Synopses & Reviews
Review
"The chapter on the crusade highlights the qualities of this book. Nicol not only tells a good story well. He also elucidates the contradictions and key lacunae of the sources with great skill, and he draws upon the vast secondary literature with assurance and judgement." Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Review
"Nicol has done a considerable service in presenting the results of so much labor in a manner that will engage the general reader as well as finding an appreciative scholarly audience." The Slavonic and East European Review
Review
"Professor Nicol's careful, learned and balanced account of the political and diplomatic relations between Byzantium and Venice covers much new ground. The intricate story...is told with impressive mastery of primary and secondary sources." History Today
Review
"Nicol is one of the profession's foremost Byzantine scholars. In many respects this book is a compilation of his life's work and will serve as a foundation for students of the field. For Byzantinists, Nicol's work is the most concise diplomatic history available to date." Irene B. Katele, The International History Review
Synopsis
This book traces the diplomatic, cultural and commercial links between Constantinople and Venice.
Synopsis
The relations between Constantinople and Venice are traced from the foundation of the Venetian Republic to the Fall of the Byzantine Empire to reveal how the Venetians came to dominate the entire Byzantine economy.
Table of Contents
Preface; List of abbreviations; Maps of the Byzantine and Venetian worlds; 1. Venice: the Byzantine province; 2. Venice: the Byzantine protectorate; 3. Venice: the ally of Byzantium; 4. Venice: the partner of Byzantium; 5. Byzantium, Venice and the First Crusade; 6. The parting of the ways; 7. The calm before the storm; 8. The Fourth Crusade; 9. Venice in Byzantium: the Empire of Romania; 10. Venice: champion of a lost cause; 11. Byzantium, Venice and the Angevin threat; 12. Byzantium, Venice and Genoa; 13. Conflicting interests and competing claims; 14. Byzantium, Venice and the Turks; 15. Byzantium: the victim of commercial rivalry; 16. The profit and honour of Venice; 17. Jewels for an island; 18. Byzantium in thrall to the Turks and in debt to Venice; 19. Byzantine optimism and Venetian vacillation; 20. Byzantium the suppliant of Venice; 21. The worst news for all of Christendom: Venice and the fall of Constantinople; 22. Legacies and debts; Byzantine Emperors; Doges of Venice; Bibliography; Index.