Description
The dictionary is available in printed and e-reference text versions from The Oxford Digital Reference Shelf. It covers the main historical events of Byzantium, as well as important social and religious events. It also includes biographies of eminent political and literary personalities and describes in detail religious, social, cultural, legal and political topics. Cultural topics include music, theology and the arts. Other topics covered include warfare, demography, education, agriculture, commerce, science, philosophy, and medicine providing a comprehensive picture of the complex and advanced political and social structures of Byzantine society.
The Byzantine Empire with its centre located at its capital Constantinople was one of the most influential and powerful states of its time. Byzantium's civilization with its combination of classical and religious thought influenced the political and cultural evolution of Italy, Eastern Europe, and Russia. India, China, and the Scandinavian countries also felt the influence of the Byzantine culture. The dictionary includes over 200 illustrations, tables, and maps, as a reference for studying and researching the Byzantine civilization.
Read more about this topic: Oxford Dictionary Of Byzantium
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St. Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“God damnit, why must all those journalists be such sticklers for detail? Why, they’d hold you to an accurate description of the first time you ever made love, expecting you to remember the color of the room and the shape of the windows.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)