This volume traces the social, economic and political history of the
Greeks between 500 and 1050. The book adopts an interdisciplinary
approach and uses archaeological evidence, as well as coins and seals,
fiscal documents, medieval chronicles, and hagiographic literature to
examine the development of Greek culture in the early medieval period.
Several themes provide the foundation for this volume and run through
the chapters; these include the Balkan context, the Social Role of the
Army and the Onset of Economic Growth. Special attention is paid to the
size of the economy in early medieval Greece. Both the social and the
economic are privileged and analyzed together as integrally connected
spheres of life, thus filling a major gap in existing literature on this
period.