Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- CHAPTER I Trade and Industry in Barbarian Europe till Roman Times
- CHAPTER II Trade and Industry under the Later Roman Empire in the West
- CHAPTER III Byzantine Trade and Industry
- CHAPTER IV The Trade of Medieval Europe: the North
- CHAPTER V The Trade of Medieval Europe: the South
- CHAPTER VI Asia, Africa and the Trade of Medieval Europe
- CHAPTER VII Trade and Industry in Eastern Europe Before 1200
- CHAPTER VIII The Trade of Eastern Europe in the Later Middle Ages
- CHAPTER IX The Woollen Industry
- CHAPTER X Mining and Metallurgy in Medieval Civilisation
- CHAPTER XI Building in Stone in Medieval Western Europe
- CHAPTER XII Coinage and Currency
- Appendix A Table of Medieval Money
- Bibliographies
- Map 1: The Empire under Diocletian
- Map 7: Eastern Europe in the Later Middle Ages
- References
CHAPTER III - Byzantine Trade and Industry
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- CHAPTER I Trade and Industry in Barbarian Europe till Roman Times
- CHAPTER II Trade and Industry under the Later Roman Empire in the West
- CHAPTER III Byzantine Trade and Industry
- CHAPTER IV The Trade of Medieval Europe: the North
- CHAPTER V The Trade of Medieval Europe: the South
- CHAPTER VI Asia, Africa and the Trade of Medieval Europe
- CHAPTER VII Trade and Industry in Eastern Europe Before 1200
- CHAPTER VIII The Trade of Eastern Europe in the Later Middle Ages
- CHAPTER IX The Woollen Industry
- CHAPTER X Mining and Metallurgy in Medieval Civilisation
- CHAPTER XI Building in Stone in Medieval Western Europe
- CHAPTER XII Coinage and Currency
- Appendix A Table of Medieval Money
- Bibliographies
- Map 1: The Empire under Diocletian
- Map 7: Eastern Europe in the Later Middle Ages
- References
Summary
The Economic Policies and Organisation of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine economic history shows a marked contrast to the economic history of other medieval states. Its evolution does not correspond with that of the peoples of western Europe with their steady advance towards modern economy, nor does it resemble the story of the Arab Empire, the story of a vast loosely-knit dominion, rich in natural resources of every sort but never fully developing them. Byzantium was a carefully administered state, dominating a large but not naturally very wealthy territory, and aiming at the greatest possible amount of centralisation in its capital, Constantinople, a city whose size and organised activity made it unique in the medieval world.
Byzantine history falls into clearly differentiated periods. The first, from the foundation of Constantinople till the Arab conquests in the seventh century, is a continuation of the history of the Roman Empire. The emperor still possessed all the eastern provinces of the Empire, and his problems were similar to those of his predecessors. There follows a period when the Empire, reduced in size and at first in danger of collapse, gradually adjusts its life to reach a high state of prosperity in the tenth and early eleventh centuries. Then comes a period of new invasions from the East and military and economic aggression from the West, Byzantium apparently recovers, then rapidly declines, till the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204. The Empire of Nicaea and the recovery of Constantinople in 1261 again suggest a revival; but the last two centuries of the Empire tell a story of impoverishment and decay.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1987
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