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Palgrave Macmillan

The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626

History and Legend

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

  • Presents a systematic and interdisciplinary account of the history and legend of the Avar attack on Constantinople
  • Examines how the siege of Constantinople secured the city's status as the spiritual centre of the Byzantine Empire
  • Analyses how the siege transformed from being an historical event to being a timeless myth

Part of the book series: New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture (NABHC)

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

Keywords

About this book

This book examines the Avar siege of Constantinople in 626, one of the most significant events of the seventh century, and the impact and repercussions this had on the political, military, economic and religious structures of the Byzantine Empire. The siege put an end to the power politics and hegemony of the Avars in South East Europe and was the first attempt to destroy Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Besides the far-reaching military factors, the siege had deeper ideological effects on the mentality of the inhabitants of the Empire, and it helped establish Constantinople as the spiritual centre of eastern Christianity protected by God and his Mother. Martin Hurbanič discusses, from a chronological and thematic perspective, the process through which the historical siege was transformed into a timeless myth, and examines the various aspects which make the event a unique historical moment in the history of mankind – a moment in which the modern story overlaps with the legend with far-reaching effects, not only in the Byzantine Empire but also in other European countries. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of History, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Martin Hurbanič

About the author

Martin Hurbanič is Associate Professor at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Avar Siege of Constantinople in 626

  • Book Subtitle: History and Legend

  • Authors: Martin Hurbanič

  • Series Title: New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16684-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-16683-0Published: 15 August 2019

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-16686-1Published: 16 August 2020

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-16684-7Published: 25 July 2019

  • Series ISSN: 2730-9363

  • Series E-ISSN: 2730-9371

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 361

  • Number of Illustrations: 6 b/w illustrations, 9 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: History of Medieval Europe, History of Military, Social History, History of Religion, Cultural History

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