Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250

Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages stood at a strategically important crossroads of trade and crusading routes and fell within the spheres of influence of both the Byzantine Orthodox Church and Latin Christendom. This comprehensive and authoritative survey draws on historical and archaeological sources to illuminate 750 years of the region’s history, covering Romania, southern Ukraine, southern Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Monte- negro, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. Exploring the social, political, and economic changes that marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages, the book addresses important themes such as the rise of medieval states, the conversion to Christianity, the monastic movement inspired by developments in Western Europe and in Byzantium, and the role of material culture (architecture, the arts, and objects of daily life) in the representation of power.