Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood, Anthony Kaldellis
Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood, Anthony Kaldellis
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood
The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade

Author: Anthony Kaldellis

Narrator: Nigel Patterson

Unabridged: 15 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/16/2024

Synopsis

In the second half of the tenth century, Byzantium embarked on a series of spectacular conquests. By the early eleventh century, the empire was the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. Yet this imperial project came to a crashing collapse fifty years later, when political disunity, fiscal mismanagement, and defeat at the hands of the Seljuks and the Normans brought an end to Byzantine hegemony. By 1081, Byzantium's very existence was threatened.

How did this transformation happen? Based on a close examination of the relevant sources, this history offers a new reconstruction of the key events and crucial reigns as well as a different model for understanding imperial politics and wars. In addition to providing a narrative of this critical period of Byzantine history, Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood offers new interpretations of topics relevant to the medieval era. The narrative unfolds in three parts: the first covers the years 955-1025, a period of imperial conquest and consolidation of authority under the great emperor Basil "the Bulgar-Slayer." The second (1025-1059) examines the dispersal of centralized authority in Constantinople and the emergence of new foreign enemies. The last section chronicles the collapse of the empire, concluding with a look at the First Crusade and its consequences for Byzantine relations with the powers of Western Europe.

About Anthony Kaldellis

Anthony Kaldellis is professor of Greek and Latin at The Ohio State University. Author of The Christian Parthenon: Classicism and Pilgrimage in Byzantine Athens (CUP 2009) and Hellenism in Byzantium: The Transformations of Greek Identity and the Reception of the Classical Tradition (CUP, 2007), among numerous others (including two in progress OUP).

Reviews

Goodreads review by Edward on January 09, 2021

Much longer and more dense than I had thought when I ordered it; it's hardly a relaxing read. The history is well written though and illuminates the unique ideas, advantages and problems the Byzantine state had. It also corrects a lot of ideological interpretations of the period with a much more pos......more

Goodreads review by Zachary on September 06, 2017

In the late 10th century, the Byzantine empire was on a remarkable upswing. Following slow consolidation, stabilization, military reform, and economic and demographic expansion since the early ninth century, a series of brilliant martial emperors, Nikephoros Phokas, John Tzimiskes, and Basil II unde......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on January 29, 2019

Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood examines the rise and fall of the Macedonian Dynasty and then ends with the Comnenos dynasty at a break neck pace! The book was very easy to read and quite enjoyable, it read much in the same way as an Adrian Goldsworthy book-more specifically his book "How Rome Fell......more

Goodreads review by Jeremiah on November 11, 2024

While the topic is quite interesting, the author uses the Greek terms and names (mostly). And while that is super good if you want to deep dive, it left me struggling to remember who was who, what ranks are what, and what exactly is going on. There were some gems. My favorite line is: According to -s......more

Goodreads review by Nick on April 06, 2021

I gave up on this one. Simply put, the book fell into the "one dammed thing after another" trap most chapters have little to no analysis of the why's and how's instead sticking to a solid when and who. If you are looking for a book that spent's 90% of its words on simply telling what happened but of......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List