A measured, detailed, clear, nuanced and subtle analysis of Greek responses to the appearance of the unprecedented ideas and armies of crusaders from western Europe and how these reactions were ultimately self-defeating. This is political and diplomatic history in modern form, as much a close study of cultural forces as a narrative of events. Grounded on detailed critical scrutiny of primary sources, Harris's perspective remains chiefly that of the Byzantine court, its political, administrative and literary elite providing the convincing context for this compelling study of the pervasive intellectual attitudes and dominant ideologies of power that determined the fate of the eastern Mediterranean world.
Christopher Tyerman, Fellow and Tutor in History, Hertford College, University of Oxford, UK
Illuminating and innovative. A must-read for those who wish to understand the relationship between the east and west during the Crusades.
Lars Brownworth, author of Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization (2009)
Jonathan Harris leads us into the minds of the ruling elites of Byzantine society and demonstrates how they were unable to adapt to the challenge of the crusade... he explains how contact between east and west rapidly became confrontation and ultimately produced disaster for the Empire. This book is an original, perceptive, and convincing analysis of the cultural attitudes which shaped the Byzantine reaction to the crusades and ultimately led to the disaster of the crusader sack of Constantinople in 1204.
John France, Professor of History, Swansea University, UK