1st Edition
Studies on the History and Topography of Byzantine Constantinople
By Paul Magdalino
Copyright 2007
332 Pages
by
Routledge
Constantinople originated in 330 A.D. as the last great urban foundation of the ancient world. When it was sacked by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 it was the greatest city of the European Middle Ages. Its transition from the one to the other was determined partly by its continuous function as an imperial capital, partly by the steady proliferation of churches, monasteries, and Christian philanthropic... Read more
Contents: Introduction; Medieval Constantinople; Aristocratic oikoi in the 10th and 11th regions of Constantinople; The maritime neighbourhoods of Constantinople: commercial and residential functions, 6th to 12th centuries; Constantine V and the middle age of Constantinople; Observations on the Nea Ekklesia of Basil I; Basil I, Leo VI and the feast of the Prophet Elijah; The Evergetis fountain in the early 13th century: an ekphrasis of the paintings in the cupola (with Lyn Rodley); Constantinopolitana; The grain supply of Constantinople, 9th to 12th centuries; Constantinople and the 'exo chorai' in the time of Balsamon; Constantinople and the outside world; Pseudo-Kodinos' Constantinople; Addenda; Bibliography; Indexes.
Biography
Paul Magdalino is the Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Byzantine History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
’Throughout the collection what impresses is Magdalino’s range as a scholar, as he crosses the borders of traditional subjects and disciplines. ...His skill in avoiding both wild surmise and pedantic nitpicking to arrive at conclusions that are realistic and satisfying will ensure that this book will be off the shelf and in the hands of scholars and students for many years to come.’ English Historical Review
