Byzantium and the Other: Relations and Exchanges

Angeliki E. Laiou (1941 - 2008) was Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine History at Harvard University, USA.

• Contents: Preface, Cécile Morrisson and Rowan Dorin; Introduction, David Jacoby; Part I Byzantium and the Other: The foreigner and the stranger in 12th-century Byzantium: means of propitiation and acculturation; L'étranger de passage et l'étranger privilégié à Byzance, XIe - XIIe siècles; Institutional mechanisms of integration. Part II Byzantium and the Crusades: Byzantium and the crusades in the 12th century: why was the 4th Crusade late in coming?; On just war in Byzantium; The just war of eastern Christians and the Holy War of the crusaders; The many faces of medieval colonization. Part III Long Distance Trade and Relations: Byzantine trade with Christians and Muslims and the crusades; Venice as a centre of trade and of artistic production in the 13th century; Italy and the Italians in the political geography of the Byzantines (14th century); Monopoly and privilege: the Byzantine reaction to the Genoese presence in the Black Sea; Monopoly and privileged free trade in the Eastern Mediterranean (8th-14th century); Regional networks in the Balkans in the middle and late Byzantine period; Byzantium and the neighboring powers: small-state policies and complexities; Index.

'As this collection of papers worthily represents, Angeliki Laiou’s scholarship deserves wide dissemination and readership for those interested in Byzantium, the Crusades, and Mediterranean economic history. Her insightful interaction with numerous sources both Byzantine and otherwise coupled with her originality of approach make for both interesting and essential reading. The editors, Cécile Morrison and Rowan Dorin, as well as Ashgate, deserve our gratitude for bringing these articles together and making them accessible.' Reviews in History