Book Review: Diana Mishkova. Rival Byzantiums. Empire and Identity in Southeastern Europe. Cambridge UP, 2022. x+357. Print ISBN 978-1-108-49990-3. Online ISBN 9781108759557

Authors:

Pages: 177-191
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/MSGA9013

Abstract:

Rival Byzantiums provides an in-depth analysis of Balkan representations of the Eastern Roman Empire and its legacy, from the eighteenth century to the present. Diana Mishkova acknowledges that “Byzantium” is a retronym, coined in the sixteenth century and an exonym that names an entity in a different way from how its original denizens named it. She views Byzantium as a historiographical construct with considerable ideological potential for shaping the histories and identities of nations and nation-states in southeastern Europe. In her analysis, Mishkova reveals parallels between national historiographies and elucidates the contributions of both prominent and lesser-known scholars in the region.

Keywords:

Byzantium, southeastern Europe, historiography, nation-building, nationalism.

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