Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Frontispiece
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- Preface to the Paperback Edition
- General Introduction
- Introduction – Part i Approaching Byzantium
- Introduction – Part ii Periodisation and the Contents of this Book
- Introduction – Part iii Other Routes to Byzantium
- Introduction – Part IV Smoothing the Way and Short-Cuts to Byzantium: Texts in Translation
- Part I The Earlier Empire c. 500–c. 700
- Part II The Middle Empire c. 700–1204
- Part III The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204–1492
- Glossary (Including Some Proper Names)
- Genealogical Tables and Lists of Rulers
- Alternative Place Names
- Bibliography
- Book part
- Picture Acknowledgements
- Index
Introduction – Part ii - Periodisation and the Contents of this Book
from General Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 November 2019
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Frontispiece
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- Preface to the Paperback Edition
- General Introduction
- Introduction – Part i Approaching Byzantium
- Introduction – Part ii Periodisation and the Contents of this Book
- Introduction – Part iii Other Routes to Byzantium
- Introduction – Part IV Smoothing the Way and Short-Cuts to Byzantium: Texts in Translation
- Part I The Earlier Empire c. 500–c. 700
- Part II The Middle Empire c. 700–1204
- Part III The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204–1492
- Glossary (Including Some Proper Names)
- Genealogical Tables and Lists of Rulers
- Alternative Place Names
- Bibliography
- Book part
- Picture Acknowledgements
- Index
Summary
Byzantium is an elusive phenomenon because so many of its constituent parts altered in place and over time. The overarching façade of the imperial order remained, with certain fixed points: religious doctrine, use of the Greek language, and the City of Constantinople itself. But many other elements were mutable – from court fashions, administrative methods and commercial undertakings, to forms of warfare or territorial possessions. Byzantium’s distinctive qualities lie in this interplay between the fixed and the changeable, the expendable and the non-negotiable, ensuring its endurance across a millennium or so, longevity which only the Chinese and Japanese empires can unequivocally be said to have surpassed.
- Type
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- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c.500–1492 , pp. 21 - 52Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019