The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180
The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, 1143–1180
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The reign of Manuel I (1143-1180) marked the high point of the revival of the Byzantine empire under the Comnenian dynasty. It was however followed by a rapid decline, leading to the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. This book, the first devoted to Manuel's reign for over 80 years, reevaluates the emperor and his milieu in the light of recent scholarship. It shows that his foreign policy was a natural response to the Western crusading movement and the expansionism of the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa. It also shows that what he ruled was more than the impoverished rump of a once great empire, or a society whose development had been arrested by a repressive regime. The twelfth century is presented here as a distinctive, creative phase in Byzantine history, when the empire maintained existing traditions and trends while adapting to a changing world.
- The first full-length study for over 80 years of the brilliant and complex reign of Manuel I
- Deals with a period of key cultural, political and social importance, which led to the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the crusaders
- Will become one of the landmark titles in modern Byzantine scholarship, essential reading for all twelfth-century scholars
Reviews & endorsements
"...one of the most important recent publications in the field of Byzantine history....Magdalino's achievement consists not only in embarking into new territories, primarily the economic, social and intellectual spheres of human life, but in reconsidering the whole of the Byzantine twelfth century." The Patristic and Byzantine Review
"This study magisterially overrules Choniates' negative verdict on Manuel's achievement, and it will enlighten all students of empire." Jonathan Shepard, International History Review
Product details
- Published: July 2002
- Format: Paperback
- ISBN: 9780521526531
- Length: 584 pages
- Dimensions: 230 × 155 × 37 mm
- Weight: 0.926kg
- Contains: 3 b/w illus. 4 tables
- Availability: Available
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Table of Contents
- Introduction: Problems and sources
- 1. The Comnenian empire between east and west
- 2. Constantinople and the provinces
- 3. The Comnenian system
- 4. Government
- 5. The guardians of Orthodoxy
- 6. The emperor and his image
- Epilogue.
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