Book Review of Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire

Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire
Judith Herrin
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 2008
978-0-691-13151-1
392 pages
$29.95

In modern usage, the term "Byzantine" denotes needless complexity, inertia, and even deviousness. But as Judith Herrin demonstrates in Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, the polity whose name supplied this adjective did not embody the negative connotations now associated with this term. Rather, this informative and easily digestible book reveals the competence and creativity that sustained Byzantium for over a thousand years.

Herrin set out to write a different history of the Byzantine Empire-not a strict chronology but an exploration of the empire's substance and significance. The book's chapters therefore take one topic and discuss its impact through the whole of Byzantine history. For example, "Ravenna Mosaics" explains not just the impressive sixth-century images of Justinian and Theodora in the church of SanVitale but also Ravenna's overall importance to the empire throughout late antiquity, and its decline vis-à-vis the rising power of medieval Venice.

This unconventional organization works exceedingly well for the most part. The reader is introduced to a plethora of events, characters, and accomplishments through the chapters' themes. Those covering the imperial court and ruling dynasties provide fascinating details of the empire's politics, and they illuminate for the reader how Byzantium lasted as long as it did. But these aren't dry, colorless discussions. On the contrary, they explain numerous (and sometimes literally colorful) Byzantine innovations, such as the palace's purple birthing chamber. Being born in this room legitimated one's claim to the imperial succession from the eighth century onward. This practice of considering the physical space in which a child was born as a prerequisite for ruling differed from all western monarchies. It also allowed illegitimate children, such as Constantine VII, and unmarried women, including Zoe and Theodora of the Macedonian dynasty, to rule-an incomprehensible idea in most medieval states.

At times, however, this book's non-linear organization sacrifices depth for breadth. Intriguing topics, such as the Christianization of the Slavs, military innovations, and relations with the West, are discussed too briefly. Herrin admits that she didn't include all possible details (which can and have filled volumes). She concedes, "I can only provide a selection of meze, a dish of starters." But it is sometimes frustrating for the reader to know that Herrin is reining in her encyclopedic knowledge and only writing overviews.

Along with a more engaging organization, Herrin aims to show Byzantium's dynamism and relevance to the rest of western history. This she accomplishes masterfully, most notably in discussions of key fourteenth-century events: the Zealot revolt in Thessalonike and the cultural exchanges between Byzantine and Italian scholars. Of the remarkably successful seven-year rebellion she states that "the Zealots proved that Byzantium could also generate rebels who discarded traditional government and took account of social disadvantages." To prove the empire's significance she plainly declares, "Without Byzantium there would have been no Europe." Thanks to the empire's repelling of the Arab conquests in the seventh century, and its survival of attacks for another eight hundred years, western Europe (aside from Spain) remained a patchwork of Christian kingdoms, rather than part of the Islamic caliphates of the Near East and northern Africa. Herrin even shows Byzantium's impact today in the "war on terror" by mentioning Pope Benedict XVI's citation of a tract by Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. The passage quoted by the pope concerned controversial views of Islam, thereby bringing Byzantium into a most modern conflict.

Herrin concludes, "So if we need a word to describe the mendacity of our present political leaders, the bizarre incompetence of our own bureaucracies, the cunning selfishness and illegal mechanisms of our great corporations, or the intricate glamour of our global corridors of fame, then we should find the appropriate, modern adjective-and it is not 'Byzantine'." Her sweeping exploration proves that indeed the empire doesn't deserve its negative stereotype; instead it was creative, resilient, and crucial to the West. Although certain chapters feel hurried, this book will enlighten newcomers to Byzantine history and inspire those already acquainted to dig deeper.