Byzantium and the Crusades

De: Dr Jonathan Harris

Narrado por: John Sackville

Bloomsbury presents Byzantium and the Crusades by Jonathan Harris, read by John Sackville.

Jonathan Harris’s classic text chronologically surveys Byzantine history in the time of the Crusades. The book reveals the attitudes of the Byzantine ruling elites towards the Crusades and their ultimate inability to adapt to the challenges this presented. Using evidence amassed in a wealth of primary sources, Harris successfully makes the point that Byzantine interactions with Western Europe, the Crusades and the crusader states is best understood in the nature of the Byzantine Empire and the ideology which underpinned it, rather than in any generalised hostility between the peoples.

This new edition comes with two significant additions to the text:

* Appendix I sees the inclusion of seven critical Latin primary sources taken from across three centuries. Translated by the author, these sources are then discussed in detail, providing multiple first-hand perspectives on the subject in the process

* Appendix II provides assessments of various representations of the subject in key fiction and non-fiction works, thereby enriching your appreciation of the way that Byzantine interaction with the Crusades has been constructed at different times, from various standpoints and in other languages

This book remains the keystone to understanding the East-West relationship during the Crusades and what this meant for the Byzantine Empire.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Jonathan Harris (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Reseñas de la Crítica

Jonathan Harris continues to offer new insights in this, the third edition of a well-established classic. No student of the crusades or of relations between Byzantium and the West can afford to overlook this important study.

More than just good information

It's very common for the history books that get adapted to audio to be little more than chronologies of events, sometimes well-told but still lacking any historical analysis. Harris here has given us a well told narrative that should appeal to both lay reader unfamiliar with the Byzantines and Crusade aficionados, but he's done more. This book has a clear analysis that explains clearly and persuasively why the tragic disaster of the Fourth Crusade happened, a compelling long-view, deep-dive-into-culture approach that will change how I teach the role of Byzantium to my students.

Learning about Crusades

The Byzantium empire was a fascinated part of Rome history that don’t get talked about as much, but I’m glad I got to learn more

A good but biased listen

Author mentions then conveniently forgets the Norman invasion of Byzantium and how that may have factored into Alexios’ manner when dealing with the Latins.