Why a New History of Byzantium?

The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as Byzantium, is among the most misunderstood, even maligned, civilizations. It is also difficult to study and its history is written once every generation or less. Our speaker presented a new and unexpected Byzantium as emerged from recent research. Turning the tables on narratives of decline and fall, the lecture focused instead on why this state lasted so much longer than its rivals and why it causes so much anxiety among western Europeans. Its claims to both the Hellenic and Roman traditions lie at the heart of the problem. Anthony Kaldellis is a Professor of Classics at the University of Chicago. His new history of Byzantium titled "The New Roman Empire" was recently published by Oxford University Press. Professor Kaldellis has also published books and articles on historiography, classical reception, political ideology, and ethnicity, in addition to many translations of medieval Greek texts. In 2019, he launched the podcast "Byzantium & Friends" in which he interviews colleagues from around the world on current research on the topic.