The blinded state : historiographic debates about Samuel Cometopoulos and his state (10th-11th century) / by Mitko B. Panov.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Panov, Mitko (Mitko B.), author.

Series:

East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450 55.

East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450, 1872-8103 ; volume 55

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Samuil, Czar of Bulgaria, -1014.

Samuil.

Basil II, Emperor of the East, approximately 958-1025.

Basil.

Byzantine Empire--History--527-1081.

Byzantine Empire.

Balkan Peninsula--History.

Balkan Peninsula.

Macedonia--History--168 B.C.-1389 A.D.

Macedonia.

Byzantine Empire--Historiography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (476 pages).

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2019.

Summary:

This book is a revisionist account of Samuel's State and the legendary struggle between Samuel Cometopoulos and Basil II (10th-11th century). It goes beyond the standard approach to the study of state formation, presenting an entirely new analytical framework which interrogates how contemporaries in the Balkans at different times, ranging from the Byzantine and Balkan elites of the medieval centuries to later voices in the early modern and modern periods, have represented Samuel's polity in the service of their own political agendas and territorial aspirations towards Macedonia. The wide-ranging relationship between culture, identity and power are addressed, making use not just of Balkan literary and artistic traditions but on writings from across the Slavic world and western political and intellectual contexts. Demonstrating the conflicted legacy of the Samuel's State in the Balkans, Mitko B. Panov questions established scholarly opinion and offers new interpretations that reconsider its place in Byzantine and Balkan history and imagination.

Contents:

Front Matter

Copyright page

Acknowledgements

Illustrations

Abbreviations

Introduction

Samuel's State in the Contemporary Sources

Samuel's State in The Byzantine Ideology: Basil II and the Construction of Identity

Basil versus Samuel: Constructing Legends and Traditions in the Medieval Balkans

Samuel's Multiple Faces: Sympathetic Ruler and God's Sinner

Rediscovering the Dark Side of Samuel

Absolving Samuel

Resurrecting Samuel

An Antidote for Balkan Nationalisms: Samuel and the Struggle for National Consciousness in Macedonia

Under Samuel's Shadow: The Blinding Continues

Conclusion

Back Matter

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

90-04-39429-X

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004394292 DOI