John II Komnenos, Emperor of Byzantium: In the shadow of father and son

by Alessandra Bucossi

The figure of Emperor John II Komnenos (1118-1143) has been overshadowed by both his father Alexios and son Manuel. Written sources have not left us much evidence regarding his period, although authors agree that he was an excellent emperor. However, the period witnessed territorial expansion in Asia Minor as well as the construction of the most important monastic complex of the twelfth century Constantinople. What else do we know about Johna s rule and its period? This volume opens up new perspectives to look at Johna s reign and clearly demonstrates that in many fields some of the innovations generally attributed to the genius of Manuel Komnenos, had been already fostered throughout reign of the second great Komnenos. Papers by the some of best experts in twelfth-century Byzantium (Jeffreys, Magdalino, Ousterhout) and studies by a new generation of Byzantinists make of this book an invaluable contribution for opening up a ground-breaking analysis of the figure of John Komnenos."

Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2016

About the author

Alessandra received her DPhil from Oxford University in 2006 with a dissertation in Byzantine Philology under the supervision of Professor E. M. Jeffreys. Previously she had been awarded a Master of Arts from King’s College London in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies (2001) and a Laurea in Lettere Classiche from the Università di Genova, Italy (1999). During the academic year 2007-2008 she spent nine months in Dumbarton Oaks Research Centre (Washington, D.C.) as a Byzantine Fellow. Since October 2008, she has been part of the Ars edendi research program, first as a visiting scholar and at present as a research fellow.