Byzantine/Khazar persona
Brent Kellmer
fancy, I find myself leaning toward something like a Khazar or Georgian from
the mid-10th century who is living in Byzantium. I was wondering if anyone out there on the Rialto could give me some help on a couple of things (either
advice or references, or even contacts if you know somebody who knows
somebody. . . .) The topics I'm looking for include:
Byzantium: 1) Byzantine naming practices
2) Byzantine Armies (specifically the Kataphractoi)
3) Byzantine Costuming (for men)
Khazaria 1) ANY decent history of the Khazars
2) Naming practices
3) Khazar costuming
My thoughts about doing Khazar are conditional on my further investigation,
but I definately want to do something connected to the Byzantine Empire. I
am also very close to a major research library (University of Washington),
So if I've titles (or even hints) I can usually go from there.
My greatest thanks--
Iskander the not quite as yet fully named.
Terry Nutter
Qomi send greetings and prayers for the blessing of Allah
Mi'lord Iskander recently posted a request for references
on Byzantine costuming, the Byzantine military
(especially the Kataphractoi), Byzantine naming practices,
and background information on Byzantine-Khazar
contacts. Here goes:
_BYZANTINE COSTUMING_
An excellent source for Byzantine costuming is:
M.G. Houston. _Ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine
Costume and Decoration_. 2nd edition. London: Black,
1947.
While the emphasis is on the classical period, the volume
has an excellent bibliography and doesn't do a bad job on
the eastern empire post-Justinian.
Primary sources for Byzantine costuming, of course, are
artistic representations of Byzantines wearing clothing,
and among the best sources of such representations are
illustrations in art histories. Some worth consulting -- and
not just for the pictures, but for a sense of Byzantine
aesthetics and taste -- are:
A.J. Wharton. _Art of Empire: Painting and Architecture of
the Byzantine Periphery -- A Comparative Study of
Four Provinces_. University Park: Pennsylvania State
University Press, 1988.
J. Beckwith. _The Art of Constantinople_. New York:
Phaidon, 1968.
J. Beckwith. _Early Christian and Byzantine Art_.
Hammondsworth & New York: Penguin Books, 1979.
A. Grabar. _The Art of the Byzantine Empire_. New York:
Crown, 1966.
O.M. Dalton. _Byzantine Art and Archaeology_. New York:
Dover, 1961.
M. Chatzedakes. _Studies in Byzantine Art and
Archaeology_. London: Variorum, 1972.
H. Maguire. _Art and Eloquence in Byzantium_. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1981.
C. Diehl. _Manuel d'art byzantin_. 2nd. edition. 2 vols.
Paris: A. Pickard, 1925-26.
This is the premier work on Byzantine art history -- the
text is in French, but the reproductions are gorgeous and
exceptionally detailed.
_BYZANTINE ARMIES_
_Compleat Anachronist_ # 56 was devoted to Byzantine
arms and armor. The bibliography cited was incomplete
(didn't reference the journal literature and the most
interesting work on the Byzantine military can be found
there, nor the French translation of the Emperor Leo's
_Taktika_), but the author appeared to be exceptionally
knowledgeable about the Byzantine military. At the end of
the essay, he invited persons with questions about the
Byzantine military to correspond with him at the following
address:
Fitzhugh MacCrae (that's his mundane name: SCA --
Lord Balian FitzGilbert)
42 Forest Rd.
Box 43
S. Lyndeboro, NH 03082.
I assume that he wouldn't publish his address if he weren't
serious about corresponding with people of like interests.
Since Mi'Lord Iskander's persona interests seem
immigrant-to-Byzantium as well as Byzantine, he might
find enjoyable a relatively new translation of the
_Vaeringjasaga_ with good notes and commentary:
S.B. Blondal. _The Varangians of Byzantium: An Aspect of
Byzantine Military History_. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1978.
If Mi'lord Iskander is desirous of a fuller bibliography on
the Byzantine military, he can email his interests to me
and I shall try to dig up (as in "archaeologically excavate")
an old bibliography I compiled on the Byzantine army
when in graduate school many moons ago.
_BYZANTINE NAMING PRACTICES_
Byzantine onomastics is not a field with a large literature.
In fact, I don't know of a single monograph devoted to the
subject, although there are occasional journal articles,
usually with an epigraphic or numismatic focus. One of
the better ways to investigate Bynzantine naming
practices in light of this dearth of resources would be to
scan historical studies listing names and to induce rules
from a large sample (that may not be the most elegant
methodology, but there are worse). I would suggest for a
start:
T.T. Rice. _Everyday Life in Byzantium_. New York:
Putname, 1967.
Rather simplistic, but not particularly inaccurate as a
preliminary source.
A.A. Vasiliev. _History of the Byzantine Empire, 324-1453.
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1952.
N. Oikonomides. Les listes de preseance byzantines des IXe
et Xe siecles: introduction, texte, traducion,
commentaire._ Paris: Editions du Centre national de la
recherche scientifique, 1972.
While the text is in French and there might be some
transliteration problems for the English speaker, this is an
exceptionally rich source of Byzantine names and
titulature, as one might expect a study of Byzantine orders
of precedence to be.
Nicetas Choniates. _O City of Byzantium: Annals of Niketas
Choniates_. Trans. by H.I. Magoulias. Detroit: Wayne
State University Press, 1984.
While a little later than the 10th century (1140-1213, in
fact), this chronicle of Byzantine life and history is a
wonderful source for Byzantine names.
_THE BYZANTINE-KHAZAR CONNECTION_
I'll be the first to admit that I don't know sh*t about
Khazar-Byzantine relations and, frankly, I don't know of a
piece of scholarship which covers the subject. However,
Andrew Urbansky's _Byzantium and the Danube Frontier:
A Study of the Relations Between Byzantium, Hungary, and
the Balkans During the Period of the Comneni_ (New York:
Twayne, 1968) has an excellent discussion of the Byzantine
foreign policy apparatus and state administration which
could, perhaps, be of some relevance to relations with the
Khazars.
I hope this is helpful for a starting effort. There is an
immense historical literature on the Byzantine Empire and
I have no desire to impose so long as posting as it would
take to even cite the best of it (nor would my fingers much
enjoy the typing of such a tome). If Mi'lord Iskander
wants more, he need only email his desires to me.
In Service to the Society,
Hossein Ali Qomi