Reviews

Byzantium: From Antiquity to the Renaissance

Thomas F. Mathews (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998) 176 pp., $18.95

Thomas F. Mathews begins his delightful survey of Byzantium’s history by emphasizing the links between this refined, elaborate civilization and its neighbors, both in time and place.

“Byzantium,” he writes, “constitutes a major piece of the puzzle of European history, and indeed of the history of the entire Mediterranean basin … As heir of the legal systems of Rome it supplied the model for the medieval state; as heir of the learning of Greece it served as elder mentor of Europe. Its military sealed the eastern borders of Europe from the expansion of Islam, while its economy linked Europe with the Near and Far East … [Byzantium’s] ivories and manuscripts circulated freely in the world of Islam, its enamels and silks were treasured in Paris, its icons were well known in Italy and Russia.”