In 1039 Byzantium was the most powerful empire in Europe and the Near East, controlling the Balkans south of the Danube and all of Asia Minor into Armenia and Syria. By 1079 it had become a politically unstable state half the size, menaced by powerful enemies on all sides.
Presenting a wealth of new evidence, Professor Kaldellis examines the history of Byzantine Athens. He focuses specifically on the Parthenon, which became a Christian church and a major site of pilgrimage and was part of a broader attempt to fuse pagan and Christian culture in the city.
The Courtly Life and Career of Michael Attaleiates
Focusing on the life of Michael Attaleiates, this microhistory explores eleventh-century Byzantium as a dynamic Roman political community shaped by Hellenic traditions. It delves into the challenges faced during a time of crisis, including feudalism, merchant republics, and Islamic transformations. Attaleiates' experiences raise critical questions about identity, governance, elite culture, and political ideology, offering a nuanced understanding of a medieval empire often viewed as separate from European and Near Eastern histories.
In this companion to the two-volume Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library translation of The Histories by Laonikos Chalkokondyles, Anthony Kaldellis explores the ethnic dynamics that undergird the Histories, which recount the rise of the Ottoman empire and the decline of the Byzantine empire, all in the context of expanding western power.
A long overdue and thrillingly paced narrative of one of the most dramatic periods in Medieval history, Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood provides an engaging chronicle of the various imperial upheavals, from the conquests of Basil to the collapse of Constantinople, concluding with the First Crusade.