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The World of Byzantium
- Narrated by: Kenneth W. Harl
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
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The World of Byzantium
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Summary
Byzantium is too-often considered merely the "Eastern rump" of the old Roman Empire, a curious and even unsettling mix of the classical and medieval. Yet it was, according to Professor Harl, "without a doubt the greatest state in Christendom through much of the Middle Ages," and well worth our attention as a way to widen our perspective on everything from the decline of imperial Rome to the rise of the Renaissance.
In a series of 24 tellingly detailed lectures, you'll learn how the Greek-speaking empire of Byzantium, or East Rome, occupied a crucial place in both time and space that began with Constantine the Great and endured for more than a millennium - a crucible where peoples, cultures, and ideas met and melded to create a world at once Eastern and Western, Greek and Latin, classical and Christian. And you'll be dazzled by the achievements of Byzantium's emperors, patriarchs, priests, monks, artists, architects, scholars, soldiers, and officials
- Preserving and extending the literary, intellectual, and aesthetic legacy of Classical and Hellenistic Greece
- Carrying forward path-breaking Roman accomplishments in law, politics, engineering, architecture, urban design, and military affairs
- Deepening Christian thought while spreading the faith to Russia and the rest of what would become the Orthodox world
- Developing Christian monastic institutions
- Shielding a comparatively weak and politically fragmented western Europe from the full force of eastern nomadic and Islamic invasions
- Fusing classical, Christian, and eastern influences
- Helping to shape the course of the Humanist revival and the Renaissance
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The World of Byzantium
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- clarke emilie
- 11-01-21
Engaging, interesting and entertaining
Extremely informative, taught me a whole new period of history. The lecturer is fantastic and keeps you engaged throughout, the detail at times is amazing. It makes you realise just how important this civilization was in European and Middle Eastern histories.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Selcuk Birler
- 30-03-23
A very enlightening and entertaining course, Throughly enjoyed it
I listened the whole course twice and enjoyed it very much…. I found less time to review the notes, but managed to listen the track a few times which helped me a lot…. Thank you to the team and Dr Harl…
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alex
- 21-03-21
Insightfull
Great structure, could have covered a bit more into the Byzantine legacy in other kingdoms/ countries but overall great lectures
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sarah e.
- 26-09-23
Really interesting
Interesting and engaging all the way through. I learned a lot about a period of time that I previously knew little about xx
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Gayle M
- 16-04-23
Fascinating overview
Covered so much information, I hope I get time to listen again. Looking forward to listening to the Professor's next course on the Ottomans.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 27-03-23
Top notch! Very much worth a listen
Covers what is a very large and important period of history very clearly, understandably and engagingly. Highly recommend.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- mr
- 06-12-14
Good but not great
Good overall and very interesting but a bit sparse on the detail. The book could had done with being a lot longer. That said, still worth a listen.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Jonathan
- 03-01-15
Very Disappointing -- There's a Better Alternative
I have listened to many Great Courses and am a huge fan. But this was a very poor course in my opinion. It is a mixture of historical narrative and a discussion of the early development of Christianity, and these two components were not integrated at all. Morever the historical narrative did not across very well as a story and I did not find myself engaging at all with the main protagonists. I persevered to the end but was really fed up with it in the latter stages. I was frustrated that I didn't get a good feel for this topic so I decided to look for something else and found the Modern Scholar course, also on audible, "Empire of Gold" by Thomas Madden. I am now part way through this and it is really good -- what a contrast! I strongly recommend chosing that rather than Professor Harl's course.
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14 people found this helpful