ABC of WAR
ABC of War
Annotated bibliography of Cultures of War
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for example:  Byzantine ,  Religion ,  Wars

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Siriano, Discorsi di guerra. Testo, traduzione e commento
Eramo, Immacolata

Immacolata Eramo proposes a new critical edition of the Rhetorica militaris, the only manual of military rhetorics handed down by tradition, written in the in the second half of the 9th century. Her project aims to establish a critical version of the text based on the entire manuscript tradition known to us by now and to provide the first Italian translation of the manual.

Review by: Calcagno, Agata, 2026-01-13 11:05
#Eramo, Immacolata
#Byzantine Empire
#Historical Military Manuals
#Rhetorics
#Syrianos Magistros
#Late Antiquity
#Middle Ages

Byzantine Military Rhetoric in the Ninth Century. A Translation of the Anonymi Byzantini Rhetorica Militaris
Sidiropoulos, Dimitrios and Theotokis, Georgios

Georgios Theotokis and Dimitrios Sidiropoulos provide the first English translation of the Rhetorica militaris, a Middle Byzantine manual on military rhetorics. In their introduction, they give a good overview on previous research made on the manual’s literary context and further discuss significant aspects of the text’s contents.

Review by: Doğanay, Merdan, 2025-09-18 08:59
#Sidiropoulos, Dimitrios
#Theotokis, Georgios
#Byzantine Empire
#Historical Military Manuals
#Rhetorics
#Middle Ages

Greek and Roman Military Manuals: Genre and History
Chlup, James T. and Whately, Conor

Edited by James T. Chlup and Conor Whately, the volume supplies the readers with a solid overview of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine military treatises, with a particular focus on the tradition and genre.

Review by: Kurtoğlu, Ferhat Sezer, 2025-09-17 02:45
#Chlup, James T.
#Whately, Conor
#Byzantine Empire
#Greece
#Roman Empire
#Historical Military Manuals
#Tactics and military organization
#Antiquity
#Middle Ages

Gewalt und Gefangenschaft im Mittelalter
Meier, Frank

Frank Meier introduces the topics of violence and captivity in medieval warfare. He confronts normative thinking about violence with the practices of violence.

Review by: Kister, Michael, 2025-09-03 10:31
#Meier, Frank
#Europe
#Historiography
#Prisoners of War
#Violence
#Early Modern
#Middle Ages

The Rise and Demise of the Myth of the Rus’ Land
Halperin, Charles J.

In this short book, Charles J. Halperin examines the transformation of the myth of the Rus’ Land. According to the author’s concept, this myth, which originated in the pre-Christian era (before 988), evolved from a clan-based myth into a dynastic legend of the Rurikids. Initially associated exclusively with the Dnieper River valley, the myth was transferred in the 14th century to the Suzdal region (translatio of the Rus’ land), where Moscow rulers (Vladimirovichi, a branch of the Rurikids dynasty) monopolized it.

Review by: Gvozdev, Egor, 2025-01-21 02:06
#Halperin, Charles J.
#Eastern Europe
#Grand Duchy of Moscow
#Novgorodian Republic
#Principality of Tver
#Rus
#Cultural History
#Ivan IV Vasilyevich
#Early Modern
#Middle Ages

Militärgeschichte des Mittelalters
Clauss, Martin

Martin Clauss is a professor of Medieval History at the University of Chemnitz. His expertise in medieval warfare is attested by various books, “Militärgeschichte des Mittelalters” being one of his latest (2020), published as part of the C.H.Beck Wissen series.

Review by: Beul, Johannes, 2024-05-16 11:41
#Clauss, Martin
#Europe
#Military History
#Warfare and Military Organization
#Middle Ages

The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East
Morton, Nicholas

This book by Nicholas Morton focuses not, as the title would suggest, on the Mongol Empire itself but on the many different cultures, religions, and empires of the Near East and their reactions to the oncoming Mongol Storm. The book is divided into twelve rather short sections, which highlight the various aspects of the invasion from different geographical, political, religious, and cultural viewpoints.

Review by: Schmidt, Vincent, 2024-05-16 11:36
#Morton, Nicholas
#Middle East
#Historiography
#Mongols
#Middle Ages

Human Trafficking in Medieval Europe: Slavery, Sexual Exploitation, and Prostitution
Paolella, Christopher

At its core, the book espouses an understanding of the concept of slavery taken from Orlando Patterson and Jennifer Glancy, which not only sees the relationship between master and slave as one of total domination of the latter by the former, but also considers the status and experience of a person of unfree status as fundamentally influenced by their gender.

Review by: Visintini, Eduard, 2023-05-08 03:47
#Paolella, Christopher
#Europe
#Mediterranean
#Slavery
#Late Antiquity
#Middle Ages

Controversial Histories – Current Views on the Crusades
Hinz, Felix and Meyer-Hamme, Johannes

The edited volume at hand aims to provide an overview of contemporary international discourse on the subject for both students and researchers. It assembles 27 current perspectives of academics on the role of the Crusades in the historical culture of their respective countries.

Review by: Kammerer, Lorenz, 2023-05-08 02:45
#Hinz, Felix
#Meyer-Hamme, Johannes
#Europe
#Middle East
#Cultural History
#Crusades
#Public History
#König Joel
#Middle Ages

Die Reconquista. Christen und Muslime auf der Iberischen Halbinsel 711–1492
Jaspert, Nikolas

In this short book, Nikolas Jaspert attempts to provide an overview of the history of the so-called Reconquista. Contrary to the image of a steady reconquest of Islamic territories, Jaspert aims to stress that this period was in fact characterized by various kinds of cultural exchange. Against this backdrop, he deconstructs the Reconquista as a powerful, but flawed narrative that does not sufficiently take into account the changing courses of the wars on the Iberian Peninsula and which obscures other aspects of the relations between Christians, Muslims and also Jews in this period.

Review by: Büttner, Marco, 2023-05-07 04:20
#Jaspert, Nikolas
#Iberian Peninsula
#Historiography
#Ideology
#Frontier societies & border regions
#Reconquista
#Middle Ages

Religious Horror and Holy War in Viking Age Francia
Gillis, Bryan

Bryan  Gillis explores the use of what he labels “horror rhetoric” by West-Francian authors in response to the misery befalling the kingdom from the 880s until the 920s

Review by: Peters, Bart, 2022-09-27 08:00
#Gillis, Bryan
#France
#Latin Europe
#Historiography
#Reception History
#Carolingians
#Violence
#Early Middle Ages
#Middle Ages

Military Equipment in the Byzantine Manuscript of Skylitzes
Bruhn Hoffmeyer, Ada

The extensive article studies the military equipment visible in the illustrations of the Madrid Skylitzes.

Review by: Schoneveld, Katharina, 2022-09-08 08:55
#Bruhn Hoffmeyer, Ada
#Byzantine Empire
#Siegecraft
#Middle Ages

The Byzantine Science of Warfare: From Treatises to Battlefield
Salmon, Thomas

Thomas Salmon aims at providing an overview on the characterizing features of the Byzantine science of warfare, siege and weaponry

Review by: Schoneveld, Katharina, 2022-09-08 08:46
#Salmon, Thomas
#Byzantine Empire
#Siegecraft
#Tactics and military organization
#Early Middle Ages
#Middle Ages

A History of Byzantium
Gregory Timothy E.

Timothy E.Gregory gives an overview over Byzantium’s history from the 3rd century to the fall of Constantinople.

Review by: Guthier, Sophia Sonja, 2022-03-18 08:44
#Gregory Timothy E.
#Byzantine Empire
#Cultural History
#Historiography
#Byzantine-Persian relations
#Constantine
#Early Middle Ages
#Late Middle Ages
#Middle Ages

Das Kreuz und der Halbmond. Die Geschichte der Türkenkriege
Matschke, Klaus Peter

The Book retells the history of the Turkish wars from the crusades in the 14th centuries until the great Turkish war in 1699.

Review by: Mallas, Simon, 2022-03-18 04:30
#Matschke, Klaus Peter
#Ottoman Empire
#Historiography
#Crusades
#Early Modern
#Middle Ages

Writing Battles. New Perspectives on Warfare and Memory in Medieval Europe
Ashman Rowe, Elizabeth, Naismith, Rory, and Ní Mhaonaigh, Máire

Writing Battles explores the manifold functions of the battle depiction.

Review by: Peters, Bart, 2021-10-11 02:58
#Ashman Rowe, Elizabeth
#Naismith, Rory
#Ní Mhaonaigh, Máire
#England
#Ireland
#Scandinavia
#Reception History
#Narrative Theory
#Middle Ages

Byzantium at War: AD 600-1453
Haldon, John

Haldon’s book explores the ways in which the medieval east Roman Empire secured its long existence.

Review by: Guthier, Sophia Sonja, 2021-10-11 02:20
#Haldon, John
#Byzantine Empire
#Historiography
#Byzantine army
#Middle Ages

Kriegsführung im Mittelalter. Handlungen, Erinnerungen, Bedeutungen
Prietzel, Malte

This standard work of medieval cultures of war covers numerous aspects of medieval warfare and highlights connections between various regions and eras.

Review by: Wiedmaier, Helen, 2021-10-11 12:16
#Prietzel, Malte
#Historiography
#Burials
#Middle Ages

Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565-1204
Haldon, John

The book under review presents the Byzantine warfare from the end of Justinian’s reign (565) until the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders of Western Europe (1204).

Review by: Zafeiropoulos, Christos, 2021-09-18 02:58
#Haldon, John
#Byzantine Empire
#Byzantine army
#Military Leadership and Command Structures
#Weaponry
#Late Antiquity
#Middle Ages

Making History in Ninth-Century Northern and Southern Italy
Berto, Luigi Andrea

Making History in Ninth-Century Northern and Southern Italy focuses on historical narratives in Italy, where locals interacted with Muslims, Franks and Byzantines.

 

Review by: Peters, Bart, 2021-05-19 01:08
#Berto, Luigi Andrea
#Italy
#Historiography
#Middle Ages

The Liturgical Past in Byzantium and Early Rus.
Griffin, Sean

In the book The Liturgical Past in Byzantium and Early Rus Griffin examines the sources of information for eleventh- and twelfth-century Rus clerics

Review by: Guthier, Sophia Sonja, 2021-05-17 04:08
#Griffin, Sean
#Eastern Europe
#liturgy
#Saints, Hagiography and Warfare
#Vladimir
#Middle Ages

Byzantium, the Islamic World & India AD 476-1526
Nicolle, David

David Nicolle is a military historian who focuses on the Middle Ages and the geographical area of the Middle East. The book is about weapons from Western Europe, while the second addresses the weapons of Byzantium, the Islamic world and India

Review by: Schoneveld, Katharina, 2021-04-29 11:15
#Nicolle, David
#Byzantine Empire
#India
#Siegecraft
#Middle Ages

Siegecraft. Two Tenth-Century Instructional Manuals by “Heron of Byzantium”
Sullivan, Denis

The book of Dennis Sullivan is an edition of two Byzantine siege treatises attribute to “Heron of Byzantium”

Review by: Schoneveld, Katharina, 2021-04-29 11:10
#Sullivan, Denis
#Byzantine Empire
#Source and Commentary
#Siegecraft
#Heron of Alexandria
#Middle Ages

Die Slaven im Mittelalter
Mühle, Eduard

Eduard Mühle investigates how Slavs were perceived in the medieval world and what concepts and beliefs European sources used to present the Slavs

Review by: Guthier, Sophia Sonja, 2021-04-29 10:48
#Mühle, Eduard
#Eastern Europe
#Middle Ages

Byzantinische Geschichte
Ostrogorsky, Georg

This book counts as a standard work of Byzantine history. The text saw three editions at the German publisher’s C.H. Beck and two editions in English.

Review by: Ulrich, Sonja, 2021-04-29 10:05
#Ostrogorsky, Georg
#Byzantine Empire
#Constantine
#Middle Ages

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
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