The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025Mark 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 special feature is Whittow's coverage of Byzantium's neighbors, allies, and enemies in Europe and Asia. He stresses the geographical context of events, often overlooked in other accounts of this period. The origins of Russia, relations with the nomad powers of the steppe world, the competition between Bulgars, Romans, and Slavs in the Balkans, and the frequently ignored region of the Transcaucasus are all given extended treatment. No such wide-ranging work has appeared in English for nearly 30 years, and Whittow's book will be invaluable for all scholars, students, and enthusiasts of medieval history. |
Contents
THE STRATEGIC GEOGRAPHY OF THE NEAR EAST | 15 |
THE ROMAN WORLD IN 600 | 38 |
THE FALL OF THE OLD ORDER | 69 |
HOW THE ROMAN EMPIRE SURVIVED | 96 |
THE SHOCK OF DEFEAT | 134 |
ON TO | 165 |
THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND ITS NONMUSLIM | 194 |
THE AGE OF RECONQUEST 863976 | 310 |
THE REIGN OF BASIL II 9761025 | 358 |
Notes | 391 |
| 424 | |
| 446 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Abbasid Administrando Imperio al-Dawla al-Tabarī Aleppo Anatolia Arab Armenian Asia Minor Avar Bagratuni Balkans Bardas Phokas Basil Basil II bedouin Bulgar Bulgaria Byzance Byzantine army Byzantine world Byzantium caliph Chalcedonian Christian Chronicle church conquest Constantine Constantinople court culture Danube defeat early east eastern Egypt eighth century élite emir emperor empire's evidence Fatimid forces fortress frontier GM cont Greek Herakleios historians iconoclasm icons imperial important Iraq Islamic Italy John Tzimiskes Khazar Kiev land late Roman Leo Diaconus Lombards Magyars major Mango medieval Melitene military families Monophysite mountains Muslim naxarar Nikephoros Phokas ninth nomad patriarch Pečenegs Persian plain political Porphyrogenitos prince qaghan raid reign Roman empire rulers Sayf scholai seventh century siècle sixth Skleros Skylitzes Slav sources steppe strategos survived Svyatoslav Symeon Syria tagmata tenth century territory theme Theo Theophanes Thessalonica Thrace tion tradition Transcaucasus Turkic victory Volga western