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Byzantium

The Surprising Life of a Medieval EmpireBy Judith HerrinNarrated by Phyllida Nash

Length16h 14m

About this audiobook

A classic book now available on audio With narration by Phyllida Nash, who gives a captivating account of the legendary empire that made the modern Western world possible Byzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism—gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium—long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium—what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today. Bringing the latest scholarship to a general audience in accessible prose, Herrin focuses each short chapter around a representative theme, event, monument, or historical figure, and examines it within the full sweep of Byzantine history—from the foundation of Constantinople, the magnificent capital city built by Constantine the Great, to its capture by the Ottoman Turks. She argues that Byzantium's crucial role as the eastern defender of Christendom against Muslim expansion during the early Middle Ages made Europe—and the modern Western world—possible. Herrin captivates us with her discussions of all facets of Byzantine culture and society. She walks us through the complex ceremonies of the imperial court. She describes the transcendent beauty and power of the church of Hagia Sophia, as well as chariot races, monastic spirituality, diplomacy, and literature. She reveals the fascinating worlds of military usurpers and ascetics, eunuchs and courtesans, and artisans who fashioned the silks, icons, ivories, and mosaics so readily associated with Byzantine art. An innovative history written by one of our foremost scholars, Byzantium reveals this great civilization's rise to military and cultural supremacy, its spectacular destruction by the Fourth Crusade, and its revival and final conquest in 1453.

Audiobook details

GenreHistory

Length16 hrs 14 mins

Narrated byPhyllida Nash

FormatAudiobook

Publish dateJan 24, 2023

LanguageEnglish

1Opening Anno, Introduction , A Different History of Byzantium

16Chapter 15 - Eunuchs

2Foundations of Byzantium, Chapter 1 , The City of Constantine

17Chapter 16 - The Imperial Court

3Chapter 2 - Constantinople, the Largest City in Christendom

18Chapter 17 - Imperial Children, 'Born in the Purple'

4Chapter 3 - The East Roman Empire

19Chapter 18 - Mount Athos

5Chapter 4 - Greek Orthodoxy

20Chapter 19 - Venice and the Fork

Show all chapters

6Chapter 5 - The Church of Hagia Sophia

21Chapter 20 - Basil II, 'The Bulgar-Slayer

7Chapter 6 - The Ravenna Mo

22Chapter 21 - Eleventh-Century Crisis

8Chapter 7 - Roman Law

23Chapter 22 - Anna Komnene

9Part 2 The Transition from Ancient to Medieval, Chapter 8, The Bulwark Against Islam

24Chapter 23 - A Cosmopolitan Society

10Chapter 9 - Icons, a New Christian Art Form

25Part 4 Varieties of Byzantium, Chapter 24, The Fulcrum of the Crusades

11Chapter 10 - Iconoclasm and Icon Veneration

26Chapter 25 - The Towers of Trebizond, Arta, Nicaea and Thessalonike

12Chapter 11 - A Literate and Articulate Society

27Chapter 26 - Rebels and Patrons

13Chapter 12 - Saints Cyril and Methodios, 'Apostles to the Slavs'

28Chapter 27 - Better the Turkish Turban than the Papal Tiara

14Part 3 Byzantium Becomes a Medieval State, Chapter 13 , Greek Fire

29Chapter 28 - The Siege of 145

15Chapter 14 - The Byzantine Economy

30Conclusion , Closing Anno

About the author

Judith Herrin

View all by Judith Herrin

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