Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations [Paperback]

Donald M. Nicol (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0521428947 | ISBN-13: 978-0521428941

This book traces the diplomatic, cultural, and commercial links between Constantinople and Venice from the foundation of the Venetian Republic to the Fall of the Byzantine Empire. It aims to show how, with the encouragement of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Venetians came to dominate first the Genoese and thereafter the whole Byzantine economy. At the same time, the author points to those important cultural and, above all, political reasons why the relationship between the two states was always inherently unstable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The chapter on the crusade highlights the qualities of this book. Nicol not only tells a good story well. He also elucidates the contradictions and key lacunae of the sources with great skill, and he draws upon the vast secondary literature with assurance and judgement." Journal of Ecclesiastical History

"Nicol has done a considerable service in presenting the results of so much labor in a manner that will engage the general reader as well as finding an appreciative scholarly audience." The Slavonic and East European Review

"Professor Nicol's careful, learned and balanced account of the political and diplomatic relations between Byzantium and Venice covers much new ground. The intricate story...is told with impressive mastery of primary and secondary sources." History Today

"Nicol is one of the profession's foremost Byzantine scholars. In many respects this book is a compilation of his life's work and will serve as a foundation for students of the field. For Byzantinists, Nicol's work is the most concise diplomatic history available to date." Irene B. Katele, The International History Review

Book Description

The relations between Constantinople and Venice are traced from the foundation of the Venetian Republic to the Fall of the Byzantine Empire to reveal how the Venetians came to dominate the entire Byzantine economy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521428947
• ISBN-13: 978-0521428941
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #812,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Changing of power, December 12, 2001

By 

Roel (Mechelen Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations (Paperback)

Nicol describes in a most accurate way the changing relations between Byzantium and Venice. Venice started of as one of the last remaining part of the Byzantine Empire in the North of Italy. Nicol shows how Venice gained it independence, became the equal and finally the overshadowed the crippling Byzantine empire.

Nicol shows carefully what the difference is between the official documents and reality. Byzantium saw itself as the rightful ruler of even Venice, although in the later stages Venice was equal and even stronger than Byzantium.

I found the book easy to read and very interesting. The book beautifully reflects the changing of power from the East to the West. However some general knowledge about Venice and Byzantium are preferable. Since I'm missing the former a bit, some things where more difficult to place it historical.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I generally agree with the review below, December 30, 2002

By 

Kyle Chadwick "Strether" (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations (Paperback)

For me, and I think for Professor Nicol (judging from the book's cover), the themes of the book are more or less crystalized in the fact that many (most?) of the most beautiful pieces of public art in Venice were looted from Constantinople during the 4th Crusade. At first an ally, Venice ultimately helped to displace and replace the empire, literally. If you've read Norwich, you'll find that this book nicely fills in the details of this part of the story.

This is essentially a diplomatic and military history. I do wish the author had spent more time on "Cultural Relations," but this shortcoming may be due to the paucity of primary sources, as much as anything. The author's historiographical asides on the value and credibility of contemporaneous sources (and occasional jabs at other scholars) are among the pleasures of this book.