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Author:   Alex Feldman
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
ISBN:  

9781032376707

ISBN 10:   1032376708
Pages:   294
Publication Date:   22 May 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Prologue: A zero-sum world Pronoia: Orthodox feudalism? Mercantilism 101 What was the “Byzantine Commonwealth”? Byzantium: nation-state or civilization-state? Did Byzantium generate a “commonwealth”? How should the œcumene be interpreted? The Œcumene Chapter 1: The Byzantine Commonwealth unfolds Byzantium and the baptism of Vladimir, 986–989 – the problems of the sources The evidence of Cherson’s involvement in the Phokas rebellion, 987–989 A reassemblage of the revisionist hypothesis, 987-989 Chapter 2 The Rus’ian metropolitanate: “proto-state” or exarchate? Beyond Commonwealth Byzantine Western exarchates of the 6th–8th centuries The loyalty of the thema of Bulgaria after 1019 The metropolitanate of Rus’ia reconsidered The Law Chapter 3: From customary law to Christian law The Russkaja Pravda (11th–12th centuries) Byzantine legal influences in the expanded Russkaja Pravda The adoption of the Zakon Sudnyj Ljudem (9th–12th centuries) From the Zakon Sudnyj Ljudem to the Kormčaja Kniga Chapter 4 Overlapping sovereignties: Empire, commonwealth and jurisdiction Orthodox tax, debt and property law to the 13th century Orthodox tax, debt and property law since the 13th century The Coin Chapter 5: The hoarding period: Eastern Europe, 11th–14th centuries Bullion, deniers and debasement Barter, debt and law Imagined borders Chapter 6: Sovereignty and bullion: 13–17th centuries Coins of the Romanía dynasties Coins of the Œcumene dynasties Epilogue: Cycles of Divergence and convergence Misconceptions of feudalism and mercantilism The misconception that Roman laws and feudal laws have been different The misconception that feudalism has been exclusive to Latin Christendom The misconception that feudalism and mercantilism have been mutually exclusive economic systems The contested inheritance of Byzantium’s political economy and rhetoric Orthodox ecumenism Rex Catholicissimus, the Spains and “The Powerful Mr. Money” Pravoslavie, the Russias and “The Artery of War - Money” The Great Divergence? Ecumenical sovereignty and the national idea Liberal interpretations of zero-sum economic history Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Index

Reviews

'This is an impressive and engaging book: erudite, personal and passionate as it is dense and demanding. Rich rewards await readers as they are asked to follow a path that draws on a multitude of texts from Antiquity to the last couple of years to weave a gripping narrative of how medieval political, economic and theological systems emerged and grew in the Byzantine world writ large. This is a book about political economy and inequality that clearly demonstrates how the latter’s multiple forms can all be traced back to the same principles. Alex Mesibov Feldman guides us confidently through his meticulously collected material to explore the past but without ever losing sight of the present' - Dionysios Stathakopoulos, University of Cyprus.

Author Information

Alex M. Feldman is the chair of the department of languages and literature at CIS-Endicott International University of Madrid. He received a BA from Roger Williams University of Rhode Island and received an MRes and PhD from the University of Birmingham. He has held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of London’s Warburg Institute and has taught at the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, the State University of New York, Rockland and the University of Birmingham.

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