Eastern Approaches to Byzantium: Papers from the Thirty-Third Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, March 1999 ... for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies)

Description

The eastern frontier of Byzantium and the interaction of the peoples that lived along it are the themes of this book. With a focus on the ninth to thirteenth centuries and dealing with both art history and history, the essays provide reconsiderations of Byzantine policy on its eastern borders, new interpretations and new materials on Byzantine relations with the Georgians, Armenians and Seljuqs, as well as studies on the writing of history among these peoples. Presenting research from Russia and Georgia as well as Europe and the USA, the contributors stress the interaction and interdependence of all the peoples along this frontier zone, and consider the different ways in which the political and cultural power of Byzantium was appropriated. They provide important comparative evidence for the relationship between local and Byzantine cultures, and open up new avenues for research into the history of eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus. The volume arises from the thirty-third Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies held at the University of Warwick in March 1999. Cover Contents Preface Introduction 1. The decline of medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the process of islamization from the 11th through the 15th c. I. Byzantium’s eastern frontier 2. Constantine VII, Caucasian openings and the road to Aleppo 3. ʻHow the east was won’ in the reign of Basil II 4. La conception militaire de la frontière orientale (IXe-XIIIe siècle) II. History writing in the east 5. Some reflections on Seljuq historiography 6. The concept of ʻhistory’ in medieval Armenian historians 7. From bumberazi to basileus: Writing cultural synthesis and dynastic change in medieval Georgia (Kʻartʻli) III. Byzantines 8. Bearing gifts from the east: imperial relic hunters abroad 9. Art chfrétien en Anatolie turque: le témoignage de peintures inédites à Tatlarin IV. Georgians 10. Newly discovered early paintings in the Gareja desert 11. Byzantium and its eastern barbarians: the cult of saints in Svanetʻi 12. Georgian perceptions of Byzantium in the 11th and 12th c. 13. Stalin and Georgian enamels V. Armenians 14. The visual expression of power and piety in medieval Armenia: the palace and palace church at Aghtamar 15. Imperial aspirations: Armenian Cilicia and Byzantium in the 13th c. VI. Seljuqs and Turkomans 16. Turkoman and Byzantine self-identity. Some reflections on the logic and title-making in 12th- and 13th-c. Anatolia 17. Seljuqs before the Seljuqs: nomads and frontiers inside Byzantium Index