Byzantium, 1180 - 1204

The present volume originated as a workshop entitled Byzantium, 1180-1204: "The Sad Quarter of a Century" held at the National Hellenic Research Foundation in Athens on June 20, 2014. The workshop was organized by Alicia Simpson as part of the research project "The Reign of Isaac II Angelos: Politics and Society in the Late Twelfth Century", funded by the Operational Programme "Supporting Postdoctoral Researchers" under the auspices of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology, and hosted by the Institute of Historical Research. Earlier versions of the papers published here were presented at the workshop with the exception of those subsequently written by Michael Angold and Dimitri Korobeinikov, both of whom kindly agreed to contribute to the volume. The volume seeks to revisit the critical period in Byzantine history that begins with the death of the emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1180 and ends with the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Though brief in its time span and most often viewed through the prism of the Latin conquest, the period witnessed important developments both within the Byzantine Empire itself and in the wider region of Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean world. Looking beyond Byzantine-Western relations that have so far dominated the scholarship of the period, individual papers examine themes ranging from the historiographical perception and interpretation of the late twelfth century, to the empire's changing relations with its neighbours, and the significant shifts occurring in its political and social life. They cover issues concerning the administration and economy of the empire and the relations between capital and provinces; and investigate the increasing importance of commerce along with the seemingly pervasive role of money-making in Byzantine society. The art-historical papers rounding off the volume examine the renovation of two prominent monuments of Constantinople which occurred during this p