Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World [Hardcover]

Arnold Joseph Toynbee (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 788 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; First Edition edition (March 15, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019215253X
• ISBN-13: 978-0192152534
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,946,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classical History Explained, February 8, 2001

By 

S. G. "stlgraham" (Carlsbad, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World (Hardcover)

Taking his cue from the De Administrando written by Constantine VII and other Byzantine historians before him, this thick volume may be Toynbee's greatest achievement. Throughout, he takes Constantine's own words with a grain of salt, especially about events before the Macedonian dynasty by applying a historical perspective to this entire period of Byzantine civilization (c. 800-1050)

Political intrigues are explained in terms of the contemporary situations and also probable alternate hypotheses. And though it is a work of Academic scholarship, the writing is clear - the author takes great pains to explain in detail the unbelieveably complex (Byzantine) nature of the Imperial palace.