GIORGIO RAVEGNANI

Byzantium and the West in the Middle Ages

Over its thousand-year history the Byzantine Empire had frequent contacts with the West; one need only think of its presence in Italy, where Byzantines ruled from the 6th to the 11th century. Relationships then became more confrontational, especially during the fourth Crusade in 1204, when Venetians and Crusaders took possession of Constantinople. In the 14th century the West, and especially Venice, adopted a more accommodating attitude towards Byzantium, considered an outpost of Christianity against the rising tide of the Ottoman Turks. Military aid was subsequently provided, but disagreements between European states and the Turks inevitably led to the end of the Empire in 1453.

Giorgio Ravegnani teaches Medieval History and History of Byzantine Italy at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice.

Premessa

I. L’età di Giustiniano

1. La fine dell’Occidente romano

2. La riconquista giustinianea

II. L’Italia esarcale

1. L’invasione longobarda

2. L’esarcato d’Italia

3. La contesa per l’Italia

4. I contrasti con la chiesa di Roma

III. Bisanzio nell’Italia meridionale

1. La dissoluzione dei domini imperiali

2. Bisanzio nel Sud della penisola

3. Memorie dell’Italia bizantina

IV. Venezia e Bisanzio

1. Le origini di Venezia

2. Il legame con Bisanzio

V. L’invadenza dell’Occidente

1. Due mondi lontani

2. I Normanni all’attacco

3. La prima crociata

4. La crisi del XII secolo

5. La rottura con Venezia

VI. La quarta crociata e l’impero latino

1. La conquista di Costantinopoli

2. L’impero latino

VII. Il declino di Bisanzio

1. L’ultimo orgoglio

2. La decadenza

3. La caduta dell’impero

Cronologia

Nota bibliografica

Indice dei nomi