Emperor John II Komnenos: Rebuilding New Rome 1118-1143

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Dr Maximilian C. G. Lau (Junior Research Fellow, Junior Research Fellow, Worcester College, University of Oxford)

Emperor John II Komnenos

Rebuilding New Rome 1118-1143

Dr Maximilian C. G. Lau (Junior Research Fellow, Junior Research Fellow, Worcester College, University of Oxford)

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English

Oxford University Press
02 November 2023

European history; Medieval history; Crusades; Medieval European archaeology

Series: Oxford Studies in Byzantium

John II Komnenos was born into an empire on the brink of destruction, with his father Alexios barely preserving the empire in the face of civil wars and invasions. A hostage to crusaders as a child, married to a Hungarian princess as a teenager to win his father an alliance, and leading his own campaigns when his father died, it was left to John to try and rebuild the empire all but lost in the eleventh century.

This book, the first English language study on John and his era, re-evaluates an emperor traditionally overlooked in favour of his father, hero of the Alexiad written by John's sister Anna, and of his son Manuel, acclaimed for reigning at the height of Komnenian power. John's reign is one of contradictions, as his capital of New Rome/Constantinople was to fall to the armies of the Fourth Crusade just over sixty years after he died, and yet his descendants led vibrant successor states based in the lands that John reconquered. His reign lacks a dominant textual source, and so this history is related as much through personal letters, court literature, archaeology, and foreign accounts as through traditional historical narratives. This study includes extensive study of the landscapes, castles, and cities John built and campaigned through, and provides a guide to the world in which John lived. It covers the empire's neighbours and rivals, the turning points of ecclesiastical history, the shaping of the crusader movement, and the workings of Byzantine government and administration.

By: Dr Maximilian C. G. Lau (Junior Research Fellow Junior Research Fellow Worcester College University of Oxford)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 824g
ISBN: 9780198888673
ISBN 10: 0198888678
Series: Oxford Studies in Byzantium
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 02 November 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction: Overshadowed by Father and Son? 1: Sources: Problems and Opportunities 2: Young Emperor John & the Rule of Constantinople 3: The Horizons of 1118 4: Nomad Invasion 5: Client Management and the Crisis of 1126 6: The Raskan Insurrection and the Hungarian War 7: Treachery and Conquest in Anatolia 8: The Great Eastern Campaign for Cilicia and Syria 9: The Last Campaigns 10: Fortresses, Provinces, and the Army 11: Philanthropy and Ecumenism Conclusion: New Rome Rebuilt?

Maximilian C. G. Lau is a Junior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford. He first studied under Professor Paul Magdalino at the University of St Andrews, who introduced him to the era of John II. He then studied under Dr Mark Whittow at Oriel College, Oxford, before becoming a JSPS Research Fellow and then Lecturer at Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, whilst also being a researcher at first St Benet's Hall and then St Cross College, Oxford. He has carried out extensive fieldwork in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Middle East, and his new projects focus on good governance through history.