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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Literate, Focused, and Revealing,
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This review is from: Constantinople in the Age of Justinian (Centers of Civilization Series) (Paperback)
Glanville Downey was a major American mid-twentieth century scholar of Roman history and most especially the Roman Near East. Search in Amazon under books for "Glanville Downey - Constantinople" to find all of the various editions of this book that are available. The Dorset reprint in hardcover is generally the most available and least expensive. This work is a short and selective consideration of its topic. However, by his choice of material and its arrangement, the author has been able to accomplish a great deal. Downey states that this work is aimed at a non-specialist audience, however, to glean the most from this study some background in Byzantine history would be helpful.First, the historical Constantinople is covered followed by a description of Constantinople in the time of Justinian the Great. The contemporary emperorship is then described with a very insightful explanation of Eusebius's religious justification of a Christian emperor. This justification provides for a smooth intellectual transition from the pagan past to the Christian present. The immense legal reforms and codification of Justinian are then covered and their significance is explicated. A short section on the expansion of the Empire follows. A major consideration of Justinian the builder is provided. Interestingly, the last third of the book deals with religion in one way or another. The consideration here is magisterial in my estimation. The divine liturgy then current is described in detail followed by a very clear, if not overly detailed, explanation of the post Chalcedon problems with the maintenance of Christian orthodoxy and Justinian's efforts to solve those problems. That this explanation is understandable to any reasonably literate reader is in and of itself a major achievement. Lastly, the transition to Christian education is covered. In describing Constantinople of the mid-sixth century and Justinian the Roman emperor, Downey leads the reader naturally into his contention that religion was most pivotal to the events of the era. And, he more than adequately supports that contention with fact and interpretation. A picture of a strong, industrious, impatient, and pious Justinian emerges. The narrative is vivid and flowing but dense and full of meaning. Carefully reading this delightful book will provide the reader with a clear image of both the city and the emperor along with his court and to a lesser degree the empire. Byzantine art and architecture are not covered. No notes are given, but a useful select bibliography of sources prior to 1960, the date of original publication, is provided. For any reader with more than a casual interest in the Byzantine empire, this is a must read. I believe there is something to be gained here by all but the most advanced specialist in Byzantine history.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Justinian was great,
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This review is from: Constantinople in the Age of Justinian (Centers of Civilization Series) (Paperback)
Ever since Gibbon spent several volumes dismissing the Byzantine Empire as a mass of oriental conspiracies and ridiculous religious conspiracies, numerous scholars have spent pen and ink to rehabilitate successor to the Roman Empire. The Eastern Empire has much to recommend it. It lasted for nearly 1,000 years after Rome, combine the heritage of Rome and Greek learning in a Christian context but never really abandoning its pagan heritage as much as sublimating it following Theodosius I's decree forcing Christianity on the Roman world whether it liked it or not. This book examines the Byzantine Empire under Justinian when it was at its zenith. There is much to recommend this era as Glanville Downey demonstrates in this work, part of the University of Oklahoma's Centers of Civilization series. While not as learned as Ostrogorsky or Vasiliev, or accessible as Norwich, this is an excellent overview of the empire at its heightThe thesis that Gibbon advances in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" is not without its factual basis. Both Justinian and his empress Theodora were on opposite sides during the wasteful Momophysite dispute over the exact number of natures of Christ, which Theodora, the former Hippodrome performer, hiding people who held that Christ had only one nature in the palace. This dispute would lead to Egypt and Syria embracing Islam in the future, but Justinian did not to cope with Islam as a rival monotheist religion. Downey examines a number of aspects of the empire under Justinian and here he has the advantage of the various books written by Procopius, two of which celebrate the achievements of the age in both architecture and warfare, the third the various scandalous goings on in the palace with particular attention paid to Theordora's theatrical career which generally involved cavorting on stage naked and with a number of domestic animals in attendance. Along with the Justinian's buildings, which included Haigia Sophia, widely acknowledged as the wonder of the time, it was perhaps his ability to achieve a kind of synthesis of both Jerusalem and Athens, which gave his age its character. The design of the church was based on an old Roman model and its construction forms a major section of the book. However it was the ability of the Byzantines to integrate the classical Greek heritage into the Christian era, which gave the age its strength. It probably would be impossible to consider Justinian's legal reforms without the heritage of Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus and Thucydides to back it up. Downey also explores the political culture of the age which has far greater implications than just the Byzantine state. Anyone wishing to understand how Russian political culture has developed might wish to read the chapter that addresses how the emperor was regarded and the roles that commentators laid out. It does not matter whether one is examining the Great Prince of Kiev, the Grand Duke of Muscovy, the Tsar, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, or the presidency of New Russia, the origins of Russian's autocratic culture lie on the shores of the Bosporus. Justinian's foreign policy was to attempt to recapture all the lands of the former Roman Empire and he was successful, at least in the short term. However the Byzantine Empire was always to be short of resources when it came to defending its interests and the conquests did not long last the death of Justinian. A resurgent east following the creation of Islam and a growing west would bedevil Justinian's successors much as two sides of vice and in the end destroy this remnant of Rome. This book by Downey is intended to form a kind of trilogy of the late classical cities of the Eastern Mediterranean to include Gaza and Antioch and their role as centers of civilization. If these works are as good as this one, then they will prove to be interesting indeed.
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