Download or read book The Palgrave Atlas of Byzantine History written by J. Haldon and published by Springer. This book was released on 2005-10-14 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dominant Mediterranean power in the fifth and sixth centuries, by the time of its demise at the hands of the Ottomans in 1453 the Byzantine empire was a shadow of its former self restricted essentially to the city of Constantinople, modern Istanbul. Surrounded by foes who posed a constant threat to its very existence, it survived because of its administration, army and the strength of its culture, of which Orthodox Christianity was a key element. This historical atlas charts key aspects of the political, social and economic history of a medieval empire which bridged the Christian and Islamic worlds from the late Roman period into the late Middle Ages.