People and Power in Byzantium: An Introduction to Modern Byzantine Studies (Dumbarton Oaks Other Titles in Byzantine Studies) [Hardcover]

Alexander Kazhdan (Author), Giles Constable (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

An important contribution to the historical literature on the Byzantine empire. This book will whet the appetite of non-specialists to find out more about Byzantine society and Kazhdan has provided useful guidance on where to look. (American Historical Review and the Journal of Hellenic Studies )

About the Author

Alexander Kazhdan was a Senior Research Associate at Dumbarton Oaks.

Giles Constable is Medieval History Professor Emeritus in the School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (January 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884021033
• ISBN-13: 978-0884021032
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,684,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People and Power in Byzantium: An Introduction to Modern Byzantine Studies, December 30, 2008

By 

Eric Williams (South-Eastern Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: People and Power in Byzantium: An Introduction to Modern Byzantine Studies (Dumbarton Oaks Other Titles in Byzantine Studies) (Hardcover)

People and Power in Byzantium: An Introduction to Modern Byzantine Studies. Alexander Kazhdan, Giles Constable. 1982. 240 pages.

This book was lent to me by a friend back in Minnesota. It fills in a lot of gaps for me. It frames issues in context rather then as stand alone. The book was written by people trained in the Marxist school, yet they have been westernized enough to not be constantly trotting out the Marxist dogma. The only real remnant is in a chapter on the economy and a focus on the proles. In fact I applaud their notion of telling the story of your everyday Byzantine person. It speaks well of how the Byzantines saw themselves, how others saw them and of the gap between reality and ideal. Some of the cultural prejudices ... I am much more a Roman then a Byzantine, but then I knew that. I had had questions about some Church/Theological stuff and this book provided the context of the events outside of the faith and also did a very good ... actually excellent job of explaining it from the Orthodox view (both in practice and in projection). I had to send the book back but eventually I will purchase my own copy.