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Byzantine Civilization
Reveals the history, culture economic state, and political life of the Byzantine culture from the fourth to the fifteenth century
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1933
14 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
About the author
Steven Runciman
43 books233 followersA King's Scholar at Eton College, he was an exact contemporary and close friend of George Orwell. While there, they both studied French under Aldous Huxley. In 1921 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge as a history scholar and studied under J.B. Bury, becoming, as Runciman later commented, "his first, and only, student." At first the reclusive Bury tried to brush him off; then, when Runciman mentioned that he could read Russian, Bury gave him a stack of Bulgarian articles to edit, and so their relationship began. His work on the Byzantine Empire earned him a fellowship at Trinity in 1927.
After receiving a large inheritance from his grandfather, Runciman resigned his fellowship in 1938 and began travelling widely. From 1942 to 1945 he was Professor of Byzantine Art and History at Istanbul University, in Turkey, where he began the research on the Crusades which would lead to his best known work, the History of the Crusades (three volumes appearing in 1951, 1952, and 1954).
Most of Runciman's historical works deal with Byzantium and her medieval neighbours between Sicily and Syria; one exception is The White Rajahs, published in 1960, which tells the story of Sarawak, an independent nation founded on the northern coast of Borneo in 1841 by the Englishman James Brooke, and ruled by the Brooke family for more than a century.
After receiving a large inheritance from his grandfather, Runciman resigned his fellowship in 1938 and began travelling widely. From 1942 to 1945 he was Professor of Byzantine Art and History at Istanbul University, in Turkey, where he began the research on the Crusades which would lead to his best known work, the History of the Crusades (three volumes appearing in 1951, 1952, and 1954).
Most of Runciman's historical works deal with Byzantium and her medieval neighbours between Sicily and Syria; one exception is The White Rajahs, published in 1960, which tells the story of Sarawak, an independent nation founded on the northern coast of Borneo in 1841 by the Englishman James Brooke, and ruled by the Brooke family for more than a century.
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October 2, 2017Αρκετά βιβλία εισαγωγικού χαρακτήρα έχουν γραφεί για την βυζαντινή ιστορία και πολιτισμό. Γνωστά στο ευρύ κοινό είναι τα έργα των Diehl και Ostrogorsky. Έχοντας διαβάσει την ιστορία του Diehl θεωρούσα περιττό να ασχοληθώ με την πόνημα του Runciman μιας και δεν πίστευα πως θα μου προσέθετε κάτι το οποίο δεν γνώριζα. Παρ’ όλα αυτά είπα να δώσω μια ευκαιρία στο βιβλίο εξαιτίας της απολαυστικής πένας του συγγραφέα και δεν το μετάνιωσα. Η ύλη του βιβλίου είναι χωρισμένη υποδειγματικά ενώ ο συγγραφέας κατόρθωσε να χωρέσει 1100 χρόνια βυζαντινής ιστορίας σε μόλις 414 σελίδες. Οι κρίσεις του σχετικά με την βυζαντινή εκπαίδευση, οικονομία, τέχνη και λογοτεχνία είναι ιδιαίτερα οξυδερκείς ενώ δεν λείπουν και οι σχολιασμοί πάνω σε συγκεκριμένους αυτοκράτορες και την πολιτική τους. Ακόμα σημαντικότερο είναι το γεγονός πως δίνει στον αναγνώστη να καταλάβει τα διλλήματα που αντιμετώπισαν πολλοί αυτοκράτορες για την πολιτική που έπρεπε να ακολουθήσουν και πολλές αποφάσεις δεν ήταν απλά άσπρο/μαύρο όπως αρκετοί τείνουν να παρουσιάσουν σήμερα. Διάβασα ακόμα και για περιστατικά τα οποία δεν γνώριζα όπως π.χ ότι η οι Δυτικοί έβλεπαν με μισό μάτι την βυζαντινή γυναίκα του Όθωνα Β’ επειδή συνήθιζε να κάνει μπάνιο συχνά. Επαναλαμβάνω όλα αυτά σε 414 σελίδες. Αναμφίβολα ένα από τα καλύτερα εισαγωγικά βιβλία που μπορεί να διαβάσει κανείς σχετικά με την βυζαντινή ιστορία και πολιτισμό και σε πολύ καλή τιμή.
Υ.Γ Ότι μπορέσετε να βρείτε γραμμένο από τον Runciman σε προνομιακή τιμή απλά βουτήξτε το. Θα σας κάνει να ερωτευτείτε την ιστορία. Αν είστε ήδη ερωτευμένος τότε θα σας κάνει να νοιώσετε σαν τις πρώτες μέρες του έρωτα σας.
Υ.Γ Ότι μπορέσετε να βρείτε γραμμένο από τον Runciman σε προνομιακή τιμή απλά βουτήξτε το. Θα σας κάνει να ερωτευτείτε την ιστορία. Αν είστε ήδη ερωτευμένος τότε θα σας κάνει να νοιώσετε σαν τις πρώτες μέρες του έρωτα σας.
April 5, 2017
If you want to understand about this neglected period in history, this is an excellent resource.
January 2, 2019
A good first book of the year to read. Learning something I want to know more about. Written more than 40 years ago, the style is very academic, hence a bit pedantic & not engaging, but the info is really well researched and documented. I had the immediate impression "This is probably as good a source of valid info as is out there". Well illustrated with relevant, indeed beautiful photos, that make the (rather) dull text come alive. This volume is part of a trilogy including Medieval Art & Civilization, and Gothic Art & Civilization. So I'm learning some solidly worthwhile info to start 2019.
October 29, 2020
A book that I read a bit at a time, it was a great survey of Byzantine history.
August 3, 2024
Stiven Ransiman važi za jednog od uglednijih zapadnih vizantologa. Ovo njegovo relativno obimom malo delo, ali zaključima ogromno, potvrđuje njegov autoritet. Autor uspeva da pruži opšti pogled na vizantijsku istoriju, trudeći se da uroni u što više aspekata romejske istorije koja obuhvata period od preko hiljadu godina.
Dodatnu vrednost Ransimanovom delu daje činjenica da je ono pisano pre skoro sto godina u vremenu kada vizantologija kao naučna oblast se tek formira i u vremenu kada su se mnoge stranice vizantijske prošlosti još skrivale u senci. Upravo zato ne treba biti previše strog prema nemalom broju faktografskih grešaka koje autor čini - jasno je da one nastaju iz tadašnje pozicije još uvek nerazjašnjenih raznih istorijskih izvora, a ne iz neke autorove površnosti ili malicioznosti. Svakako da ove greške ne trebaju da utiču na naš celoukupan utisak o knjizi jer Ransimanovi oštri i lucidni zaključi nam mnogo uvida pružaju u hiljadugodišnju istoriju Vizantije. U tom kontekstu ne treba nam smetati kada autor pogrešno navede da je Uroš I bio car, umesto kralj, kada pročitamo kako genijalno Ransiman uspoređuje katedralu u Solzberiju i Gračanicu. Ipak, bilo bi dobro da čitalac ima prethodno znanje o vizantijskoj istoriji kako bi najviše blagodeti izvukao iz čitanja ,,Vizantijske civilizacije''. Iz ovog razloga ne bih preporučio ovo delo kao polaznu tačku istraživanja istorije Novog Rima, ali bih svakako preporučio svakom strastvenom proučavaocu istorije Romeja i uopšte srednjovekovne istorije.
Dodatnu vrednost Ransimanovom delu daje činjenica da je ono pisano pre skoro sto godina u vremenu kada vizantologija kao naučna oblast se tek formira i u vremenu kada su se mnoge stranice vizantijske prošlosti još skrivale u senci. Upravo zato ne treba biti previše strog prema nemalom broju faktografskih grešaka koje autor čini - jasno je da one nastaju iz tadašnje pozicije još uvek nerazjašnjenih raznih istorijskih izvora, a ne iz neke autorove površnosti ili malicioznosti. Svakako da ove greške ne trebaju da utiču na naš celoukupan utisak o knjizi jer Ransimanovi oštri i lucidni zaključi nam mnogo uvida pružaju u hiljadugodišnju istoriju Vizantije. U tom kontekstu ne treba nam smetati kada autor pogrešno navede da je Uroš I bio car, umesto kralj, kada pročitamo kako genijalno Ransiman uspoređuje katedralu u Solzberiju i Gračanicu. Ipak, bilo bi dobro da čitalac ima prethodno znanje o vizantijskoj istoriji kako bi najviše blagodeti izvukao iz čitanja ,,Vizantijske civilizacije''. Iz ovog razloga ne bih preporučio ovo delo kao polaznu tačku istraživanja istorije Novog Rima, ali bih svakako preporučio svakom strastvenom proučavaocu istorije Romeja i uopšte srednjovekovne istorije.
February 19, 2019
Μια θαυμάσια επισκόπηση 1123 ετών και 18 ημερών Αυτοκρατορίας. Ο Runciman περιγράφει σχεδόν όλες τις πτυχές της ζωής στο Βυζάντιο. Μας μιλάει για τη διοίκηση, τον αυτοκράτορα, την εκκλησία, την τέχνη, την πολιτική, τη διπλωματία, την καθημερινή ζωή. Διατυπώνει γενικές θέσεις και ακολούθως προσπαθεί να τις τεκμηριώσει με απειράριθμα παραδείγματα. Και όλα αυτά γραμμένα με ενθουσιασμό, γλαφυρότητα και πραγματική αγάπη του συγγραφέα για το αντικείμενο της μελέτης του. Αυτό που μου έκανε όμως μεγαλύτερη εντύπωση είναι ο βαθύς θαυμασμός του Runciman για τον Βυζαντινό πολιτισμό. Χωρίς περιστροφές υποστηρίζει ότι αυτή η αυτοκρατορία με τις ρωμαϊκές, ελληνικές και χριστιανικές επιρροές υπήρξε η μεγαλύτερη πηγή καλλιέργειας και πολιτισμού για πάνω από μια χιλιετία, πολύ ανώτερη τόσο από τη βάρβαρη Δύση όσο κι από τα εξισου βάρβαρα φύλα της Ανατολής. Ένα έξοχο βιβλίο που μας ξαναγνωρίζει ένα ξεχασμένο αλλά πολύ σημαντικό και εντελώς αναπόσπαστο κομμάτι της ελληνικότητας μας.
November 16, 2021
Καλογραμμένο βιβλίο με παρά πολλές πληροφορίες για όλες τις εποχές της Αυτοκρατορίας. Παρ’όλα αυτά η παράθεση τόσων πολλών ονομάτων και η γρήγορη μετάβαση από τη μια εποχή στην άλλη μπορεί να μπερδέψει (και να κουράσει) τον αναγνώστη.
February 17, 2025
A solid if outdated overview of Byzantine history.
Runciman is best known for his history of the Crusades, but he also impressively wrote this work which condenses Byzantine history into about 240 pages (+ notes at the end). That itself is an impressive task and means it necessarily leaves out a lot of details, which I don't fault it for. For someone who is just delving into Byzantine history though, it was a great resource to get the overarching perspective on who did what when, how the Byzantines lived, and some concepts that prevailed throughout the history of the Empire.
As a brief summary, most of the chapters recount the overview of a topic relevant to Byzantine civilization (e.g. religious affairs), where Runciman does a brief overview of the topic, explores how it changed over time, and then delves deeper into the overarching details. One of the more interesting topics that he brought up was his assertion that the Byzantines conceived of the world of man as inferior to the afterlife as an expression of their deep religiosity. This according to Runciman, deeply affected the way they saw and interacted with the world. Another interesting topic was his view that much of the Iconoclastic period, particularly that under Constantine V, was an anti-monastic movement, rather than one of distinct faith and belief.
While it is a good overview, it's important to remember this book was written quite a while ago. Thus the scholarship has advanced significantly since then. This isn't the book's fault of course, but it's important to remember. The sections on Byzantine art and literature were interesting, though certainly the weakest as it is mostly just Runciman's opinions on said art and literature when you dig in deeper. Some of the way he characterizes certain emperors also falls into this bucket (not that said opinions weren't at least derived from fact as far as I can tell) which earns a bit of a ding from me, though it does help make it engaging read.
Runciman is best known for his history of the Crusades, but he also impressively wrote this work which condenses Byzantine history into about 240 pages (+ notes at the end). That itself is an impressive task and means it necessarily leaves out a lot of details, which I don't fault it for. For someone who is just delving into Byzantine history though, it was a great resource to get the overarching perspective on who did what when, how the Byzantines lived, and some concepts that prevailed throughout the history of the Empire.
As a brief summary, most of the chapters recount the overview of a topic relevant to Byzantine civilization (e.g. religious affairs), where Runciman does a brief overview of the topic, explores how it changed over time, and then delves deeper into the overarching details. One of the more interesting topics that he brought up was his assertion that the Byzantines conceived of the world of man as inferior to the afterlife as an expression of their deep religiosity. This according to Runciman, deeply affected the way they saw and interacted with the world. Another interesting topic was his view that much of the Iconoclastic period, particularly that under Constantine V, was an anti-monastic movement, rather than one of distinct faith and belief.
While it is a good overview, it's important to remember this book was written quite a while ago. Thus the scholarship has advanced significantly since then. This isn't the book's fault of course, but it's important to remember. The sections on Byzantine art and literature were interesting, though certainly the weakest as it is mostly just Runciman's opinions on said art and literature when you dig in deeper. Some of the way he characterizes certain emperors also falls into this bucket (not that said opinions weren't at least derived from fact as far as I can tell) which earns a bit of a ding from me, though it does help make it engaging read.
July 4, 2025
Steven Runciman was probably one of the great British historians, although this books are now decades old they remain fresh, erudite and full of verve.
This work traces the development of Byzantine civilization from before the establishment of Constantinople as the new Rome and the split of the Roman Empire into East and West through some eleven centuries of history to the Ottoman conquest in 1453. As the author states "the reformed empire inaugurated on May 11, 330, endured for eleven hundred and twenty three years and eighteen days. Throughout the changing Europe of those centuries one factor remained constant: a Roman Emperor reigned in autocratic majesty in Constantinople" (p30)
The book covers key themes such as religion, art, the army and navy, commerce, education and the Imperial administration.
In Runcimans works, of which I am a fan, the lost empire of Byzantium (lest we forget this was the Roman empire lasting a near millenium after the fall of the west) lives again.
Well worth seeking out
This work traces the development of Byzantine civilization from before the establishment of Constantinople as the new Rome and the split of the Roman Empire into East and West through some eleven centuries of history to the Ottoman conquest in 1453. As the author states "the reformed empire inaugurated on May 11, 330, endured for eleven hundred and twenty three years and eighteen days. Throughout the changing Europe of those centuries one factor remained constant: a Roman Emperor reigned in autocratic majesty in Constantinople" (p30)
The book covers key themes such as religion, art, the army and navy, commerce, education and the Imperial administration.
In Runcimans works, of which I am a fan, the lost empire of Byzantium (lest we forget this was the Roman empire lasting a near millenium after the fall of the west) lives again.
Well worth seeking out
October 15, 2017
Είναι ιδανικό για όσους θέλουν με μία σύντομη ανάγνωση (περίπου τεσσάρων ωρών) να ψηλαφήσουν τα κυριότερα στοιχεία που ορίζουν την Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία.
May 25, 2024
Its not the smoothest of reading, some chapters retain the attention better than others, but worth keeping as a reference book.
June 25, 2024
Este perfectă pentru cei care vor să afle mai multe despre societatea și istoria Bizanțului. Foarte bine documentată.
March 15, 2014
Uh............
January 25, 2014
Great and very short survey/introduction to Byzantine history.
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