Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition

by Helen C. Evans (Editor)

This groundbreaking volume explores the epochal transformations and unexpected continuities in the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the ninth century. As the period opened, the Empire's southern provinces—the vibrant, diverse areas of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean—were at the crossroads of trade routes reaching from Spain to China. These regions experienced historic upheavals when their Christian and Jewish communities encountered the emerging Islamic world, and by the ninth century, an unprecedented cross-fertilization of cultures had taken place.

This extraordinary age is brought vividly to life by leading international scholars, their writings accompanied by sumptuous illustrations of the period's most notable arts and artifacts. Resplendent images of authority, religion, and trade—embodied in precious metals, brilliant textiles, fine ivories, elaborate mosaics, manuscripts, and icons, many of them never before published—highlight the dynamic dialogue between the rich array of Byzantine styles and the evolving Islamic aesthetic. With its masterful exploration of two centuries that would shape the emerging medieval world, Byzantium and Islam provides a revelatory interpretation of a period with profound ramifications for the modern era.

Published in conjunction with the exhibition Byzantium and Islam : age of transition (7th-9th century), held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, March 14-July 8, 2012.

Genres: History, Islam

352 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2012

About the author

Helen C. Evans is the Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art Emerita in the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Reviews

[Brett C]

This was an outstanding publication from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). The text was a scholarly work that showed the decline of Byzantium and the gradual rise of Islam and Arab-rooted Islamic culture in the Mediterranean and Middle East. There were various academic authors who contributed scholarly claim to the transition: militarily, geopolitically, commercially, and religiously. The authors also hit on key details involving the Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Syriac, and Aramaic peoples.

The entire book is filled with large pictures of artifacts, architecture and settlements, text manuscripts, mosaics, tapestries, pottery, coinage, religious artifacts (icons, woodcarvings), metal working, textiles, and more. These items were all from various museums.

This was a large and heavy book with glossy paper. It was a history lesson with a plethora of supporting archeological evidence. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the Byzantine Empire, early Islam, and medieval studies. Thanks!

[John Isles]

This coffee-table-size book is the catalogue of a blockbuster exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, that was put on in 2012. It brought together Byzantine and Islamic objects from museums around the world including the Louvre, the Ashmolean, the Islamic Museum in Cairo, and many more. With a few notable exceptions (such as the so-called Marwan Ewer from Syria, which I actually remember having seen in Cairo) the artifacts are mostly small and humble, and probably wouldn't have seemed impressive individually as seen in the exhibition. I wasn't able to visit at the time, but I believe it's far better anyway to study them at leisure in the book, where they are fully described, and are accompanied by numerous essays by experts. I was saddened to see how few items have a proper provenance; many are said to be from such vague places as "Iran, Iraq, or Syria" or "Eastern Mediterranean." Very likely they were stolen or looted before they came onto the market with their history lost. But if these things weren't in museums, they'd be in private collections, and less accessible to the public. I think it's right for museums to display them, and I'm glad they can also publish them in books like this one.

[Devin McLaughlin]

A fantastic visual compendium chronicling the interplay between Byzantium and its Islamic neighbours over the centuries. An interesting book to flip though, no question.

[Anatolikon]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has produced several other superb art books on Byzantium ('Glory of Byzantium: Arts and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843-1261' and 'Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557') and this one is no different. As I was not able to attend the actual exhibition, I cannot review this book in relation to what was displayed there. The scope of this book is roughly Byzantium and the early centuries of Islamic rule in the Near East. The book is composed of just under two-hundred entries on art and artefacts from that time period and part of the world, divided into three big sections: Byzantium, Commerce, and Islam. Most of the artefacts are dated from the sixth-eighth centuries under the first heading, with the ninth and tenth occasionally coming up in the latter two categories. Each and every entry is includes a full colour image of the artefact (and occasionally more). The entries themselves are of the highest quality. Despite the brevity of most of them (a few paragraphs) they each have a numerous end notes and tend to make reference to the literature which does not necessarily support what the author is arguing about the artefact. Thus not only is this book a rather pretty collection of photographs of two-hundred artefacts from a pivotal period, it is well referenced and a useful scholarly book. For the price and the selection of artefacts contained within, this book is a steal, and historians of the period cannot afford to not have a copy of this, while the general public is likely to learn a great deal and enjoy the brief but informative entries alongside the excellent photographs.