John II Komnenos, Emperor of Byzantium: In the Shadow of Father and Son

by Alessandra Bucossi (Editor), Alex Rodríguez Suárez (Editor)

The Emperor John II Komnenos (1118–1143) has been overshadowed by both his father Alexios I and his son Manuel I. Written sources have not left us much evidence regarding his reign, although authors agree that he was an excellent emperor. However, the period witnessed territorial expansion in Asia Minor as well as the construction of the most important monastic complex of twelfth-century Constantinople. What else do we know about John’s rule and its period? This volume opens up new perspectives on John’s reign and clearly demonstrates that many innovations generally attributed to the genius of Manuel Komnenos had already been fostered during the reign of the second great Komnenos. Leading experts on twelfth-century Byzantium (Jeffreys, Magdalino, Ousterhout) are joined by representatives of a new generation of Byzantinists to produce a timely and invaluable study of the unjustly neglected figure of John Komnenos.

260 pages, Paperback

Published December 20, 2019

About the author

Alessandra received her DPhil from Oxford University in 2006 with a dissertation in Byzantine Philology under the supervision of Professor E. M. Jeffreys. Previously she had been awarded a Master of Arts from King’s College London in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies (2001) and a Laurea in Lettere Classiche from the Università di Genova, Italy (1999). During the academic year 2007-2008 she spent nine months in Dumbarton Oaks Research Centre (Washington, D.C.) as a Byzantine Fellow. Since October 2008, she has been part of the Ars edendi research program, first as a visiting scholar and at present as a research fellow.