List of Figures vi
List of Maps vii
Preface viii
Acknowledgements xiii
Abbreviations xv
1 What was Byzantium? 1
2 The Changing Shape of Byzantium: From Late Antiquity to 1025 20
3 The Changing Shape of Byzantium: From 1025 to 1453 40
4 The Byzantine Mirage 63
5 Ruling the Byzantine State 78
6 An Orthodox Society? 96
7 How People Lived 116
8 Education and Culture 133
9 Byzantium and Europe 163
10 Byzantium and the Mediterranean 179
Conclusion 197
Chronology 199
References 207
Notes 229
Index 260

Winner of the 2006 John D. Criticos Prize
This book introduces the reader to the complex history,ethnicity, and identity of the Byzantines.
* This volume brings Byzantium - often misconstrued as avanished successor to the classical world - to the forefrontof European history
* Deconstructs stereotypes surrounding Byzantium
* Beautifully illustrated with photographs and maps