title: A Concise History of Byzantium (European History in Perspective)
author: Warren Treadgold
description: Much as H.D.F. Kitto condensed The Greeks (1988), Treadgold (history, St. Louis Univ.) here abridges his massive History of the Byzantine State and Society (LJ 9/1/97). The Byzantine Empire (285-1461) spanned three continents and demands a succinct overview, especially given its relevance to such diverse disciplines as modern Balkan politics and church history. The author's historiography depends greatly on quantifying change. In each chapter, he provides a narrative account of the events of a specific period followed by sections on the society and culture. These latter sections reflect the author's interest in the size and pay of the armies, the demographic variations of regions and cities, and such factors as urbanization or the lack thereof. He draws fascinating conclusions from the revenues and bureaucracies of the different eras. The excellent bibliography will give students a good start on research in any of the periods discussed. Recommended for all libraries. Clay Williams, Hunter Coll., New York <br />Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: Between the heydays of the Roman Empire and the
  Renaissance lay the golden age of Byzantium. The
  Byzantine Empire, which endured for eleven centuries,
  formed a strategic bridge between the ancient and modern
  worlds. It not only preserved many elements of the Roman
  Empire - Roman law and state organization and the
  traditions of Hellenic culture, for example – but it added a
  third and even more powerful force: Christianity.
  Byzantium has long remained shrouded in mystery and
  misunderstanding. Historians in some parts of the world,
  specifically the Balkans and western Russia, continue to
  disregard Byzantium as a major source of their cultural
  lineage. Yet, it is to these sections of Europe more than any
  other that Byzantium, which fell to the Turks in 1453,
  bequeathed its rich heritage. The Orthodox Christian
  religion, the Cyrillic alphabet - indeed, Europeans’ very way
  of life - stems from Byzantine origins.
  Byzantium’s most striking contributions to Eastern Europe
  and Western Asia are i