This volume presents a broad-ranging analysis of the Byzantine aristocracy of the 8th-12th centuries. The essays examine the evolution of aristocratic families and the composition of this group, the relative importance of landholding and public office, the notion of 'civilian' and 'military' families, and patterns of inheritance. They also focus on the Byzantine army, with studies looking both at the position of aristocrats within it, and more generally at the effectiveness of the army itself, notably in the campaigns in Asia Minor against the Arabs and the Turks.

Contents: Introduction. The Aristocracy in Byzantine Society: The Byzantine aristocracy, 8th-13th centuries; The Byzantine aristocracy in the 10th-12th centuries: comments on the book by A. Kazhdan and S. Ronchey; Aristocratic anthroponymy in Byzantium; Aristocracy and inheritance, 10th-12th centuries; Fortune et puissance des grandes familles (Xe-XIIe siècle); Dévaluation des dignités et dévaluation monétaire dans la seconde moitié du XIe siècle. The Aristocracy and the Byzantine Army: Official power and non-official power; Basil II and Asia Minor; Philadelphie, un quart de siècle de dissidence, 1182-1206; La politique militaire de Basile II à Alexis Comnène; Du stratège de thème au duc: chronologie de l'évolution au cours du XIe siècle; Les effectifs de l'armée byzantine (Xe-XIIe s.); Mantzikert: un désastre militaire?; La résistance aux Turcs en Asie Mineure entre Mantzikert et la Première Croisade. Addenda; Index.

Jean-Claude Cheynet is Professor of Byzantine History at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), France, and Director of the Centre de recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance, at the Collège de France, France.