The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 12611453 [Paperback]

A documented narrative history of the Byzantine Empire from 1261 until its fall in 1453.After its conquest and dismemberment by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Byzantine empire's rulers in exile recovered Constantinople in 1261. This book narrates their struggles for survival from that date until final conquest by Ottoman Turks in 1453.After its conquest and dismemberment by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Byzantine empire's rulers in exile recovered Constantinople in 1261. This book narrates their struggles for survival from that date until final conquest by Ottoman Turks in 1453.The Byzantine empire in the last two centuries of its existence had to rebuild itself after its conquest and dismemberment by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Its emperors in exile recovered Constantinople in 1261 and this book narrates their empire's struggles for survival from that date until its final conquest by Ottoman Turks in 1453. First published in 1972, the book has been completely revised to take account of recent scholarship. It remains the best synthesis of the political, ecclesiastical and historical events of the period.1. The Byzantine empire after the Fourth Crusade; 2. The empire in exile and its restoration; Part I. The Problems of the Restored Empire: the Reign of Michael VIII Palaiologos, 1261-82: 3. The price of survival; 4. The battle of wits between east and west; 5. The Byzantine dilemma in the thirteenth century; Part II. Byzantium as a Second-rate Power: the Reign of Andronikos II Palaiologos,1282-1321: 6. The restoration of orthodoxy; 7. Symptoms and causes of decline; 8. The failure to find a cure; 9. The nature of the enemy; Part III. The Mortal Illness of Byzantium: the Age of Civil Wars, 1321-54: 10. The question of the succession and the first civil war; 11. The reign of Andronikos III, 1328-41; 12. The second civil war, 1341-47; 13. The reign of John VI Cantacuzene, 134754; Part IV. Byzantium as a Vassal of the Turks: the Last Hundred Years, 1354-1453: 14. Tlï