Byzantine City from Heraclius to the Fourth Crusade, 610–1204

Luca Zavagno is Associate Professor of Byzantine Studies in the Department of History at Bilkent University, Turkey. He is the author of many articles on the early medieval and Byzantine Mediterranean, as well as two monographs.

“Luca Zavagno’s book provides a comprehensive critical overview of the research conducted on early Byzantine urban life, as can be seen from the large bibliographies annexed to each Chapter. It is obvious that the author was able to manage a large amount of data from different regions of the Byzantine area and use them to demonstrate his approach to the problem of the continuity of urban life.” (Alexandru Madgearu, Hiperboreea, hiperboreeajournal.com, February 22, 2023)“This handy book covers the age-old debate about the definition of cities (and towns) and how historians and archaeologists have variously interpreted pertinent textual and material remains. … Zavagno is without doubt a scholar to read by anyone interested in both Byzantine studies and, more generally, in early medieval urbanism. … this book is necessary reading for its sweeping overview, the author’s thoughts and its wealth of references.” (Paul Arthur, Medieval Archaeology, June 13, 2022)

• 1. The History of Byzantine Urbanism.- 2. The Byzantine Mediterranean Between the End of Late Antiquity and the Fourth Crusade.- 3. The Experience of Byzantine Cities Across Space and Time.- 4. “Regional” Changes of Byzantine Urbanism from 600 to 1204.