The a to Z of Byzantium

From its founding by Constantine in 324 AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Byzantium was one of the greatest empires that ever existed, reigning over extensive regions around the Mediterranean and in Eastern Europe. During this period, its emperors and both secular and religious powers that dominated the Orthodox church and spread into Slavic lands. However, internal divisons, rivalry with the West, and the relentless battle against invaders, including the Ottomans, eventually weakened the Byzantine Empire. Although it disappeared half a millennium ago, its influences can still be seen today in Eastern Orthodoxy and Byzantine art and archaeology.
The A to Z of Byzantium covers a long period of more than 1,000 years, balancing the high points, as the empire expanded and flourished, and the low points, when it was pushed back. Major events are first marked in the chronology and then expanded upon in the introduction. What actually transpired is recounted in greater detail in several hundred cross-referenced dictionary entries that describe important people, institutions, events, and significant aspects of the economy, society, culture, religion, and warfare. A bibliography of supplementary material concludes the book.

John H. Rosser has been teaching Byzantine history for more than three decades in the Department of History at Boston College.