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Byzantium's Balkan Frontier is the first narrative history in English of the northern Balkans in the tenth to twelfth centuries. Where previous histories have been concerned principally with the medieval history of distinct and autonomous Balkan nations, this study regards Byzantine political authority as a unifying factor in the various lands which formed the empire's frontier in the north and west. It takes as its central concern Byzantine relations with all Slavic and non-Slavic peoples - including the Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians and Hungarians - in and beyond the Balkan Peninsula, and explores in detail imperial responses, first to the migrations of nomadic peoples, and subsequently to the expansion of Latin Christendom. It also examines the changing conception of the frontier in Byzantine thought and literature through the middle Byzantine period.
Byzantium's Balkan Frontier is the first narrative history in English of the northern Balkans in the tenth to twelfth centuries. Where previous histories have been concerned principally with the medieval history of distinct and autonomous Balkan nations, this study regards Byzantine political authority as a unifying factor in the various lands which formed the empire's frontier in the north and west. It takes as its central concern Byzantine relations with all Slavic and non-Slavic peoples - including the Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians and Hungarians - in and beyond the Balkan Peninsula, and explores in detail imperial responses, first to the migrations of nomadic peoples, and subsequently to the expansion of Latin Christendom. It also examines the changing conception of the frontier in Byzantine thought and literature through the middle Byzantine period.
List of maps and figures; Preface; A note on citation and transliteration; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Bulgaria and beyond: the northern Balkans (c. 900–963); 2. The Byzantine occupation of Bulgaria (963-1025); 3. Northern nomads (1025–1100); 4. Southern Slavs (1025–1100); 5. The rise of the west, I: Normans and crusaders (1081–1118); 6. The rise of the west, II: Hungarians and Venetians (1100–1143); 7. Manuel I Comnenus confronts the West (1143–1156); 8. Advancing the frontier: the annexation of Sirmium and Dalmatia (1156–1180); 9. Casting off the 'Byzantine yoke' (1180–1204); Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.
A history of the relations between Byzantium and the Balkan peoples, 900–1204.
'This is a fine study of an important chapter of Byzantine history, which is given added depth by clever use of archaeological, sigillographic and numismatic evidence.' Michael Angold, Times Literary Supplement '... this is a very rewarding and important book, that presents a complex period in clear outline, and unlike the writing of some Byzantinists, is accessible to the non-specialist reader and very relevant to modern concerns.' The South Slav Journal '... the whole book is illustrated with very clear maps which help to elucidate difficult and often unfamiliar subjects. The result is a much deeper understanding of the outlook and policies of the emperors of these years than ever we have had before.' Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies '... an excellent, clear and critical study of a subject for which no broader synthesis has hitherto appeared in English ... a valuable and significant contribution to the study of medieval sermons and the crusades.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History 'It opens up a wide region that has had little attention lavished on it in the past, and will therefore provide a welcome and useful springboard for students of this period and of this region.' History
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