The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (ODB) is a three-volume historical dictionary published by the English

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

. With more than 5,000 entries, it contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. It was edited by Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991.''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'',

, New York and Oxford, 1991. Kazhdan was a professor at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

who became a Senior Research Associate at Dumbarton Oaks,

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...

, before his death. He contributed to many of the articles in the Dictionary and always signed his initials ''A.K.'' at the end of the article to indicate his contribution.

Description

The dictionary is available in printed and e-reference text versions from Oxford Reference Online. 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 Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

structures of Byzantine society.

References

External links

Oxford Reference Online
1991 non-fiction books Books about the Byzantine Empire Byzantine studies Oxford dictionaries {{Dictionary-stub