The reign of Basil II (976-1025)is widely accepted as the high point of medieval Byzantium. When the emperor died, imperial frontiers were at their most far-flung since the seventh century. Yet despite the territorial significance of Byzantium in this period, there is no comprehensive modern history of the reign. This thesis develops two important foundation stones for a new narrative history of Basil II: a better understanding of the relevant medieval historiography, and an analysis of the economic and administrative structures which underpinned contemporary political society. The first three chapters analyse the main Greek narrative account of the reign composed by John Skylitzes at the end of the eleventh century. The first chapter is a detailed textual study. The second chapter explores the literary, social and political contexts behind Skylitzes' text. The third chapter compares Skylitzes' coverage of Basil's reign with the rest of the medieval historical record, and identifies a hitherto unacknowledged source in the Greek tradition. Read together, these chapters demonstrate how the demands of history writing in the later eleventh century conditioned Skylitzes' narrative. In order to gain a more contemporary view of the reign, chapters four to six examine the economy and administration of the eastern half of the Byzantine empire during the tenth and eleventh centuries. These chapters argue that from the middle of the tenth century onwards, the administration of the eastern half of the empire was predicated on an imperial desire to exploit increasing regional economic prosperity. However, successive emperors, most notably Basil II himself, recognised the substantial practical constraints on the penetration of imperial authority in the locality. As a result the administration of the Byzantine east was characterised by considerable flexibility, and was able to adapt with surprising ease to local conditions.

This is a study of the Christianisation of the built environment: the physical manifestation of the transition from paganism to Christianity in the Greek East. The core of this thesis comprises an archaeological exploration of temple conversion in terms of structural mechanics, logistics, chronology and socio-political implications. This work provides a re-assessmenot f the fate of the temples- their deconsecration,d estruction, preservation, abandonment and re-utilisation - by supplementing and questioning the historical record through reference to the wealth of available archaeological evidence. Detailed chapters on the mechanics and chronology of particular forms of conversion scenario illustrate the emergence of an architectural vocabulary of temple conversion from the middle of the Sth century. In order to assess the impact of change on a local level, these primary issues are addressed through the archaeology of provincial Cilicia. This sheds new light on several well-known temple conversions and raises important questions about those for which the evidence is less conclusive. It is through this kind of regional study that the variability in the fate of temples is realised and increasingly attributed not to the influence of a particular piece of legislation, but to local and regional circumstances and context. Detailed studies of individual sites have also enabled the formulation of a methodological critique for the identification of the sites of temple conversion in their various manifestations: from complete incorporation of the temple remains, to piecemeal appropriation of individual architectural elements. Archaeological, historical and epigraphical evidence from over 250 structures in which the influence of a pre-existing temple has been detected, have been incorporated into a highly detailed database, providing a platform for information management and the analysis of trends in the fate of the temples. By looking beyond the subjective narratives of the primary historical sources, this thesis demonstrates that the archaeological evidence can provide us with a deeper understanding of the complexity and variability of temple conversion as it occurred in individual urban contexts. This has enabled the formulation of a more coherent picture of its significance and situation in the cultural and physical transfonnation of the late antique city.

Thesis (B. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1971. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-45).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Texte remanié de: Magisterarbeit--Fachbereich Altertumskunde--Berlin--Freie Universität, 1988.

Inaug.-Diss.-Munich, 1963. / Vita on leaf mounted on back cover. Bibliography: p. [197]-209.

Inaug.-Diss.-Munich, 1963. / Vita on leaf mounted on back cover. Bibliography: p. [197]-209.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 1980. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 380-406).

Thèse--Paris.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.