Virtual Macedonia Bookstore - Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium

	List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $13.97 Your Save: $ 15.98 ( 53% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Hambledon & London
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 949.61802 EAN: 9781847251794 ISBN: 184725179X Label: Hambledon & London Manufacturer: Hambledon & London Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 289 Publication Date: 2007-12-20 Publisher: Hambledon & London Studio: Hambledon & London
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: A Good Read on an Ambitious Topic Comment: Johnathan Harris' "Constantinople Capital of Byzantium" is an excellent introduction to Byzantine history taken from the perspective of the history of the city of Constantinople as it would have been in the year 1200. Through most of the book, Harris focuses on how Byzantines living in late twelfth century Constantinople would have seen their own history, looking back and how this Byzantine vision compares to a modern historical understanding. The book is divided into ten thematic chapters. The narrative retells the history of the city from its foundation to the modern day. Chapter themes include 'The City of Wonders', 'Founding Fathers' focusing especially on the contributions on the emperors Constantine I and Justinian I, 'Defence', 'Palaces and Power', 'Churches and Monasteries', 'Two Thirds of the Wealth of this World' and 'Democracy' or popular Constantinopolitan life. The last three chapters serve a long epilogue, discussing the Fourth Crusade and crusader rule of the city, late Byzantine history and the Ottoman conquest in 1453, and finally a delightful survey of the traces of Byzantine Constantinople that can be found in contemporary Istanbul. This book is a enjoyable read and would be of interest both to people well familiar with Byzantine history and as well as those wanting an a readable introduction to this very rich topic. I gave this book four stars as Harris often adds cynical comments which detract from the narrative and focuses too much on the stories of scandal and intrigue that are part of Byzantine history. Nevertheless, a well-researched book and a good read. Customer Rating: Summary: A Delightful Read Comment: Jonathan Harris provides a service to the general reader interested in the history, culture, and mystique of the Byzantine Empire and the Queen of Cities. His premise is that scholars often have difficulty in truly understanding Byzantium because its rulers and contemporary historians portrayed the City & Empire through a mystical lens. This is as true from the time of Constantine the Great at the founding of Constantinople in the fourth century as it was at the death of the last emperor, Constantine XI, in 1453 (and even after), following the final sack by Mehmet the Conquerer. As Harris notes, due to this portrayal, most historians tend to neglect the myths and legends surrounding the City and focus more on concrete matters. This book, therefore, seeks to rectify this neglect. It "is a book about power and about how those who have wielded it most successfully and enduringly have hidden its realities beneath a veil of grandeur and myth." The myth and spiritual aura of Constantinople was avidly promoted by its rulers and was a legendary beacon throughout the lands of Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. "It is this intriguing interaction between the spiritual and the political, the mythical and the actual that forms the main preoccupation of this book." The author is not attempting to debunk the myths surrounding Constantinople, but rather to explain many of their origins and their reality in context, particularly focusing upon the year 1200 AD (i.e. just before the Fourth Crusade altered the city forever). There are six central myths which Harris seeks to address: (1) that Constantinople was founded by a saintly emperor, intended as the center of the Christian world; (2) the belief that the city maintained the special protection of God and the Virgin Mary and would remain unconquered until the end of the world; 3. the contention that Byzantine emperors were divinely appointed; 4. that the city was holy and apostolic (via St Andrew) on par with Jerusalem and Rome, its churches filled with countless holy relics; 5. reflecting its divine favor, the wealth of the city surpassed that of any other city in the world; 6. the emperor -- divinely appointed -- ruled as God's vice-gerant over all Christendom. At 289 pages (205 of text) and divided into ten chapters, Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium is highly readable while being manageable and not overwhelming. Greatly appreciated is the handy final chapter, which looks at Byzantine Constantinople (Istanbul) today and provides an interesting reflection on the present status of many of the monuments discussed earlier in the text. Again, I highly recommend this book. Customer Rating: Summary: Good introduction to one of the most important cities in world history Comment: Unlike numerous books and videos on Rome, very little is available to the general public on Constantinople (the city of Byzantium), the "New Rome". Jonathan Harris attempts to describe the city as it grew and changed through its 1000 year history. This is not only a description of buildings and fortifications, though there is of course plenty of that, but also attempts to provide a some idea of how the city functioned and how it felt to live in the city. At only around 200 pages, it gives a very nice overview, but I could have wished for a book three or four times as long. Those who are interested in the city might also look at the website [...], which seeks to recreate the city as it appeared around the year 1200.
Editorial Reviews: During the early Middle Ages, travellers to the East returned with stories of a place called Miklagarth, a city so vast that its churches, palaces and monasteries covered the land and so rich that its ruler could scatter bagfuls of gold among his astonished guests. This was no legend or tall tale for Miklagarth was a real place. Better known as Constantinople, it was the capital city of the empire of Byzantium and a major political force in the eastern Mediterranean for over a thousand years. The mythical aura that surrounded Constantinople was no accident. It was assiduously cultivated by the Byzantine emperors to bolster their power, wealth and prestige. Jonathan Harris examines the intriguing interaction between the spiritual and the political, the mythical and the actual and reconstructs the awe-inspiring city in its heyday in 1200.