Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of the Byzantine Empire

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I was prepared to like this book, as it has a nice look and feel--physically well-constructed with easy to read print arranged in two columns. However, as soon as I started reading, I encountered problems. The maps referred to in the book description are in fact only two--one of the Empire around 1025 and other around 1350. Both maps are very sketchy--only two cities are named on each, Constantinople and Venice. Then we consider the heart of the book, the entries. The Czech Republic is said to be part of the Balkan Peninsula under that entry. Under the entry for the themes, no mention is made of when the themes were initially founded or by whom; Heraclius is said to have founded them under his entry, but there is no cross reference to him under the themes entry. The entry for Belisarius implies he was in Italy continuously until 548 after first going. In his entry, Justinian is stated to have attacked the Visigoths in Spain in the 540s rather than the correct 550s. Most of the entry for Tripoli concerns the city of that name in Lebanon, but it is also stated that this city "was an important part of the trade route through the Sahara", a statement that seems more appropriate for the city of Tripoli in Libya. There is a somewhat detailed entry on Bohemia; I'm not sure why this is so in a book on Byzantium. On the plus side, there are many charts and tables and an extensive bibliography, plus some black-and-white photographs. But in my opinion the book contains too many misleading statements to be of much use either to a specialist or a casual reader. I still give the book two stars as it does in fact have a nice look and feel.