Byzantine Ideas of Persia, 650-1461

Offering a comprehensive study into the perceptions of ancient and medieval Iran in the Byzantine empire, this book explores the effects of Persian culture upon Byzantine intellectualism, society and culture. Byzantine Ideas of Persia, 650-1461 focusses on the enduring position of ancient Persia in Byzantine cultural memory, encompassing both in the 'religious' and the 'secular' significance. By analysing a wide range of historical sources - from church literature to belles-lettres - this book examines the intricate relationship between ancient Persia and Byzantine cultural memory, as well as the integration and function of Persian motifs in the Byzantine mentality. Additionally, the author uses these sources to analyse thoroughly the knowledge Byzantines had about contemporary Iranian culture, the presence of ethnic Iranians, and the circulation and usage of the Persian language in Byzantium. Finally, this book concludes with an insightful exploration of the importance and influence of Iranian science on Byzantine scholars. This book will appeal to scholars and studentsin the fields of Byzantine and Iranian History, particularly to those studying the cross-cultural and social influence between the two societies during the Middle Ages. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Rustam Shukurov, PhD, D.Sc. in History (2012), is a Visiting Scholar at the University of St Andrews. He graduated from Moscow State University in 1984 and worked there for more than 30 years as a lecturer in Byzantine and Medieval studies. He has published several monographs, translations and articles on Byzantium, Iranian and Turkic History, including The Grand Komnenoi and the Orient, 1204-1461 (Moscow, 2001) and The Byzantine Turks, 1204-1461 (Leiden; Boston, 2016).

Introduction / Chapter 1. Sacred Persia / Chapter 2. The pre-history of the Magi / Chapter 3. The holy Persians / Chapter 4. Memorizing Persia / Chapter 5. Activating memory / Chapter 6. Vicissitudes of wisdom / Chapter 7. Iranian Actualities / Appendix: A list of some remarkable New Persian borrowings / A Greco-Iranian epilogue