Byzantium and the Crusades
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Byzantium and the Crusades
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Narrated by:
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John Sackville
About this listen
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 PlcListeners also enjoyed...
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time of personal monarchy, when the close friendship or petty feuding between kings and queens could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made peace, and intermarried. In this lively history, Catherine Hanley traces the great clashes, and occasional friendships, of the two dynasties. Along the way, she emphasizes the fascinating and influential women of the houses—including Eleanor of Aquitaine—and shows how personalities and familial bonds shaped the fate of two countries.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book with a bit of slant
- By Ky on 12-20-22
By: Catherine Hanley
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The Byzantine Empire
- By: Charles Oman
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
The Byzantine Empire survived as a self-contained political entity longer than any other in the history of Christianity. This history by Charles Oman is a catalog of good, bad, and indifferent emperors who either pushed Byzantine Civilization to new heights or savagely drove it to defeat and dissolution. It is a strange tale populated by some of the most interesting men and women who have ever lived.
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4 out of 5 stars
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adequate good book. great reader
- By Felisa Kay on 01-30-21
By: Charles Oman
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1066: The Year That Changed Everything
- By: Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jennifer Paxton
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,654
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,336
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,323
With this exciting and historically rich six-lecture course, experience for yourself the drama of this dynamic year in medieval history, centered on the landmark Norman Conquest. Taking you from the shores of Scandinavia and France to the battlefields of the English countryside, these lectures will plunge you into a world of fierce Viking warriors, powerful noble families, politically charged marriages, tense succession crises, epic military invasions, and much more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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History brought to life
- By Joshua on 07-10-13
By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
What listeners say about Byzantium and the Crusades
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christopher Riedel
- 08-25-24
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-11-25
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
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- John McLaughlin
- 07-25-23
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.
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1 person found this helpful