Byzantium, Venice and the Medieval Adriatic: Spheres of Maritime Power and Influence, c. 700-1453(British School at Athens Studies in Greek Antiquity)

The Adriatic has long occupied a liminal position between different cultures, languages and faiths. This book offers the first synthesis of its history between the seventh and the mid-fifteenth century, a period coinciding with the existence of the Byzantine Empire which, as heir to the Roman Empire, lay claim to the region. The period also saw the rise of Venice and it is important to understand the conditions which would lead to her dominance in the late Middle Ages. An international team of historians and archaeologists examines trade, administration and cultural exchange between the Adriatic and Byzantium but also within the region itself, and makes more widely known much previously scattered and localised research and the results of archaeological excavations in both Italy and Croatia. Their bold interpretations offer many stimulating ideas for rethinking the entire history of the Mediterranean during the period.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Magdalena Skoblar; 1. The Adriatic Sea 500–1100: A Corrupted Alterity? Richard Hodges; 2. Thinking of Linking: Pottery Connections, Southern Adriatic, Butrint and Beyond Joanita Vroom; 3. A Winter Sea? Exchange and Power at the Ebbing of the Adriatic Connection 600–800 Francesco Borri; 4. The Origins of Venice: Between Italy, Byzantium and the Adriatic Stefano Gasparri; 5. The Northern Adriatic Area between the Eighth and the Ninth Century: New Landscapes, New Cities Sauro Gelichi; 6. Provincia Iadrensis: Heir of Roman Dalmatia or a Still-Born Child of Byzantine Early Medieval Adriatic Policy? Trpimir Vedriš; 7. Ravenna and Other Early Rivals of Venice: Comparative Urban and Economic Development in the Upper Adriatic c.751–1050 Thomas S. Brown; 8. Byzantine Apulia Jean-Marie Martin; 9. From One Coast to Another and Beyond: Adriatic Connections through the Sigillographic Evidence Pagona Papadopoulou; 10. Icons in the Adriatic before the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 Magdalena Skoblar; 11. The Rise of the Adriatic in the Age of the Crusades Peter Frankopan; 12. Venice in the Twelfth Century: Between the Adriatic and the Aegean Michael Angold; 13. Venice, the Ionian Sea and the Southern Adriatic after the Fourth Crusade Guillaume Saint-Guillain; 14. Sea Power and the Evolution of Venetian Crusading Christopher Wright; 15. Reassessing the Venetian Presence in the Late Medieval Eastern Adriatic Oliver Jens Schmitt; 16. 'Strangers' in the City? The Paradoxes of Communitarianism in Fifteenth-Century Venice Élisabeth Crouzet-Pavan; Conclusion Chris Wickham; Index.

About the Author :
Magdalena Skoblar was a postdoctoral research fellow at the British School at Athens and the British School at Rome from 2013 to 2015. Specialising in Early Medieval art, she is also the author of Figural Sculpture in Eleventh-Century Dalmatia and Croatia (2017).

Review :
'By shedding new light on the pre-Venetian Adriatic and the competitors of Venice, this volume explains why hegemony over this sea was crucial for Mediterranean polities.' Nicola Carotenuto, English Historical Review 'This is a welcome book, the result of collaboration between Western historians, mostly Italian, and Slavic historians, who have ignored each other for too long.' Michel Balard, Francia-Recensio