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Books: the "Queen City" edition
Jun. 11th, 2009 10:13 pmBooks 2009: 48
48. Judith Herrin, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire.
A thoroughly interesting overview of the history of Byzantium from 330 to 1453. I am obliged to quibble with some of the statements she makes with regards to Constantine in the early chapters - Constantinople did not become the "New Rome" until Constantine's sons were in power, at least, and other such petty details - but the thematic and chronological treatment of Byzantium's place in the Late Antique and early medieval world is quite fascinating, particularly the later years, and the interaction with the Arab caliphates and the Seljuk Turks. And the crusades. Byzantium was conquered by crusaders in 1402, leading to the creation of a short-lived Latin empire. I never knew that.
It's well-written, and reasonably short, for a book that covers eleven hundred years or so. I recommend it.
So. Let me ask you something, internets. Is it worth the bother to apply for a Fulbright Award and attempt to apply to a US university for a master's programme in ancient history? The whole process of applying seems to take upwards of a year, and looks entirely like too much work.
And let me ask you another thing. I was looking at my shelves, to figure out what I could read now - since there will be no more reading of Romans or Greeks for a while at least, while my brain unbends - and it strikes me I have entirely too much European history on my shelves. So are there any folks out there who could point me in the direction of
a)good histories of the Ummayids and/or Abbasids?
b)a decent overview or so of the eastern trade in Late Antiquity? I remember reading something about Hellenistic/Roman trade by the sea route from the Red Sea to India, and I want to track down more info on that.
c)a decent overview of the period and developments that led to the Seljuk Turks establishing themselves in Bithynia and Asia Minor? Since I was just reading about the Byzantine side of things, it seems a fascinating time in history.
d)any good history of India in the period about 100BC-700CE? Or, failing that, anywhere between about the start of the so-called common era and the European medieval period?
I don't want to get too narrow of focus, you see, and I thought I'd see if anyone had any recommendations. Summer is usually my time for reading as widely as possible, both within and outside my subject area - I have a little list, which I'll probably be writing up here in a while - but I want to get a bit wider-ranging than I did last year.
48. Judith Herrin, Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire.
A thoroughly interesting overview of the history of Byzantium from 330 to 1453. I am obliged to quibble with some of the statements she makes with regards to Constantine in the early chapters - Constantinople did not become the "New Rome" until Constantine's sons were in power, at least, and other such petty details - but the thematic and chronological treatment of Byzantium's place in the Late Antique and early medieval world is quite fascinating, particularly the later years, and the interaction with the Arab caliphates and the Seljuk Turks. And the crusades. Byzantium was conquered by crusaders in 1402, leading to the creation of a short-lived Latin empire. I never knew that.
It's well-written, and reasonably short, for a book that covers eleven hundred years or so. I recommend it.
So. Let me ask you something, internets. Is it worth the bother to apply for a Fulbright Award and attempt to apply to a US university for a master's programme in ancient history? The whole process of applying seems to take upwards of a year, and looks entirely like too much work.
And let me ask you another thing. I was looking at my shelves, to figure out what I could read now - since there will be no more reading of Romans or Greeks for a while at least, while my brain unbends - and it strikes me I have entirely too much European history on my shelves. So are there any folks out there who could point me in the direction of
a)good histories of the Ummayids and/or Abbasids?
b)a decent overview or so of the eastern trade in Late Antiquity? I remember reading something about Hellenistic/Roman trade by the sea route from the Red Sea to India, and I want to track down more info on that.
c)a decent overview of the period and developments that led to the Seljuk Turks establishing themselves in Bithynia and Asia Minor? Since I was just reading about the Byzantine side of things, it seems a fascinating time in history.
d)any good history of India in the period about 100BC-700CE? Or, failing that, anywhere between about the start of the so-called common era and the European medieval period?
I don't want to get too narrow of focus, you see, and I thought I'd see if anyone had any recommendations. Summer is usually my time for reading as widely as possible, both within and outside my subject area - I have a little list, which I'll probably be writing up here in a while - but I want to get a bit wider-ranging than I did last year.
