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Byzantium and Bulgaria: A Comparative Study Across the Early Medieval Frontier
Book
- GenresHistory
232 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1975
About the author
Robert Browning
12 books8 followersRobert Browning, Greek historian, translator, Byzantinist, and professor was born in Glasgow in 1914. He graduated from Glasgow University in 1931, acquiring several prizes and honors. He also learned several Eastern European languages, beginning with Albanian. In 1939, he acquired a second degree from the university and joined the Royal Artillery, where he mastered Georgian.
Browning returned to academia from WWII to teach and work in several universities, including Merton College, Oxford, London University, University College, and Birkbeck, University of London, from which he retired as Professor of Classics and Ancient History in 1981.
Browning remained active, serving in an advisory capacity at Dumbarton Oaks and the University of Cyprus, and receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham.
Browning returned to academia from WWII to teach and work in several universities, including Merton College, Oxford, London University, University College, and Birkbeck, University of London, from which he retired as Professor of Classics and Ancient History in 1981.
Browning remained active, serving in an advisory capacity at Dumbarton Oaks and the University of Cyprus, and receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 7, 2017
When a giant's shadow falls.....
The two books that preceeded Browning's in this series compared likes---Venice to Amsterdam and European knights with Japanese samurai. This third book compares two civilizations that, though neighbors, cannot be judged equivalents. Appearing in the 6th century, the nomadic Turkic Bulgars overran the Balkans. At the same time, Slavic peoples moved down from the north into the Balkan areas and Greece, which had been depopulated by incessant barbarian invasions. Though numerous, the Slavs did not develop states and armies till later. The Bulgars clashed with Byzantium over centuries, but never proved able to conquer the great city, Constantinople. They absorbed (or were absorbed by) the Slav population, finally emerging as a mixed Slav-Turkic civilization strongly influenced by their perennial opponents, the Byzantine Greeks, in everything, especially religion. The first Bulgarian Empire lasted roughly two centuries--from 803 to 1018--before being crushed and annexed to a resurgent Byzantium. Later, from 1185 on, a second Bulgaria rose up before the whole area was occupied by the Ottoman Turks.
I learned a lot from this book, even if the editing could have been tighter. [Ex. Tsar Krum and his 30,000 armored soldiers are mentioned twice on page 134 and then again on page 138.] I realized that the autocephalous churches of the Orthodox world, the Cyrillic alphabet, and much else grew up in a Bulgarian pattern. The Russians say, "A chicken is not a bird, and Bulgaria isn't abroad." for not only political reasons--the two countries have had a lot in common over centuries. The author's scholarship is unquestionable. If you are interested in academic books on Balkan history, this could be a good choice. However, I do think the valuable material collected and parsed by Browning has been stuffed into a format that didn't really fit. I have a feeling that this was a chance for the author to bring his work to the world's notice because straight out books on medieval Bulgarian history are not exactly best sellers ! Byzantium lasted as a power for over a thousand years. It was a World City which at times controlled Italy, North Africa, the Balkans, Crimea, and much of the Near East with all their ancient cities and urban life. Bulgaria never really had any cities to compare. Bulgarian cities had no tradition of civic autonomy. Trade and industry, coinage and crafts---these all were integral to Byzantine civilization, but not to Bulgaria, which seldom had its own coinage, conducted little trade, and was dominated by Byzantium economically. Comparing the political structure is also not very fruitful as the two entities were so different. The Bulgar nomads had to morph into a state capable of challenging the great empire or withstanding Byzantine challenges. In Bulgaria, the elite spoke Greek, was educated in Byzantium, while the peasants remained Slavic with many animist practices. As the author points out, things must have been pretty schizophrenic, since Bulgar and Byzantine remained at loggerheads most of the time. The Bogomil heresy that sprang up later appealed to the Balkan peasants in a way it never could to the urban Greeks. The real contrast between the two societies is that Bulgaria developed as an early example of a national state in Europe, while Byzantium did not. It was never an ethnic state, but always an empire based on a common religion and political system, with Greek the language of culture and administration. Browning's book may contain too much detail to appeal to an average history buff, but for a person seriously interested in the subject it would deserve more stars than I've given it.
The two books that preceeded Browning's in this series compared likes---Venice to Amsterdam and European knights with Japanese samurai. This third book compares two civilizations that, though neighbors, cannot be judged equivalents. Appearing in the 6th century, the nomadic Turkic Bulgars overran the Balkans. At the same time, Slavic peoples moved down from the north into the Balkan areas and Greece, which had been depopulated by incessant barbarian invasions. Though numerous, the Slavs did not develop states and armies till later. The Bulgars clashed with Byzantium over centuries, but never proved able to conquer the great city, Constantinople. They absorbed (or were absorbed by) the Slav population, finally emerging as a mixed Slav-Turkic civilization strongly influenced by their perennial opponents, the Byzantine Greeks, in everything, especially religion. The first Bulgarian Empire lasted roughly two centuries--from 803 to 1018--before being crushed and annexed to a resurgent Byzantium. Later, from 1185 on, a second Bulgaria rose up before the whole area was occupied by the Ottoman Turks.
I learned a lot from this book, even if the editing could have been tighter. [Ex. Tsar Krum and his 30,000 armored soldiers are mentioned twice on page 134 and then again on page 138.] I realized that the autocephalous churches of the Orthodox world, the Cyrillic alphabet, and much else grew up in a Bulgarian pattern. The Russians say, "A chicken is not a bird, and Bulgaria isn't abroad." for not only political reasons--the two countries have had a lot in common over centuries. The author's scholarship is unquestionable. If you are interested in academic books on Balkan history, this could be a good choice. However, I do think the valuable material collected and parsed by Browning has been stuffed into a format that didn't really fit. I have a feeling that this was a chance for the author to bring his work to the world's notice because straight out books on medieval Bulgarian history are not exactly best sellers ! Byzantium lasted as a power for over a thousand years. It was a World City which at times controlled Italy, North Africa, the Balkans, Crimea, and much of the Near East with all their ancient cities and urban life. Bulgaria never really had any cities to compare. Bulgarian cities had no tradition of civic autonomy. Trade and industry, coinage and crafts---these all were integral to Byzantine civilization, but not to Bulgaria, which seldom had its own coinage, conducted little trade, and was dominated by Byzantium economically. Comparing the political structure is also not very fruitful as the two entities were so different. The Bulgar nomads had to morph into a state capable of challenging the great empire or withstanding Byzantine challenges. In Bulgaria, the elite spoke Greek, was educated in Byzantium, while the peasants remained Slavic with many animist practices. As the author points out, things must have been pretty schizophrenic, since Bulgar and Byzantine remained at loggerheads most of the time. The Bogomil heresy that sprang up later appealed to the Balkan peasants in a way it never could to the urban Greeks. The real contrast between the two societies is that Bulgaria developed as an early example of a national state in Europe, while Byzantium did not. It was never an ethnic state, but always an empire based on a common religion and political system, with Greek the language of culture and administration. Browning's book may contain too much detail to appeal to an average history buff, but for a person seriously interested in the subject it would deserve more stars than I've given it.
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