Publisher Description

A SOCIAL HISTORY OF BYZANTIUM "Until now, the social history of Byzantium has remained a neglected field. Professor John Haldon has put together a team of leading international Byzantinists, each of whom addresses his or her own specialized area. The book will be a critical tool for anyone who wants to understand Byzantium."
Averil Cameron, University of Oxford "The great merit of this volume is its openness to larger methodological debates about socio-economic history and state structures. For the first time in a comprehensive study, Byzantine society is treated as an integral part of the world history of the Middle Ages."
Claudia Rapp, University of California, Los Angeles Western civilization owes an incalculable cultural and historical debt to the Byzantine Empire. Before falling to the Ottoman Turks in the mid-fifteenth century, the empire flourished for more than a thousand years, bridging the ancient and modern worlds. Byzantium profoundly influenced the pattern of cultural and political development in the lands it occupied and had an enduring influence on neighboring societies. A Social History of Byzantium delves into a crucial and often neglected strand of Byzantine studies – the social history of the eastern Roman Empire. Drawing on a wealth of new research and with original essays by leading scholars, this groundbreaking work addresses a wide range of interconnected topics and offers illuminating insights into our knowledge of Byzantine society. Exploring such issues as family life, social structure, religion, class, gender, and imperial power, this book reveals the complex social structure woven throughout the Byzantine world.

Back Cover

Western civilization owes an incalculable cultural and historical debt to the Byzantine Empire. Before falling to the Ottoman Turks in the mid-fifteenth century, the empire flourished for more than a thousand years, bridging the ancient and modern worlds. Byzantium profoundly influenced the pattern of cultural and political development in the lands it occupied and had an enduring influence on neighboring societies. A Social History of Byzantium delves into a crucial and often neglected strand of Byzantine studies - the social history of the eastern Roman Empire. Drawing on a wealth of new research and with original essays by leading scholars, this groundbreaking work addresses a wide range of interconnected topics and offers illuminating insights into our knowledge of Byzantine society. Exploring such issues as family life, social structure, religion, class, gender, and imperial power, this book reveals the complex social structure woven throughout the Byzantine world.

Flap

Western civilization owes an incalculable cultural and historical debt to the Byzantine Empire. Before falling to the Ottoman Turks in the mid-fifteenth century, the empire flourished for more than a thousand years, bridging the ancient and modern worlds. Byzantium profoundly influenced the pattern of cultural and political development in the lands it occupied and had an enduring influence on neighboring societies. A Social History of Byzantium delves into a crucial and often neglected strand of Byzantine studies - the social history of the eastern Roman Empire. Drawing on a wealth of new research and with original essays by leading scholars, this groundbreaking work addresses a wide range of interconnected topics and offers illuminating insights into our knowledge of Byzantine society. Exploring such issues as family life, social structure, religion, class, gender, and imperial power, this book reveals the complex social structure woven throughout the Byzantine world.

Author Biography

John Haldon is Professor of Byzantine History and Hellenic Studies at Princeton University, and is an internationally recognized scholar in the field of late Roman and Byzantine social, economic, and institutional history. His books include Warfare, State, and Society in the Byzantine World (1999), Byzantium: A History (2000), Byzantium at War (2002) and The Oxford Handbook of Byzantium Studies (editor with E. Jeffreys and R. Cormack, 2008).

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors vii Foreword ix List of Abbreviations xi Maps xiii 1 Towards a Social History of Byzantium 1
John Haldon 2 Men, Women, Eunuchs: Gender, Sex, and Power 31
Liz James 3 Family Structure and the Transmission of Property 51
Angeliki E. Laiou 4 The Social Function of the Law 76
Bernard Stolte 5 Social Relations and the Land: The Early Period 92
Peter Sarris 6 Land and Power in the Middle and Later Period 112
Peter Frankopan 7 The Producing Population 143
Michel Kaplan 8 Social Élites, Wealth, and Power 168
John Haldon 9 Court Society and Aristocracy 212
Paul Magdalino 10 Church and Society: Iconoclasm and After 233
Michael Angold 11 A Monastic World 257
Alice-Mary Talbot Glossary of Byzantine and Medieval Terms 279 Index 286

Review

"Until now, the social history of Byzantium has remained a neglected field. Professor John Haldon has put together a team of leading international Byzantinists, each of whom addresses his or her own specialised area. The book will be a critical tool for anyone who wants to understand Byzantium."
Averil Cameron, University of Oxford
"The great merit of this volume is its openness to larger methodological debates about socio-economic history and state structures. For the first time in a comprehensive study, Byzantine society is treated as an integral part of the world history of the Middle Ages."
Claudia Rapp, University of California, Los Angeles

Long Description

Western civilization owes an incalculable cultural and historical debt to the Byzantine Empire. Before falling to the Ottoman Turks in the mid-fifteenth century, the empire flourished for more than a thousand years, bridging the ancient and modern worlds. Byzantium profoundly influenced the pattern of cultural and political development in the lands it occupied and had an enduring influence on neighboring societies. A Social History of Byzantium delves into a crucial and often neglected strand of Byzantine studies - the social history of the eastern Roman Empire. Drawing on a wealth of new research and with original essays by leading scholars, this groundbreaking work addresses a wide range of interconnected topics and offers illuminating insights into our knowledge of Byzantine society. Exploring such issues as family life, social structure, religion, class, gender, and imperial power, this book reveals the complex social structure woven throughout the Byzantine world.

Review Text

"Until now, the social history of Byzantium has remained a neglected field. Professor John Haldon has put together a team of leading international Byzantinists, each of whom addresses his or her own specialised area. The book will be a critical tool for anyone who wants to understand Byzantium."
Averil Cameron, University of Oxford
"The great merit of this volume is its openness to larger methodological debates about socio-economic history and state structures. For the first time in a comprehensive study, Byzantine society is treated as an integral part of the world history of the Middle Ages."
Claudia Rapp, University of California, Los Angeles

Review Quote

"Until now, the social history of Byzantium has remained a neglected field. Professor John Haldon has put together a team of leading international Byzantinists, each of whom addresses his or her own specialised area. The book will be a critical tool for anyone who wants to understand Byzantium." Averil Cameron, University of Oxford "The great merit of this volume is its openness to larger methodological debates about socio-economic history and state structures. For the first time in a comprehensive study, Byzantine society is treated as an integral part of the world history of the Middle Ages." Claudia Rapp, University of California, Los Angeles

Promotional "Headline"

"Until now, the social history of Byzantium has remained a neglected field. Professor John Haldon has put together a team of leading international Byzantinists, each of whom addresses his or her own specialised area. The book will be a critical tool for anyone who wants to understand Byzantium." Averil Cameron, University of Oxford"The great merit of this volume is its openness to larger methodological debates about socio-economic history and state structures. For the first time in a comprehensive study, Byzantine society is treated as an integral part of the world history of the Middle Ages." Claudia Rapp, University of California, Los Angeles

Feature

Provides interconnected essays of original scholarship relating to the social history of the Byzantine empire
Offers groundbreaking theoretical and empirical research in the study of Byzantine society
Includes helpful glossaries of sociological/theoretical terms and Byzantine/medieval terms.

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