact which these contacts and confrontations had on both sides is discussed in sections dealing with specific areas (such as the North, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) as well as in sections dealing with specific aspects of the process: the journey, the attractions of the East, and the idea of "autoritates" and "translationes" of various political and intellectual ideas. An extensive index will help readers to find specific topics. The book is illustrated with maps, and with a number of objects betraying Byzantine influence in the West, or Western presence in Byzantium.

This is a study of the artistic and political context that led to the production of a truly exceptional Byzantine illustrated manuscript. Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, codex grec 54 is one of the most ambitious and complex manuscripts produced during the Byzantine era. This thirteenth-century Greek and Latin Gospel book features full-page evangelist portraits, an extensive narrative cycle, and unique polychromatic texts. However, it has never been the subject of a comprehensive study and the circumstances of its commission are unknown. In this book Kathleen Maxwell addresses the following questions: what circumstances led to the creation of Paris 54? Who commissioned it and for what purpose? How was a deluxe manuscript such as this produced? Why was it left unfinished? How does it relate to other Byzantine illustrated Gospel books? Paris 54's innovations are a testament to the extraordinary circumstances of its commission. Maxwell's multi-disciplinary approach includes codicological and paleographical evidence together with New Testament textual criticism, artistic and historical analysis. She concludes that Paris 54 was never intended to copy any other manuscript. Rather, it was designed to eclipse its contemporaries and to physically embody a new relationship between Constantinople and the Latin West, as envisioned by its patron. Analysis of Paris 54's texts and miniature cycle indicates that it was created at the behest of a Byzantine emperor as a gift to a pope, in conjunction with imperial efforts to unify the Latin and Orthodox churches. As such, Paris 54 is a unique witness to early Palaeologan attempts to achieve church union with Rome.

Collection of articles arranged in 5 subsections: Historiography and rhetoric, Christianity in its social context, art and representation, Byzantium and the workings of the empire, and late antiquity in retrospect.

This revised and expanded edition of the widely-praised A History of Byzantium covers the time of Constantine the Great in AD 306 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Expands treatment of the middle and later Byzantine periods, incorporating new archaeological evidence Includes additional maps and photographs, and a newly annotated, updated bibliography Incorporates a new section on web resources for Byzantium studies Demonstrates that Byzantium was important in its own right but also served as a bridge between East and West and ancient and modern society Situates Byzantium in its broader historical context with a new comparative timeline and textboxes

Describes Constantinople, Capital of the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire from its Foundation to its Fall, Explains How Constantinople Came to Be the Greatest City of Europe, Discusses the Byzantine Identity (They Still Considered Themselves 'Romans'), Religion, Culture and Politics, Describs how the emperors sustained their Eastern Part of the Roman Empire Against Numerous Enemies Through Political and Diplomatic Astuteness Backed by Armed Vigilance and Military Action, Particular Mention Is Made of the Varangian Guard, Viking Mercenaries in Imperial Pay, as Well as the Normans of Southern Italy Who Fought Both for and Against the Empire

The Byzantine Empire, fragmented and enfeebled by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, never again recovered its former extent, power and influence. Its greatest revival came when the Byzantines in exile reclaimed their capital city of Constantinople in 1261 and this book narrates the history of this restored empire from 1261 to its conquest by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. First published in 1972, the book has been completely revised, amended, and in part rewritten, with its source references and bibliography updated to take account of scholarly research on this last period of Byzantine history carried out over the past twenty years.

This collection of papers on the city of Constantinople by a distinguished group of Byzantine historians, art historians, and archaeologists provides new perspectives as well as new evidence on the monuments, topography, social and economic life of the Byzantine imperial capital.

In 717 AD, Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), appeared doomed. In the preceding eighty years, Muslim Arabs had captured much of North Africa and the Middle East, and were poised to take Constantinople. To save Byzantium, the senate asked a Roman General, Leo III, to become Emperor. Leo and his brilliant son Constantine V radically altered the Byzantine imperial system militarily and culturally. Leo developed a novel idea - that God was angry with the Byzantine Christians because they worshiped Christian icons, relics, and pagan idols, thus ignoring the Second Commandment. God would favor the Byzantines only if they destroyed their icons and purified Christianity. Leo's policy set in motion a century-long conflict between the iconoclast (icon breaker) emperors and the iconophiles (icon lovers). This religious struggle culminated in a final battle to define Byzantine Christianity and the control of the Empire. This novel recounts who won, why and how.