Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Васи́льев; 4 October 1867 ( N.S.) – 30 May 1953) was considered the foremost authority on Byzantine history and culture in the mid-20th century. His ''History of the Byzantine Empire'' (vol. 1–2, 1928) remains one of a few comprehensive accounts of the entire Byzantine history, on the par with those authored by

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...

and Fyodor Uspensky. Vasiliev was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He studied under one of the earliest professional Byzantinists,

Vasily Vasilievsky Vasily Grigorievich Vasilievsky (also spelled ''Vasiljevskij'' and ''Wasiliewski''; russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич Василье́вский) was a Russian historian who founded the St. Petersburg school of medieval studies an ...

, at the University of St Petersburg and later taught

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

there. Between 1897 and 1900, he furthered his education in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. In 1902, he accompanied

Nicholas Marr Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (, ''Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr''; , ''Nikoloz Iak'obis dze Mari''; — 20 December 1934) was a Georgian-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking ...

in his trip to

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

in Sinai. During his stay at the

Tartu University The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

(1904–12), Vasiliev prepared and published a highly influential monograph, ''Byzantium and the Arabs'' (1907). He also worked in the Russian Archaeology Institute, established by Fyodor Uspensky in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. In 1912, he moved to the St Petersburg University as a professor. He was elected to the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

in 1919. In 1925, during his visit to

, Vasiliev was persuaded by Mikhail Rostovtsev to emigrate to the West. It was Rostovtzeff who ensured a position at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

for him. Several decades later, Vasiliev moved to work in

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, ...

. Towards the end of his life, he was elected President of the Nikodim Kondakov Institute in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and of the ''

Association Internationale des Études Byzantines International Association of Byzantine Studies (french: Association Internationale des Études Byzantines, AIEB) was launched in 1948. It is an international co-ordinating body that links national Byzantine Studies member groups. Background and A ...

''.

Bibliography

*''Slavs in Greece'' (1898) *''The Latin Sway in the Levant'' (1923) *''History of the Byzantine Empire: Vol. 1: Constantine to the Crusades'' (1925 Russian; 1929 & many more English) *''History of the Byzantine Empire: Vol. 2: From the Crusades to the Fall of the Empire'' (1935 & many more) *''Byzantium and the Arabs, Vol. 1: Political relations between Byzantines and Arabs during the Amorian Dynasty''
1900 Russian
1935 and 1950 French, as ''Byzance et les Arabes, Tome I: La Dynastie d'Amorium (820–867)'') *''Byzantium and the Arabs, Vol. 2: Political relations between Byzantines and Arabs during the Macedonian Dynasty''

1935 and 1950/1968 French, as ''Byzance et les Arabes, Tome II: La dynastie macédonienne (867–959), in two parts) *''The Goths in the Crimea'' (1936) *"The Opening Stages of the Anglo-Saxon Immigration to Byzantium in the Eleventh Century" in ''Seminarium Kondakovianum'' (1937) *''The Russian Attack on Constantinople in 860'' (1946) *''The 'Life' of St. Peter of Argos and its Historical Significance'' (1947) *''The monument of Porphyrius in the Hippodrome at Constantinople'' (1948, 1967) *''Imperial Porphyry Sarcophagi in Constantinople'' (1949) *"The Historical Significance Of the Mosaic of Saint Demetrius at Sassoferrato", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'', 5 (1950) p. 29-39 *''Justin, the First: An Introduction to the Epoch of Justinian the Great'' (1950) *''The Second Russian Attack on Constantinople'' (1951, 1967) *''Hugh Capet Of France And Byzantium'' (1951) *''The Iconoclastic Edict of the Caliph Yazid II, A. D. 721'' (1956, 1967) *''A Survey of Works on Byzantine History'' *''The Life of St. Theodore of Edessa'' *''Medieval Ideas of the End of the World: West and East'' *''Prester John and Russia'' (1996, ed. W. F. Ryan)

References

Citations

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasiliev, Alexander American Byzantinists Byzantinists from the Russian Empire Soviet defectors Soviet emigrants to the United States Expatriates from the Russian Empire in France 1867 births 1953 deaths Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Foreign members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Soviet historians Historians from the Russian Empire 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians of Byzantine art Scholars of Byzantine history 20th-century American male writers Residents of the Benois House