Description: Angeliki Laiou (1941-2008), one of the leading Byzantinists of her generation, broke new ground in the study of the social and economic history of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium and the Other: Relations and Exchanges, the second of three volumes to be published posthumously in the Variorum Collected Studies Series, brings together studies that reflect her enduring interest in Byzantium's political, ideological, and commercial relations with its neighbors. The articles examine Byzantine attitudes to foreigners and strangers within the empire, the response to the Crusades and, more generally, to questions of justice in the spheres of conflict and colonization, and political and commercial relations with other regional and Mediterranean powers, in particular Venice and Genoa.
Review Quotes: 'As this collection of papers worthily represents, Angeliki Laiou's scholarship deserves wide dissemination and readership for those interested in Byzantium, the Crusades, and Mediterranean economic history. Her insightful interaction with numerous sources both Byzantine and otherwise coupled with her originality of approach make for both interesting and essential reading. The editors, Cécile Morrison and Rowan Dorin, as well as Ashgate, deserve our gratitude for bringing these articles together and making them accessible.' Reviews in History