Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium

by Jonathan Harris

In the early Middle Ages, the greatest city in Europe was not Paris, London or Berlin but Constantinople, capital of Byzantium. It was an article of faith that a saintly emperor, divinely appointed, had founded Constantinople and that the city was as holy as Rome or Jerusalem. The Byzantine emperors assiduously promoted the notion of a spiritual aura around the city. Thus, in 917, the emperor's regent wrote to the khan of the Bulgars warning him not to attack Constantinople. He did not threaten the khan with military force, but with the Virgin Mary who, as 'commander in chief of the city', would not take kindly to any assault. It was with legends and beliefs like this that the emperors bolstered their power and wealth, and the myth was central to the success of Constantinople and its empire for over a thousand years.

Although this is hardly the first history of Byzantium to be published, Jonathan Harris differentiates himself by offering keen insight into the spiritual and mythic dimensions of Constantinople, key elements of the city's history that have neglected until now. Constantinople: Capital of Byzantine is the first history of this great empire to properly examine the intriguing interaction between the spiritual and the political, the mythical and the actual. The result is an accessible and engaging account of a colorful and vital time in human history, and a long overdue look at an awe-inspiring city in its heyday.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Cities, Research, Ancient History

289 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2007

About the author

Jonathan Harris is professor of the history of Byzantium at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Research interests: Byzantine History 900-1460; relations between Byzantium and the west, especially during the Crusades and the Italian Renaissance; the Greek diaspora after 1453.

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Dvd (#) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran bel libro. E gran bel viaggio nella Costantinopoli bizantina che fu il centro del mondo cristiano per secoli.

Diciamo pure che Harris non porta nulla di nuovo, ma redigendo questo saggio agile e ben strutturato fa un operazione di rilievo e per nulla banale: mettere insieme l'enorme mole documentaria di citazioni, descrizioni, resoconti che nei secoli decine e decine di testimoni hanno scritto su quella che, per tutto il Medioevo, fu semplicemente La Città (come se non servisse nemmeno specificarne il nome, dato il mito passato e presente e la sua grandiosità - l'unico altro luogo-simbolo che poteva reggerne il paragone era ovviamente Roma, che lungi dall'essere la città degli Imperatori e poi dei Papi fu per tutto il Medioevo solo il suo nome e una cenciosa cittadina all'ombra delle rovine antiche), e poi riassumerle con brio e capacità di sintesi in queste 200 pagine.
Il viaggio, ripeto, è affascinante e non si limita alla descrizione (parziale - poco è rimasto) delle architetture della Costantinopoli bizantina ma si addentra fra politica, cultura, stili di vita, storia tout court senza mai essere pesante. Ovviamente poi rimane sulla superficie, e non approfondisce, perché non è questo il suo ruolo trattandosi puramente, e giustamente, di una prospettiva a volo d'uccello.

L'affresco finale che ne viene fuori è un libro gradevole, pieno di spunti e aneddoti interessanti su quella che, non a caso, venne ribattezzata la Seconda Roma , e che tentò (in parte riuscendoci) di essere l'erede materiale e politica della Prima. Anche Costantinopoli, come Roma, costruì un impero e un mito intorno al suo nome e la città fu solo il riflesso materiale (straordinario e accecante) di questa leggenda. Rimango convinto che la grandezza della Roma imperiale sia stata, comunque, inarrivabile sebbene la Costantinopoli imperiale abbia avuto vita ben più lunga...
Rimane certamente il rimpianto, qui come lì, che così poco sia rimasto, così tanto sia stato distrutto...delle due città più favolose della storia occidentale rimangono rovine, vaghe tracce nel sottosuolo (più qui che lì comunque). Come Lanciani dalla sommità del Palatino si chiedeva assorto come tutta quell'immensa quantità di marmi fosse potuta sparire nel nulla, anche io da casa mia penso la stessa cosa, riflettendo su quante effimere siano le cose, anche le più grandi.
Dopotutto, passata è la gloria per entrambe le due Rome, la madre e la figlia...come diceva quel monaco sconsolato secoli e secoli fa di Roma antica rimane solo il nome. Noi possediamo soltanto nudi nomi.

Nomi che sono la porta d'ingresso nel mito, eterno e non effimero come le cose terrene. A cui noi apparteniamo, ma non loro.
Consigliato...

P.S. da leggere con vicino una cartina di Costantinopoli antica - consiglio quella presente alla voce omonima su Wikipedia, molto dettagliata...

[Liviu Mihai Irimia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional well-written and captivating book. It reviews in a very well documented way, the whole history of Constantinople, from its founding to the present. It is written in a style that makes you see with your mind's eye everything that the author communicates. A real pleasure to read.

[Vlăduțu Alexandru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Această colecție de la BAROQUE BOOKS nu dezamăgește niciodată.

[Konstans · Rating 4 out of 5]

kitap güzel ama baskı kötü. çok sayıda yazım yanlışı var son kontrol yapılmadan matbaaya gitmiş galiba bir sayfada 8. dediği adam öbür sayfada 3. olmuş vs vs. klasik alfa baştan savmacılığı aslında. Bizans Konstantinopolisinin hikayesini türkiye İstanbulu olarak bitirdiği son bölüme bayıldım kitabı elime alıp satır satır bahsettiği caddeleri sokakları gezesim geldi. aslında 5 yıldızlık kitap da şu çok göze batan bir türlü bitmeyen yazım yanlışları sinirimi çok bozduğu için bir yıldız eksik verdim. böyle şeyler dikkatini komple dağıttığı için kitaptan soğuyan insanlar var onlar için tam bir cehennem azabı.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Eastern Roman Empire, otherwise known as the Byzantine Empire, is one of my long-standing interests. For many years I have been reading multiple primary sources, political and military histories, art histories, biographies, historical fiction, and viewing Byzantine icons and works of art in situ in Greece and Italy, as well as in American, British, Italian and Greek museums. I have also explored Greek Orthodoxy as a faith, its tenants and its heresies, and as practiced historically and presently.

Jonathan Harris acknowledges that the thousand+ year life of Byzantium cannot possibly be represented in a single volume, or even in many volumes. Therefore he centers his narrative on the year 1200, initially by describing life both high-born and low in Constantinople at the time, and then by branching out to salient preceding and succeeding developments in the life of the city.

To my mind what distinguishes Harris’ book from others I have read is 1) an in-depth discussion of the defining role of faith, and of superstition, 2) an examination of the volatile role of the city mob, 3) a critical look at the drive to power and the consequent amorality of high officials, including emperors, 4) an investigation of the role of the Italian trading city states in the later empire’s prosperity and fall, and 5) descriptions of important buildings and institutions in the city other than the best known ones.

Constantinople is not a conventional history. I experienced it as a portrait of the the “Queen of Cities,” its people in their everyday lives, its religion as central to its character, its awe-inspiring sights and its poverty, its defenses and its vulnerabilities. Constantinople’s longevity is the stuff of legend; Harris proffers some insights into how it thrived, how it survived as long as it did, and how it died.

Constantinople is an accessible read, which is not always the case with books on Byzantium. However, I am not sure it is suitable as an introduction to this astounding but too little known epoch. Some grounding in Byzantine history as context will enrich the experience of reading this engaging book.

[Michael Gerardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The focus of this book was a bit different from that of the typical book on the history of the Eastern Roman (i.e., Byzantine) Empire. The emphasis on the history of Constantinople itself was interesting, and the book provides a wealth of information on this topic.

The one thing that irritated me about this book, and which let me to give only a three-star rating, is the author's use of the artificial, Christophobic and very offensive terminology "BCE" and "CE" in place of the preferred "BC" and "AD". Without any explanation or even mention, at that: as if such terminology were now so universally known and accepted that no discussion were necessary. This terminology is especially inappropriate in a work pertaining to the specifically and explicitly Christian Byzantine Empire. It is a usage that has become more and more common among pretentious academics, who seem intent on undermining and destroying their own Western cultural heritage, while attempting to anticipate and then placate the prejudices of non-Christians and anti-Christians, particularly Muslims. Which is an even greater irony in view of the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by Muslim Turks.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harris is a professor of history and I feel like it would be great to be able to sit in on his classes because, like all the best history profs I have had, he knows how to mix big historical events and ideas with enough details of the culture and experiences of the ordinary person to keep one's interest. Constantinople/Istanbul is one of the most important cities in world history and Harris does a wonderful job of demonstrating that, never talking down to the reader but not spending the entire book reviewing outlines that should be pretty well known to educated readers. Definitely a book worth reading for anyone interested in world history from 1000-1400 CE. This period is crucial in the development of Islam and the relationships among nations of Europe, Asia and Africa.

[Nickstarfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Harris has managed to tell in a short way the large history of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire in general. With "Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium" he examines, as he tells us, the intriguing interaction between the spiritual and the political, the mythical and the actual with heyday of the year 1200 as his main reference (the peak of the empire). If someone wants to read something about this less known empire (despite it lasting for 1000 years) this book is a good introduction.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other reviewers have said it well; Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium is an eminently readable book about one of the world's most fantastic cities during its prime as the capital of the Roman Empire of the East. For those of us who are captivated by Byzantine history, Constantinople is not just the capital; it IS Byzantium. Here we learn the layout of the city, how the Orthodox clergy interacted with the Emperor, Court and citizens, how the city was managed and citizens fed, the political ramifications of their entertainments, etc. This book is a keeper in my home library.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read without being able to put it down. It is history like we have never learnt it in school, busting myths and clarifying knowledge gray areas. From Constantine who was not exactly the best Christian throughout his life to details of the fall of the city a wonderful story build up on solid historical facts. It so happens I have been many times to Istanbul it being one of my top favourite cities - so I was able to picture many artefacts and sites and vestiges described in the book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It is a history book, so can be dense in places, but the writer is really good at keeping it interesting.

[zu Serrahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did what I wanted it to do - provide me a sense of Byzantine society and culture throughout the wide sweep of Byzantine history. Neither the writing nor analysis were brilliant, but some episodes of intrigue were well narrated. Worth a read if you want to learn more about this subject.

I read the second edition.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. For me, the most fascinating chapters are the ones that focus on the years and centuries after it fell to the Turks in 1453.

[Hans Kerrinckx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Harris offers a service to the general reader interested in the history, culture, and mystique of the Byzantine Empire and the Queen of Cities.

"Constantinople Capital of Byzantium" is an excellent introduction to Byzantine history taken from the perspective of the history of the city of Constantinople as it would have been in the year 1200. Through most of the book, Harris focuses on how Byzantines living in late twelfth century Constantinople would have seen their own history, looking back and how this Byzantine vision compares to a modern historical understanding.

The book only offers 3 maps which is just enough to guide the general reader to the geography of Constantinople and the Empire. He could have added some more illustrations and above all a list of the Byzantine Emperors. This last remark applies to all general books on the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. Such a list is essential for beginners because the different dynasties, usurpers and changes of regimes can be very confusing.

Nevertheless, it is a wonderful resource for non-academics who find Constantinople and all of Byzantium very interesting. Full of fascinating historical oddments, not to mention implicit lessons in human nature and sociology. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.

And for those who want to read more about this topic: the author concludes the book with an oustanding bibliography! Well done!

[Hotavio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Constantinople follows the glamour, mythos, and corruption that was world's premier city Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.

The city is treated as the main character of the book and its long tale of continaul deceptions for the Byzantine crown,its mythos as to why the capital lasted for over 1000 years in a vulnerable crossroads, its veneration to the saints, and its final days are lovingly covered.

Surprisingly, a book on a city with this much history and subsequent history-makers is a scant, yet refreshing two hundred pages. Harris was sure to not skimp on the intrigue and the abundance and complexity of emperors and would be emperors were hard for me to track at times. If I were to read it over again, I would have kept track of them on a separate sheet of paper. But all of this throne changing/blinding to block succession/castrating/exiling makes for some good historical drama.

Of particular interest to me were the final days. As twisted and misguided as I found some of the policies of the Byzantines, I was sad to see them go, twice. But Harris does take the reader on a virtual tour of modern day Istanbul, which had me only imagining how the city eventually settled in the dust.

[Themistocles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not your traditional history book. Harris' effort starts off reading like a tourist guide, more or less, guiding the reader through a snapshot of Contstantinople taken in 1200.

Gradually, however, he starts jumping back and forth, from the early days of the city to its bitter end, giving a more complete picture of how the final version of this great metropolis came to be. Mind you, this is not by any means a history of Byzantium; it's more of a tale of the city, its civilisation, its riches. And in that Harris does a pretty good job, taking you through a very lively story, all the while giving the reader a foreboding about its decline, its sacking by the Crusaders, its last gasps and its final, and so sad, demise.

One thing I found to be conspicuously missing is a discussion on the city's contribution to the Byzantine and Western culture. Arguably this topic alone takes several volumes to cover, but I'm sure that Harris could, and should, have given it a try.

A great read for the casual history reader and for those wanting to start exploring the history of Byzantium. Very accessible, easy to pick up and, ultimately, a page turner.

[Moonglum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides some interesting tales and glimpses of Constantinople, and is good at describing how superstitions and religion shaped peoples' outlooks. It doesn't provide a narrative framework, or thesis but is rather more a collection of facts and stories. I wish it had better maps. I like history books where the writer asks and tries to answer questions, and this doesn't do enough of that for me. For example, why did imperial politics involve the blinding or exile of competitors, rather than their execution? After working my way to the end of the book, which involved many, many blinded ex-regents, and folks being carted off to a near vegetarian existence at a monastery (as a mostly vegetarian myself, this doesn't seem that bad, especially if they had garlic) I gathered that there were religious reasons and political ramifications to execution that could be ameliorated if the opponent was just blinded. Also the writer calls grain corn, which is weird because corn wasn't known in that area until after the 1453.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this book for a really in depth look at Byzantine history, but I think it's a fantastic supplement. I really appreciated the way that it's arranged by topics, rather than by chronology, and I love that a lot of the myths and ideas and beliefs of the Byzantine people are included--I feel like I got a pretty good of a sense of how folks living in Constantinople back then might have seen the world, which I haven't really gotten from any other book on Byzantium I've read. I also really enjoyed the last section of the book where Harris talks about which pieces of Byzantine Constantinople are still around (and to what extent) in modern day Istanbul, though it also made all the things that have been lost all the more heart-wrenchingly real to me.

Very well organized and a very quick read. I got this from the library, but I think I'll have to actually buy my own copy at some point, because I can guarantee I'll want to read it again!

[Eileen Iciek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Byzantine history, but many Byzantine historians, who have done wonderful research, have not quite mastered the art of writing a book that can be enjoyed by the general public. Jonathan Harris has managed that feat. "Constantinople" brings out many details about the city that even the most devoted aficionado of this civilization will not know. The book is broad in scope, which is my only complaint about it. There are times when I would have liked more of a street level view of what Constantinople would have been like. Still, this book is a great addition to my library of Byzantine histories.

[David Gwartney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harris gives an overview of the Byzantine Empire from the perspective of the events around the year 1200, as well as through legends and anecdotes that encapsulate the city's history. It is an enjoyable way to get an overview of something as daunting as the history of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. I might have preferred a few more timelines and charts to get a better perspective of the history, but for those who can get buried in the all the details, this book is a good survey of a history covering about a thousand years. Overall, an enjoyable read.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting review of Constantinople's history it contains illuminating information on the cultural significance of the city. Political or historical analysis is not the goal of this work, however, it is sufficiently present to give form to his wider narrative. Harris' work is well researched and clearly laid out but suffers from geographic confusion, furthered by poor map usage, as well as an under utilization of pictures.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tells a lot about the Eastern Roman Empire and Eastern Orthodoxy, by way of its capital city. Shows how far from the truth the catholic church went, by showing the general history of its capital city. A must read for any student of the period. Though it purports to be the history of Constantinople of 1200, it gives its whole history. Really just an introduction. Could have been much longer.

[Gwen Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still reading this but thus far, I love his description of the city itself. This is a book for the casual Byzantinist, in my opinion, easy to read but with great facts and not dry at all. I do wish that he would have gone more in-depth on some of the rulers. He hits some of the great stories of Byzantium but leaves out details that I think would intrigue many lovers of popular history.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Mostly a collection of stories about Byzantine intrigue- an interesting topic about which I know very little, but not quite the overarching sweep of history that I really like to read about.

[Sean Vangordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of the city and culture.

[Ali]

I give up. It's plenty good as far as non-fiction goes, but it just isn't working with my short attention span.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing -- this was a fascinating look at Constantinople in the year 1200. It was a great look into the functioning of a late Mediaeval city.

[Andrea Gualchierotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un saggio scorrevole e di solidi contenuti, ideale per aprire la strada a letture più approfondite ( sebbene richieda già una conoscenza di base della storia bizantina).