John H. Rosser - Historical Dictionary of Byzantium

Editors Foreword

Once there were two empires. The Holy Roman Empire in the West was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Byzantium in the East was an empire, with a long succession of emperors. Its links with ancient Rome and Greece were much stronger. As the center of Orthodox Christianity, it could claim a considerable degree of holiness. In addition, it was a great center of learning and culture with exceptional achievements in art, architecture, and literature. And it held sway over vast lands and numerous peoples. Nonetheless, the West tended to look down on, and be suspicious of, its great neighbor centered in Constantinople. When Byzantium finally fell, it was partly due to its eastern enemies, but also due to the meddling and incredibly destructive assistance of supposed saviors from the West. Still, Byzantium left an enduring legacy in the Orthodox churches, and in such successor states as Russia, Greece, and Serbia.

Even today, the West, to say nothing of other cultural areas, has not really grasped the significance of Byzantium, and this book is one more attempt at filling the gap. Historical Dictionary of Byzantium does this in various ways. The first is perhaps the most telling, for the chronology covers not only centuries but more than a millennium, from the rise in 324 to the fall in 1453. This was a time of growth, glory, and gradual decline, and a big chunk of world history that deserves to be recognized. The introduction explains how the empire was structured and covers its major successes, and failures. More details can be found in the several hundred dictionary entries, including especially those on significant persons, such as emperors, popes, generals, writers, and theologians, as well as crucial events. This is embedded in broader studies of the economy, society, culture, and especially religion. Obviously, this book is an excellent starting point and, thus, serious readers should consult the substantial bibliography that directs them to both general and more specific works.

This is now the second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Byzantium , and it has been extensively expanded since the first. Both editions are written by John H. Rosser, who has been preparing for the task for some four decades. He began studying Byzantine history at Rutgers University and has been on the faculty of the Department of History, Boston College, since 1971, teaching Byzantine history to many successive classes of students. He has also been active in Byzantine archeology, including fieldwork in Greece and Cyprus. His research has resulted in numerous articles and an edited volume. Nonetheless, it was a daunting challenge to compile such a book, which summarizes many different aspects of Byzantium. The result is a work profiting from the integration of a single author and providing an introduction to the field for beginners and a source of information for the more advanced. In its own way, it clearly fills the gaps mentioned previously.

Jon WoronoffSeries Editor

Acknowledgments

A single-volume encyclopedia such as this must necessarily select and compress from a great deal of material. It can make no claim to originality other than the selection process, most important of which has been my desire to state the most salient assessments at the beginning of each entry. Such judgments I take responsibility for. However, the information itself is derived from the selected bibliography. Some works were consulted more than others; some areas of the bibliography were consulted infrequently, especially those areas having to do with civilization and culture: for this book is chiefly about important people, places, and major events. Much has been published since this book first appeared in 2001. It has been necessary to add dozens of new entries and to revise many previous entries. The additional bibliography reflects the many new studies that have appeared since 2001.