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No description available.

The present thesis analyzes the Byzantine mosaic pavements of Phoenicia and Northern Palcatine from a socio-economic perspective, primarily by examining the laying of pavements including technical aspects and bedding, the quality of decoration, the distribution of pavements in time and space, as well as inscriptions which provide names of donors and artists as well as dates. The approach adopted represents a novel alternative and complement to typical interpretations of mosaic floor decoration which overwhelmingly focus on the development and diffusion of style, or provide an exegesis of figurative iconography. Key aspects discussed include the extent to which chronological patterns of mosaic floor laying may be used to gauge economic conditions; the factors which determined the quality and distribution of technique and decoration in different building types; as well as the social mechanisms of patronage. Close scrutiny of the regional mosaic Corpus (which includes the total number of pavements) suggests that mosaic pavements provide a reasonable indication of economic conditions, especially in association with other media (coins, pottery, inscriptions). Together these media paint a historical picture of the economy of the period. Having graded according to four Levels of Complexity all the geometric designs in the Corpus after their codification following the rules devised by the Association Internationale pour l'Etude de la Mosaïque Antique (AIEMA), and with the support of the written ancient sources, it is demonstrated that quality and distribution of technique and style were governed by a combination of factors, notably function, financial expenditure, social use and various socio-economic categories of patrons, liturgy and liturgical level of participation. By building on the methodologies followed and the conclusions reached by other mosaic scholars, this innovative approach has attempted to reintroduce the human element into a discipline focused since the late 1960s on codification and descriptive precision. Revealing the hidden costs underlying the laying of mosaic pavements has presented a new insight into mosaic pavements as tri-dimensional products of team work. Likewise, stripping the literary language of dedicatory formulas down to essential information has challenged the misinterpreting of epigraphic evidence regarding donations and donors. In-depth analysis of Christian mosaic inscriptions has strengthened the pattern of changes plotted by historians of the Early Byzantine period and suggested that Christian patronage of mosaic art is to be equated with the local initiatives of the Church, ecclesiatics and wealthy laymen (or women) as private donors, and more rarely entire village communities. By contrast, scrutiny of the Jewish and Samaritan mosaic inscriptions has highlighted the fact that benefaction emanated from rich and poor alike, and was far more family and community oriented.

The subject for this dissertation is the study of Byzantine monetary affairs from the accesion of Leo III (717) up to the beginning of Alexius I's reign (1081). The work is divided into the following main chapters: I. Gold Coinage: Taking into account documentary and fragmentary numismatic evidence new chronologies and a few new attributions are attempted. A thorough survey of the recorded types and a detailed discussion of the relevant literature is included. References to iconography, monetary reforms and minting process are made. II.Silver Coinage: A similar study, including a separate section on metrology and valuation. III.Copper Coinage: The focus is concentrated in the coinages of Michael II, Theophilus and the anonymous folles of Class A. With the aid of detailed stylistic analyses, the study of dies and then the geographical distribution of the sylistic groups, the complex problem of provincial mints is discussed. The study is supplemented by four Appendices. Appendices I-III include a descriptive catalogue of 378 copper coins of Michael II and Theophilus upon which the stylistic analysis is based. Appendix IV contains catalogues of hoards and stray finds of Anonymous folles of Cl.A from Greece. Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and Asia Minor. IV. Monetary Circulation. A detailed survey of the attested evidence from all the areas under Byzantine dominion is included. On the basis of hoards and stray-finds the trends of the circulation in Greece are described. This study is supplemented by Appendix V, where a corpus of 122 coin hoards is presented.

The thesis is a contribution to two of the crucial problems of middle Byzantine history: the social and political structure of the provinces, and the explanation of the rapid fall of Asia Minor to the Turks at the end of the llth century. These problems are approached through a study of the Maeander region of western Asia Minor.Part one describes the geography of the region and shows it to have been a naturally fertile area, of great potential importance to the Empire. In the Roman period it had been very prosperous; the subsequent decline cannot be explained by geological or climatic factors. Part two surveys the archaeological evidence. The ancient city sites remained occupied at a sometimes very low cultural level through the early (7th -8th century) and middle (9th-llth century) Byzantine periods. A general move of settlements to apparently more secure sites with natural defences did not take place until the 12th-13th centuries in the face of the Turks. Up to the end of the llth century the city sites remained the focus of what was most active in the provincial society of the Maeander region. Part three looks at the region's elites. The strategoi and judges who ruled the theme of the Thrakesioi, which makes up the western two-thirds of the region, were outsiders appointed by the Imperial government in Constantinople and only in the region on short term appointments. Several major figures at the Imperial court owned land in the region but only as absentee landlords. When crisis came between 1071 and 1080 these outsiders abandoned the Maeander to the Turks. The church played an important role, but the resident local elite were a comparatively humble group, isolated from Constantinople, and lacking the influence to force the Imperial government into defending their interests.

Anastasius' long rule at the turn of the sixth century has tended to be neglected, yet it was a critical time in the history of the Later Roman Empire. On his accession, there were many problems facing the state: conflicts, both internal and external, religious disputes, and financial and administrative chaos. It is the aim of this thesis to assess the significance of Anastasius' reign, with a systematic survey of the key areas of imperial government. After an introductory chapter examining the primary sources, the second and third chapters consider revolts and wars. Chapter Two looks at two internal uprisings, that of the Isaurians (491-498) and that of Vitalian (514-516). The third chapter concentrates on external conflicts and political relations. The first section considers the Persian offensive (502-506) and the role of the Arabs, while the second part examines the ambiguous position of Theoderic in Italy, and explores how Anastasius sought to stabilize the balance of power with counter-alliances with the Franks and Burgundians. Chapter Four deals with the doctrinal schism dividing the orthodox from the monophysite. It outlines the background to this crisis and investigates the vicissitudes of Anastasius' policy as he sought to reconcile increasing eastern monophysitism with the west's intransigent orthodoxy. Chapter Five examines Anastasius' financial rehabilitation of the state and concludes that his success lay in a much wider reorganisation of the empire's resources: he restructured the fisc and introduced changes to municipal administration, agrarian legislation and the organisation of the army. This chapter also considers measures to halt the escalating violence of the faction riots, and it closes with a survey of the emperor's building policy. The thesis concludes that Anastasius' reign resolved many of the problems facing the empire in the fifth century, paving the way for Justinian in the sixth.

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborg, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 476-507) and index.

Thesis (B. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1969. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf [54]).

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborg, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 476-507) and index.

Despite ruling over arguably the most powerful Christian nation in the period, in a time when European and middle-eastern history entered a new phase of interaction due to the Crusades, John's reign has received little scholarly attention. The only major monograph is Chalandon's Les Comnènes from 1912, since which a number of new sources have come to light, together with numerous studies on his contemporaries. Despite the impression that sources are lacking for his reign, in fact there are over 50,000 words of court letters and poetry that allow us to take the political pulse of the Komnenian court. When incorporated with the extra information found in Syriac, Arabic, Russian, Hungarian and many other texts, archaeological remains, sigillographic and numismatic evidence, John's reign is in fact very well covered, and ripe for analysis. Between fieldwork in Turkey, Serbia and Kosovo and translations of these previously unused texts, this thesis contains new material on top of over a century of updated methodologies and research since Chalandon. As such, this thesis will reevaluate assumptions concerning John and his reign, including rewriting the narrative itself, which has previously been distorted due to the agendas of the few sources used. Through the reconstruction of this narrative John's empire can be reexamined, and how it operated in the changed world of the twelfth century determined. The empire found itself in a more multi-polar power dynamic, and tackled this by operating more as an empire than it had as a larger polity as in the previous century: incorporating other peoples as clients and emphasing the rhetoric of imperial piety and legitimacy of the Roman empire. Equally, all of John's actions on the frontiers were fuel for the political theatre that was Constantinople, and this dynamic shaped his actions and resulted in the empire that Manuel inherited.