Constantine XI Dragaš Palaeologus (1404–1453)
Constantine XI Dragaš Palaeologus (1404–1453)

Author: Marios Philippides

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-09-03

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1351055402

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Constantine XI’s last moments in life, as he stood before the walls of Constantinople in 1453, have bestowed a heroic status on him. This book produces a more balanced portrait of an intriguing individual: the last emperor of Constantinople. To be sure, the last of the Greek Caesars was a fascinating figure, not so much because he was a great statesman, as he was not, and not because of his military prowess, as he was neither a notable tactician nor a soldier of exceptional merit. This monarch may have formulated grandiose plans but his hopes and ambitions were ultimately doomed, because he failed to inspire his own subjects, who did not rally to his cause. Constantine lacked the skills to create, restore, or maintain harmony in his troubled realm. In addition, he was ineffective on the diplomatic front, as he proved unable to stimulate Latin Christendom to mount an expedition and come to the aid of south-eastern Orthodox Europe. Yet in sharp contrast to his numerous shortcomings, his military defeats, and the various disappointments during his reign, posterity still fondly remembers the last Constantine.

Cardinal Isidore (c.1390–1462)
Cardinal Isidore (c.1390–1462)

Author: Marios Philippides

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-04-09

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 1351214888

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A member of the imperial Palaiologan family, albeit most probably illegitimate, Isidore became a scholar at a young age and began his rise in the Byzantine ecclesiastical ranks. He was an active advocate of the union of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in Constantinople. His military exploits, including his participation in the defence of Constantinople in 1453, provide us with eyewitness accounts. Without doubt he travelled widely, perhaps more so than any other individual in the annals of Byzantine history: Greece, Asia Minor, Sicily, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and Italy. His roles included diplomat, high ecclesiastic in both the Orthodox and Catholic churches, theologian, soldier, papal emissary to the Constantinopolitan court, delegate to the Council of Florence, advisor to the last Byzantine emperors, metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia, and member of the Vatican curia. This is an original work based on new archival research and the first monograph to study Cardinal Isidore in his many diverse roles. His contributions to the events of the first six decades of the quattrocento are important for the study of major Church councils and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. Isidore played a crucial role in each of these events.

Manuel II Palaiologos (1350–1425)
Manuel II Palaiologos (1350–1425)

Author: Siren Çelik

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-03-11

Total Pages: 473

ISBN-13: 1108836593

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New portrait of Manuel II Palaiologos, investigating his tumultuous reign, literary, philosophical and theological oeuvre and personal life.

Introduction to Byzantium, 602–1453
Introduction to Byzantium, 602–1453

Author: Jonathan Harris

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-03-27

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 135136877X

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Introduction to Byzantium, 602–1453 provides students with an accessible guide to medieval Byzantium. Beginning with the near collapse of Byzantium in the seventh century, the book traces its survival and development through to its absorption by the Ottoman empire. As well as having an overall political narrative, the chapters cover a wide range of topics including society and economy, art and architecture, literature and education, military tactics and diplomacy, gender and education. They also explore themes that remain prominent and highly debated today, including relations between Islam and the West, the impact of the Crusades, the development of Russia, and the emergence of Orthodox Christianity. Comprehensively written, each chapter provides an overview of the particular period or topic, a summary of the ongoing historiographical debates, primary source material textboxes, further reading recommendations and a ‘points to remember’ section. Introduction to Byzantium, 602–453 provides students with a thorough introduction to the history of Byzantium and equips them with the tools to write successful analytical essays. It is essential reading for any student of the history of the Byzantine empire.

A Short History of the Byzantine Empire
A Short History of the Byzantine Empire

Author: Dionysios Stathakopoulos

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-06-15

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1350233439

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Incorporating the latest scholarly developments to offer an in-depth account of the history of the Byzantine Empire, this revised edition sheds new light on the Empire's culture, theology, and economic and socio-political spheres. Charting from the Empire's origins, to its expansion and influence over the Mediterranean, later revival, and eventual fall – this book covers more than 1,000 years of history. With analysis of the Empire's changing social infrastructure, key events, and the broader cultural environment, Stathakopoulos expertly analyses how and why it became a powerhouse of literature, art, theology and learning, whilst also examining its aftermath and afterlife – and enduring significance today. Drawing on a variety of English and non-English sources, in addition to a plethora of visual and textual materials, this book is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, and general readers alike.

The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453
The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453

Author: Marios Philippides

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-05-02

Total Pages: 919

ISBN-13: 1317016084

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This major study is a comprehensive scholarly work on a key moment in the history of Europe, the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The result of years of research, it presents all available sources along with critical evaluations of these narratives. The authors have consulted texts in all relevant languages, both those that remain only in manuscript and others that have been printed, often in careless and inferior editions. Attention is also given to 'folk history' as it evolved over centuries, producing prominent myths and folktales in Greek, medieval Russian, Italian, and Turkish folklore. Part I, The Pen, addresses the complex questions introduced by this myriad of original literature and secondary sources.

The Immortal Emperor
The Immortal Emperor

Author: Donald M. Nicol

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-05-09

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9780521894098

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The first biography of the last Byzantine Emperor.

Ethos, Logos, and Perspective
Ethos, Logos, and Perspective

Author: Florin Leonte

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-03-10

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 1000850943

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Ethos, Logos, and Perspective represents the first comprehensive study of late Byzantine court rhetorical praise as a general phenomenon surfacing in many types of rhetorical epideictic compositions dating from the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries: panegyrics, encomia, city descriptions, encomiastic verses, or letters. The aim of this book is to reconstruct the two perspectives, idealism and pragmatism, that shaped authorial choices in matters of rhetorical style and composition. This study uncovers a little-known period in the history of Byzantine rhetoric. Proceeding from a nuanced understanding of the ancient concepts of ethos and logos, it analyzes the rhetoric of Byzantine praise in a modern theoretical framework. Unlike other previous studies of Byzantine rhetoric, the present research traces the structures and meanings that ultimately influenced the political attitudes and values circulating in the last century of Byzantine history. Another feature of this book is that it offers translations and discussions of important passages from the late Byzantine rhetoric, a corpus of texts that only recently has started to receive attention. This book will appeal to scholars, students, and all those interested in Byzantine literary culture (particularly in reference to moral and spiritual advice) and the techniques of Byzantine rhetoric. In addition, readers will also find informative approaches on the main authors and genres of late Byzantine rhetoric.

Greece Reinvented
Greece Reinvented

Author: Han Lamers

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2015-11-16

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 9004303790

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Greece Reinvented discusses the transformation of Byzantine Hellenism as the cultural elite of Byzantium, displaced to Italy, constructed it. It explores why and how Byzantine migrants such as Cardinal Bessarion, Ianus Lascaris, and Giovanni Gemisto adopted Greek personas to replace traditional Byzantine claims to the heirship of ancient Rome. In Greece Reinvented, Han Lamers shows that being Greek in the diaspora was both blessing and burden, and explores how these migrants’ newfound ‘Greekness’ enabled them to create distinctive positions for themselves while promoting group cohesion. These Greek personas reflected Latin understandings of who the Greeks ‘really’ were but sometimes also undermined Western paradigms. Greece Reinvented reveals some of the cultural tensions that bubble under the surface of the much-studied transmission of Greek learning from Byzantium to Italy.