Bøger af Angeliki E. Laiou

Angeliki Laiou (1941-2008), one of the leading Byzantinists of her generation, broke new ground in the study of the social and economic history of the Byzantine Empire. This title brings together fourteen articles that reflect her enduring interest in Byzantium's political, ideological, and commercial relations with its neighbours.

This is a concise survey of the economy of the Byzantine Empire from the fourth century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Organised chronologically, the book addresses key themes such as demography, agriculture, manufacturing and the urban economy, trade, monetary developments, and the role of the state and ideology. It provides a comprehensive overview of the economy with an emphasis on the economic actions of the state and the productive role of the city and non-economic actors, such as landlords, artisans and money-changers. The final chapter compares the Byzantine economy with the economies of western Europe and concludes that the Byzantine economy was one of the most successful examples of a mixed economy in the pre-industrial world. This is the only concise general history of the Byzantine economy and will be essential reading for students of economic history, Byzantine history and medieval history more generally.

These studies reflect the author's interest in history as it was lived: not only social and economic structures, but the men and women who made them function. The role of women in Byzantine economy and society is found to be much more important than had been believed.

Deals with the status of women in the Byzantine Empire as evidenced through legal, narrative, hagiographical, and archival sources, investigating conceptions of law and justice, the vocabulary and typology of peasant rebellions, and the form and evolution of political agreements in Byzantine society.