Book Description

The collective volume entitled “Byzantium and Kievan Rus’ (882–1240)” is an interdisciplinary approach of the Byzantine–Rus’ relations during the historical evolution of the Rus’, from the occupation of Kiev by Prince Oleg (882) to the fall of the city to the Mongols (1240). The contributions of the authors cover various disciplinary fields aiming to highlight, in the best possible way, the political, cultural, ideological, etc. relations between the two sides. The volume avoids trite and conventional approaches to the issues, and comprises contributions on particular topics that are less known or quite unknown in Greece, such as the Byzantine laws concerning the Rus’. The studies included (eight in Greek and three in English) cover four different fields (Historical Aspects, Archaeological Evidence, Byzantine Literature, Church and Law), through which the reader can acquire a comprehensive picture of the issue under consideration. Thus, the main aim of the volume is the overall approach and the study of the Byzantine influences on the most important hegemony of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. In a broader sense, the context in which the Byzantine influences in the Slavic world shaped the so-called ‘‘Byzantine Commonwealth’’ becomes clearer, as well as how and how far Byzantine political ideology, art, literature etc. contributed to the subsequent formation and development of state ideology and institutions in Eastern Europe.