Questo storico si è specializzato su Bisanzio e i suoi vicini medievali, con la sua opera fondamentale, la Storia delle Crociate, che è diventata cruciale per la comprensione dell'epoca. Dopo aver ottenuto una borsa di studio al Trinity College di Cambridge e aver studiato sotto la guida di J.B. Bury, ha coltivato un profondo interesse per la storia bizantina. In seguito alla rinuncia alla sua borsa di studio, ha intrapreso ampi viaggi e ricerche che lo hanno infine portato a una cattedra di arte e storia bizantina a Istanbul. Mentre la sua erudizione si concentra principalmente sulla regione dalla Sicilia alla Siria, esplora anche in modo unico altri argomenti, come la storia del Borneo e della famiglia Brooke in 'The White Rajahs'.
Dopo otto settimane di fuoco in cui eserciti e macchine da guerra si confrontarono in un terribile duello di massa, il 29 maggio 1453 crollò l'impero Romano d'Oriente e sorse quello Ottomano. Steve Runciman racconta gli infuocati giorni che sconvolsero il Mediterraneo, e cambiarono la storia.
Considerate come la più romantica delle imprese cristiane oppure come l’ultima invasione barbarica, le Crociate rimangono una delle più emozionanti e avventurose storie di tutti i tempi. Chi per espiare le penitenze, chi per brama di potere; chi per il desiderio di vedere i luoghi sacri, chi per il bottino che l’Oriente prometteva, i Crociati marciarono verso la preda, spirituale o temporale al contempo, della Città santa. Giunti dopo un viaggio spettacolare sotto le antiche mura di Gerusalemme, fu solo dopo molto tempo e grazie a una brillante manovra di tattica militare che poterono riversarsi nella città. E ciò che ne seguì fu insieme meraviglioso e terribile.
The Rediscovery of Greece Travellers and Painters of the Romantic Era
For more than eleven centuries Christian civilization was dominated in the East by the Imperial city of Constantinople, and a deeply religious conception of the universe is reflected in Byzantine art. Whether he was designing some great architectural monument like the cathedral, or the smallest enamel reliquary cross, or an article for secular use, the Byzantine artist wrestled with colour and harmony to interpret divine beauty to humanity. In this liberally illustrated study Sir Steven Runciman draws on his profound knowledge of the period to show how early Christians acquired this belief in the purpose of art and how it survived changes in technique, fashion and resources for as long as the Empire stood.
From the time the first Greeks arrived, over 3,000 years ago, the island has been the centre of a vigours and creative artistic culture. Many treasures survive from the 1st millennium before Christ which illustrate vividly the fact that Cyprus can rival in achievement the best art in the Mediterranean world. In Footprints of Cyprus these achievements are not only fully depicted in colour and in black and white but also related to their historical context.
The second volume of Steven Runciman's classic, hugely influential trilogy on the history of the Crusades 'There was magic about. Saladin himself was troubled by terrible dreams...' Steven Runciman's unrivalled history of the Crusades is a classic of learning and vivid, compelling storytelling, which brilliantly brings to life the personalities, battles, massacres, triumphs and follies of these epochal events. In this second volume of his trilogy Runciman tells the story of the foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the disastrous, bloody Second Crusade and the inexorable rise of the crusaders' nemesis, Saladin. 'The pre-eminent historian of the Byzantine Empire and of the Crusades ... a surefooted guide who could render the past visible and familiar' Daily Telegraph 'He tells his story plain ... always pleasurable to read' Gore Vidal
The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Sir Steven Runciman's three volume A History of the Crusades, is one of the great classics of English historical writing. Volume I deals with the First Crusade and the foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Volume II describes the Frankish states of Outremer from the accession of King Baldwin I to the re-conquest of Jerusalem by Saladin, and in the third volume, Sir Steven examines the revival of the Frankish kingdom from the time of the Third Crusade until its collapse a century later. The interwoven themes of the book include: Christiandom, the replacement of the cultured Ayubites by the less sympathetic Mameluks as leader of the Moslem world, and the coming of the Mongols. He includes a chapter on architecture and the arts, and an epilogue on the last manifestations of the Crusading spirit.
The third volume of Steven Runciman's classic, hugely influential trilogy on the history of the Crusades 'The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and disillusion' Steven Runciman's triumphant three-volume A History of the Crusades remains an unsurpassed account of the events that changed the world and continue to resonate today. This final volume of the trilogy begins with the glamorous Third Crusade and ends with the ruinous collapse of the crusader states and the degeneration of their ideals, which reached its nadir in the tragic destruction of Byzantium. 'When historical events are written about with this sort of command, they take on not only the universality of a fairy tale but also a certain moral weight. Runciman writes both seductively and instructively about the dignity and beauty of different religious beliefs and about the difficulties of their co-existence' Independent
Clinging to a rugged hillside in the lush valley of Sparta lies Mistra, one of the dramatically beautiful Byzantine cities in Greece, a place steeped in history, myth and romance. This title tells the story of this once-great city - its rise and fall and its place in the history of the Peloponnese and the Byzantine empire.
