D.Litt. et Phil. / The aim of the present thesis has been to examine the course of Christianity and civilization in the medieval kingdoms of Nubia, in relation to the developments in the Byzantine Empire during the same period; that is, to look into the direct and indirect influences exerted by Byzantium on Nubia, at both political and cultural level. The study departs from the observation that there is a significantly close parallelism between the Nubian and the Byzantine history. More specifically, following the 7th century Arabic expansion, the Christian statal entities of Nubia and the Byzantium seem to run a parallel course, with rather similar fluctuations. Thus, there is a time when, initially, both Byzantium and Nubia – to a varying degree and in different ways – rally their forces against the Arabic threat. This is followed by a period of prosperity and growth, leading up to the 11th century and, finally, from the 12th century onwards, starts a gradual decadence that reaches its breaking point with the overthrow of both the Byzantine Empire and the remaining Christian statal formations of Nubia by the Ottomans. By way of conclusion then, we will summarise the most important observations and assumptions the present research has led to. Firstly, throughout the course of this study, the main goal has been to examine in juxtaposition and to correlate the developments in Nubia and Byzantium, through their relations with the Islamic world and its activity in the Mediterranean, and to ascertain whether there are substantial and considerable interrelations. At what time, to what extent and in what way did the Byzantine-Islamic relations affect the course of the Medieval Christian Kingdoms of Nubia? While various hypotheses have been formulated regarding the interrelation between Byzantium and Nubia, the issue has not as yet been subjected to a thorough and long-term study. The present dissertation intends to fill in this gap in research, thus contributing to a better understanding of the Nubian history.

Byzantine religious manuscripts were commissioned by people from many levels of society. Several contain portraits of their commissioners, represented together with a holy figure. An analysis of these scenes, examining features such as the holy figures represented and their specific iconographic meaning, and the relation of mortal to divine, reveals many facets of Byzantine art, religion and society. This analysis indicates a major distinction between portraits representing the emperor, and those depicting all other patrons. Non-imperial portraits show deep personal devotion and piety. The manuscripts in which they occur were commissioned to honour the holy figure, and many request salvation in return. Imperial commissions, on the other hand, were not votive gifts. Their portraits stress the public, political, and occasionally religious role of the emperor as the elected of God upon earth, and head of state. These portraits are thus highly informative of several aspects of Byzantine life.

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D.Litt. et Phil. (Greek) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This thesis examines Byzantine diplomacy and foreign policy in the round in the personal reign of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (945-959). This particular period has been singled out for investigation because Constantine had a keen personal interest in foreign affairs and two treatises from his reign, the De administrando imperio and the De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae, shed light upon the Byzantine view of the outside world and the workings of imperial bureaux charged with diplomatic affairs and the administration of military campaigns. After introducing the subject and the key sources, the thesis makes a clockwise circuit of all of the theatres in which Byzantine foreign policy was active. The first chapter looks at worldviews as documented in sources from Byzantium, Ottonian Saxony, and the Islamic Near East in order to determine how these key players saw their place in the world and systematised their relationships with each other. The second chapter discusses relations with the Islamic Near East and Transcaucasia and provides a survey of sources, historical reconstruction, and analysis of goals and processes. Chapter three examines relations with the Islamic caliphates of the central and western Mediterranean, and assigns them greater importance than generally acknowledged. Chapter four chronicles the nascent relations with Ottonian Saxony and Byzantium's re-engagement with the Transalpine Franks. Chapter five deals with the peoples of the Eurasian steppe and homes in on Byzantium's attempts to diffuse threats from this volatile world. Chapter six focuses on Italy as the region in which three strands of Byzantine foreign policy met and evaluates the empire's response to wholesale changes in power relations in the peninsula in the early years of Constantine's personal reign. The conclusion to the thesis interrogates whether Constantine's foreign policy kept the empire safe, enhanced its prestige, managed the military elites, and had an enduring legacy.

M.A. (Greek) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, August 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

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Inaug.-Diss.--Jena.

Issued also as the author's thesis, King's College, University of London, 1972. / Summary in Greek. Includes bibliographical references (p. [vii]-xv) and index.