Description
Book SynopsisThe rich and diverse architectural traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean and adjacent regions are the subject of this book, including the social and cultural developments of the Byzantine Empire, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and Russia, as well as parallel developments in Crusader and early Islamic architecture.
Trade ReviewIt is without doubt destined to be the standard reference book on Byzantine architecture for the future. * The Burlington Magazine *
An engaging exploration of the monuments of the Christian East, as well as the interaction between architecture and the many cultures and intellectual, political, and economic currents that help shape it. Augmented by recommendations for further reading and an extensive bibliography, Eastern Medieval Architecture offers the reader a starting point for study of these structures, as well as a window into an impressive career.... Accessible and affordable, Robert Ousterhout's Eastern Medieval Architecture is a must-have for any teacher or student of architecture, Byzantium, or of the medieval. * Peregrinations *
It is beautifully written, and filled with the most carefully chosen photographs of structures and details, rendered in glorious colour, and scores of drawings by the author's own hand. If every generation gets the history of Byzantine architecture that it deserves, then ours is very fortunate indeed! * Cornucopia *
Eastern Medieval Architecture offers a fresh and inviting introduction to the vibrant architectural traditions of the Byzantine Empire and its neighbors. In this learned yet eminently readable volume, Ousterhout masterfully distills a vast amount of specialized research on more than a millennium of architectural production, both sacred and secular. His synthesis of canonical monuments and lesser-known buildings engagingly situates architecture within broader histories of empire, sacred space, craft production, and cultural interaction. * Ann Marie Yasin, University of Southern California *
This is the most consequential study of its kind to appear in many years. It will change the way we study and teach Byzantine architecture. * Vasileios Marinis, Yale University *
In this much-needed book, Robert Ousterhout provides an up-to-date introduction to the architecture of Byzantium and its neighbors. Diverse and generous in its scope and approach, while at the same time presenting a coherent narrative of a fascinating and complex subject, it will long remain the pre-eminent survey of the field for specialists and non-specialists alike. * Christina Maranci, Tufts University *
A masterful, concise, and eminently readable synthesis of the architectural -- and thus also a key aspect of the cultural -- history of the medieval eastern Roman world and its neighbors. Drawing on his own ground-breaking research, on the original sources (written, material-cultural, and archaeological), and informed by an intimate knowledge of the vast modern literature in the field, Robert Ousterhout has produced an invaluable survey that will undoubtedly be the basic 'go-to' reference work for the subject for many years to come. * John Haldon, Princeton University *
