Byzantium and the Rise of Russia: A Study of Byzantino-Russian Relations in the Fourteenth Century

Front Cover
Cambridge University Press, Jun 24, 2010 - History - 350 pages
The history of Russia is often considered as if that immense country had always been an isolated continent. However, at the time of its rise as a nation, it was politically a province of the Mongol Empire, whose capital was in Central Asia; and ecclesiastically, it was a dependency of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople, or Byzantium. This book describes the role of Byzantine (predominantly ecclesiastical) diplomacy in the emergence of Moscow as the capital of Russia in the fourteenth century, and the cultural, religious and political ties which connected the Northern periphery of the Byzantine Orthodox 'Commonwealth' with its centre in Constantinople. After 1370, the religious and monastic revival in Byzantium and the weakening of Mongol power provided an orientation to the policies of the Orthodox church in Russia: towards supra-national unity, spiritual and artistic achievements, and political reconciliation between principalities.
 

Contents

Introduction I
1
Byzantine civilization in Russia
9
The catastrophes of the thirteenth century
29
The Mongols their Western neighbours and their
48
The Metropolitanate of Kiev and all Russia
73
ideological
96
Byzantium the Southern Slavs
119
Byzantium and Moscow 1 Byzantium and Moscow
159
The Union of Krewo
241
Metropolitan Cyprian and the strengthening of Byzantine connections
245
dreams and reality
261
Some translated sources
279
Emperor John VI Cantacuzenos restores the unity of the metropolitanate of Kiev and all Russia August 1347
280
Patriarch Philotheos affirms his universal authority and supports Metropolitan Alexis as regent of Muscovy June 1370
283
Enemies of Moscow excommunicated by patriarchate June 1370
285
The threat of King Casimir of Poland 1370
287

Olgerd and Moscow
161
Patriarch Philotheos and Russia 136476
175
Patriarch Philotheos
180
Dynastic strife in the Golden Horde and the rise of Moscow
181
The challenge of Poland and Lithuania
191
Metropolitan Cyprian and Moscows separatism 137681 I Byzantium the Genoese and the Golden Horde
205
Mityai Pimen and Cyprian
214
The battle of Kulikovo
222
Lithuania turns westwards 145 173 200
226
Further instability in the metropolitanate
227
The protest of Olgerd
288
evenhandedness is a condition of unity 1371
290
Cyprian and his monastic friends Letter I to St Sergius June 3 1378
292
Letter 2 to St Sergius June 23 1378
293
the Encomion of St Peter by Cyprian
300
A Moscows separatism partially vindicated by Patriarch Neilos in 1380
303
B Unity restored and Cyprian vindicated by Patriarch
307
Anthony 1389
312
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information