A history of the Byzantine state and society

Warren T. Treadgold

Stanford University Press, 1997 - History - 1019 pages

This is the first comprehensive and up-to-date history of Byzantium to appear in almost sixty years, and the first ever to cover both the Byzantine state and Byzantine society. It begins in a.d. 285, when the emperor Diocletian separated what became Byzantium from the western Roman Empire, and ends in 1461, when the last Byzantine outposts fell to the Ottoman Turks.

Spanning twelve centuries and three continents, the Byzantine Empire linked the ancient and modern worlds, shaping and transmitting Greek, Roman, and Christian traditions—including the Greek classics, Roman law, and Christian theology—that remain vigorous today, not only in Eastern Europe and the Middle East but throughout Western civilization. Though in its politics Byzantium often resembled a third-world dictatorship, it has never yet been matched in maintaining a single state for so long, over a wide area inhabited by heterogeneous peoples.

Drawing on a wealth of original sources and modern works, the author treats political and social developments as a single vivid story, told partly in detailed narrative and partly in essays that clarify long-term changes. He avoids stereotypes and rejects such old and new historical orthodoxies as the persistent weakness of the Byzantine economy and the pervasive importance of holy men in Late Antiquity.

Without neglecting underlying social, cultural, and economic trends, the author shows the often crucial impact of nearly a hundred Byzantine emperors and empresses. What the emperor or empress did, or did not do, could rapidly confront ordinary Byzantines with economic ruin, new religious doctrines, or conquest by a foreign power. Much attention is paid to the complex life of the court and bureaucracy that has given us the adjective "byzantine." The major personalities include such famous names as Constantine, Justinian, Theodora, and Heraclius, along with lesser-known figures like Constans II, Irene, Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer, and Michael VIII Palaeologus.

Byzantine civilization emerges as durable, creative, and realistic, overcoming repeated setbacks to remain prosperous almost to the end. With 221 illustrations and 18 maps that complement the text, A History of the Byzantine State and Society should long remain the standard history of Byzantium not just for students and scholars but for all readers.

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Review: A History of the Byzantine State and Society

User Review  - Karl - Goodreads

This book totally changed my perspective. I always thought the Roman Empire ended when Rome was sacked in whatever year that was. Turns out Constantine had moved the capital of the empire to his new ...

Contents

• Introduction: 3
• The Refoundation of the Empire 284337: 13
• The State Under Strain 337395: 52
• The Danger of Barbarization 395457: 78
• The Eastern Recovery 457518: 149
• The Reconquests and the Plague 518565: 174
• The Danger of Overextension 565610: 218
• A Divided Society 457610: 242
• PART in The Contained Catastrophe: 287
• The War of Attrition 668717: 323
• The Passing of the Crisis 717780: 346
• The Shrinking of Society 610780: 371
• Internal Reforms 780842: 417
• External Gains 842912: 446
• The Gains Secured 912963: 471
• The Great Conquests 9631025: 498
• The Expansion of Society 7801025: 534
• Erratic Government 10251081: 583
• Improvised Reconstruction 10811143: 612
• Diminishing Security 11431204: 638
• A Restless Society 10251204: 667
• The Successor States 12041261: 709
• The Restored Empire 12611328: 735
• The Breakdown 13281391: 760
• The End of Byzantine Independence 1391 1461: 784
• The Separation of Society from State 12041461: 804
• Conclusion: 847
• Lists of Rulers: 857
• Abbreviations: 873
• Bibliographical Survey: 893
• Endnotes: 921
• Index: 971

Popular passages

Page 875 - JB Bury, A History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian (395-565), 2 Bde, London 1923.‎

Page 880 - The Chronological Accuracy of the 'Logothete' for the Years AD 867-913," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 19 (1965), 91-112, and W.‎

About the author

Warren Treadgold is Professor of History at Florida International University. He is the author of, most recently,Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081(Stanford, 1995).

Bibliographic information

• Title: A history of the Byzantine state and society; History e-book project
• Author: Warren T. Treadgold
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Stanford University Press, 1997
• ISBN: 0804726302, 9780804726306
• Length: 1019 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / General; History / Europe / Greece; History / Renaissance