The New Roman Empire : A History of Byzantium

by: Kaldellis, A.

The New Roman Empire
A History of Byzantium

Anthony Kaldellis

The most comprehensive history of the eastern Roman empire to appear in over a generation
Incorporates the findings of recent scholarship, explains new interpretive models, and presents well-known historical characters and events in a new light
Illustrates contemporary perceptions through the use of striking quotations from primary sources
Presents east Roman Orthodox culture as a dynamic field of creative tensions and debate, not a monolith reducible to a single theme
Refutes the traditional image of the Byzantine state as despotic and oppressive, and reveals that its government wanted to be seen as responsive, accountable, and fair to its subjects

Description
A major new history of the eastern Roman Empire, from Constantine to 1453.

In recent decades, the study of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as Byzantium, has been revolutionized by new approaches and more sophisticated models for how its society and state operated. No longer looked upon as a pale facsimile of classical Rome, Byzantium is now considered a vigorous state of its own, inheritor of many of Rome's features, and a vital node in the first truly globalized world.

The New Roman Empire is the first full, single-author history of the eastern Roman empire to appear in over a generation. Covering political and military history as well as all the major changes in religion, society, demography, and economy, Anthony Kaldellis's volume is divided into ten chronological sections which begin with the foundation of Constantinople in 324 AD and end with the fall of the empire to the Ottoman Turks in the fifteenth century. The book incorporates new findings, explains recent interpretive models, and presents well-known historical characters and events in a new light.

Table of Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
List of Maps
List of Images
Part One: A New Empire
New Rome and the New Romans
The scaffold of society and personality of government
From Christian nation to Roman religion
Part Two: Dynastic Insecurities and Religious Passions
The first Christian emperors of the east (324-361)
Competing religions of empire (337-364)
Toward an independent east (364-395)
The city and the desert: Cultures old and new
Part Three: The Return of Civilian Government
The ascendancy of the political class (395-441)
Barbarian terrors and military mobilization (441-491)
Political consolidation and religious polarization (491-518)
Part Four: The Strain of Grand Ambitions
Chalcedonian repression and the eastern axis (518-531)
The Sleepless Emperor (527-540)
War everywhere and plague (540-565)
The price of overextension (565-602)
Part Five: To the Brink of Despair
The great war with Persia (602-630)
Commanders of the Faithful (632-644)
A contest of wills (641-685)
Part Six: Resilience and Recovery
Life and taxes among the ruins
An empire of outposts (685-717)
The lion and the dragon (717-775)
Reform and consolidation (775-815)
A new confidence (815-867)
Part Seven: The Path towards Empire
A new David and Solomon (867-912)
A game of crowns (912-950)
The apogee of Roman arms (950-1025)
A brief hegemony (1025-1048)
Part Eight: A New Paradigm
The walls close in: Losing Italy and the east (1048-1081)
Crisis management, the Komnenian way (1081-1118)
Good John and the Sun King: A second apogee (1118-1180)
Disintegration and betrayal (1180-1204)
Part Nine: Exile and Return
"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)
Part Ten: The Struggle for Dignity at The End
Military failure and mystical solace (1328-1354)
The walls close in (1354-1402)
The cusp of a new world (1402-1461)
Glossary
State Revenues and Payments to Foreign Groups, Fifth-Seventh Centuries
Bibliography

The New Roman Empire : A History of Byzantium

by: Kaldellis, A.

• ISBN-13: 9780197549322 / 978-0-19-754932-2
• ISBN-03: 0197549322 / 0-19-754932-2
• Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2024