Search results for ""Author Jonathan Shepard""
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Emergence of Rus 7501200
Book SynopsisThis eagerly awaited volume, the first of its kind by western scholars, describes the development amongst the diverse inhabitants of the immense landmass between the Carpathians and Urals of a political, economic and social nexus (underpinned by a common culture and, eventually, a common faith), out of which would emerge the future Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The authors explore every aspect of life in Rus, using evidence and the fruits of post-Soviet historiography. They describe the rise of a polity centred on Kiev, the coming of Christianity, and the increasing prosperity of the region even as, with the proliferation of new dynastic centres, the balance of power shifted northwards and westwards. Fractured, violent and transitory though it often is, this is a story of growth and achievement - and a masterly piece of historical synthesis.Trade Review 'The overwhelming impression left by this book is of its scholarship, multilingual and discriminating: it is also readable, evocative and witty.' Times Higher Education SupplementTable of ContentsIntroduction. Part I: Roots and Routes. 1. The Silver Seekers From the North (c. 750-900). 2. Turning South.3. The Dnieper Rus: Organise or Die. 4. U-Turns and Conversion (c.960-1015). Part II: Kiev and Rus. 5. Martyers and Mercenaries (c. 1015-1036). 6. Cracked Facades (1036-1054). 7. The Inner Circle (1054-c.1113).8.The Prince and the City (c.1070- c1120). Part III: The Rise of the Regions. 9 Integration and Diffusion (c. 1130-c. 1170). 10 Prospect and Retrospect: 1185 and After. Maps. Select Bibliography. Index
£41.79
Taylor & Francis Ltd Emergent Elites and Byzantium in the Balkans and
Book SynopsisAccording to Byzantium''s leaders, their imperial order anchored in Constantinople was the centre of excellence - spiritual, moral, material and aesthetic. They rewarded individuals willing to join, and favoured outside groupings prepared to cooperate militarily or politically. Interactions with outsiders varied over place and time, complicated by the sometimes differing priorities of Byzantine churchmen and monks on or beyond Byzantium''s borders. These studies consider the dynamics of such interactions, notably the interrelationship between the Bulgarians and their Byzantine neighbour. The Bulgarians'' reaction to Byzantium ranged from ''contrarianism'' to the systematic adaptation of Byzantine religious orthodoxy, ideals of rulership and normative values after Khan Boris'' acceptance of eastern Christianity. For their part, Byzantine rulers were readier to do business with their Bulgarian counterparts than official pronouncements let on, occasionally even adopting aspects of BulgaTrade Review'Having read this book, the researcher will have a fresh understanding of the way in which the Emperor spread the Word of Christianity: with the zeal of a real Apostle (at least apparently), but doing it only upon the request of the potentate.' ByzantinoslavicaTable of ContentsContents: Introduction: Centres old and new, the uses of Byzantium to emerging elites; Spreading the word: Byzantine missions; Slavs and Bulgars; Symeon of Bulgaria - peacemaker; The ruler as instructor, pastor and wise: Leo VI of Byzantium and Symeon of Bulgaria; A marriage too far? Maria Lekapena and Peter of Bulgaria; Tzetzes' letters to Leo at Dristra; Byzantine writers on the Hungarians in the 9th and 10th centuries; Byzantium and the steppe-nomads: the Hungarian dimension; Crowns from the basileus, crowns from heaven; Otto III, Boleslaw Chobry and the 'happening' at Gniezno, A.D. 1000: some possible implications of Professor Poppe's thesis concerning the offspring of Anna Porphyrogenita; Conversions and regimes compared: the Rus' and Poles ca. 1000; Manners maketh Romans? Young barbarians at the emperor's court; Addenda and corrigenda; Bibliography; Index.
£109.25
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Muslims on the Volga in the Viking Age: In the
Book SynopsisThe year 922 saw a series of remarkable face-to-face encounters in the steppes between Bukhara and the Middle Volga. Ibn Fadlan was an intrepid member of a diplomatic and religious mission from the distant caliphate in Baghdad to the ruler of the Volga Bulgars. His account gives a vivid eyewitness description of the peoples he came upon (whose appearance, rituals and filthy habits both fascinate and appal) and a famous depiction of a Viking Rus ship burial. It is unique testimony to burgeoning exchanges between several different cultures, and to the emergence of new political structures on the steppes. Yet the account survives only as part of a later composite work, raising questions of meaning and historical interpretation. This pioneering interdisciplinary study of Ibn Fadlan’s text and the world he surveyed draws on a variety of specialists to give readers both ‘the bigger picture’ of cultural and economic change in Eurasia, Byzantium and the Muslim world, and hard facts, in the form of archaeological and numismatic data.Trade ReviewThese nineteen essays on language, travel narratives, trade, religion, archaeology, and sex by top experts are as lively and compelling as Ibn Fadlan’s original narrative. A must-read for anyone interested in cultural encounters. * Valerie Hansen, Stanley Woodward Professor, Yale University, USA *Muslims on the Volga in the Viking Age masterfully takes the reader into the three different medieval worlds of urban Islam, the Pontic steppe empires and the Nordic realm of Vikings and Rus. Guided by the fascinating travelogue of the diplomat Ibn Fadlan, the contributions brilliantly reveal how intercontinental trade acted as nexus between these diverse realms. The book is a piece of excellent scholarship and is delightful to explore. * Christoph Baumer, author of History of the Caucasus: Volume 1 (2021) and History of the Caucasus: Volume 2 (2023) *This generous collection of essays offers rich context for readers of Ibn Fadlan's famous medieval travelogue to the Volga Bulgars and his observations of the Viking Rus and their customs. The editors are to be congratulated for bringing together cutting-edge scholarship from diverse fields on Ibn Fadlan's broad literary context as well as on the economies and societies he so memorably encountered. * Paul M. Cobb, Professor, University of Pennsylvania, USA *A wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary, and expertly-edited collection of papers by scholars clearly suited to a close treatment of their respective topics. As each attests, Ibn Fadlan's 10th-century account of his Volga mission offers up many puzzles. The arguments contained herein move their solution ahead a number of paces. * Matthew Gordon, Professor, Miami University, USA *Table of ContentsList of maps List of illustrations List of tables and appendices Preface and acknowledgements List of abbreviations List of contributors Maps Plates PART ONE: OVERVIEW 1. Editors' introduction 2. Ibn Fadlan’s Kitab: text and afterlife Viacheslav S. Kuleshov with Jonathan Shepard PART TWO: TEXT AND CONTEXT 3. Where is the real Ibn Fadlan? Editing and translating the Kitab James E. Montgomery 4. From Kitab to Risala: the long shadow of Yaqut’s version of Ibn Fadlan’s account Luke Treadwell 5. Other Arab geographers’ sources on the North: al-Jayhani and the ‘Anonymous Relation’ Jean-Charles Ducène 6. Other ethnographies of the steppe Walter Pohl 7. Other travellers’ tales Ian Wood PART THREE: BACKGROUND TO THE JOURNEY 8. The Abbasid background Hugh Kennedy 9. Ibn Fadlan and the Khazars: the hidden centre Nick Evans 10. Beyond the Gate of the Turks: archaeology around the Aral Sea Irina Arzhantseva and Heinrich Härke, with a contribution by Ekaterina A. Armarchuk PART FOUR: VIKING-AGE RUS 11. Ibn Fadlan and the rituals of the Rus: Vikings on the Volga? Neil Price 12. Viking-Age markets and emporia Søren M. Sindbæk 13. Rus, routes and sites Veronika Murasheva 14. Identities, ethnicities, cultures: Ibn Fadlan and the Rus on the Middle Volga Þórir Jónsson Hraundal 15. Rus and other Northmen under non-Arabic eyes Jonathan Shepard PART FIVE: VOLGA BULGARIA 16. What was Volga Bulgaria? Leonard Nedashkovsky 17. Ninth- and tenth-century Volga Bulgar trade Evgeniy P. Kazakov 18. Volga Bulgar imitative coinage Marek Jankowiak PART SIX: CONCLUSION 19. ‘Failure of a mission’? Jonathan Shepard List of Reign Dates List of Alternative Place Names Glossary Index
£105.80
