Table of Contents

List of plates; List of maps; Preface and acknowledgements; Preface to the revised edition; List of abbreviations; The sources; Introduction; 1. The background: state and society before Heraclius; 2. The East Roman world c. 610–717: the politics of survival; 3. Some relations and the economy: the cities and the land; 4. Social relations and the economy: rural society; 5. The state and its apparatus: fiscal administration; 6. The state and its apparatus: military administration; 7. Society, state and law; 8. The imperial church and the politics of authority; 9. Religion and belief; 10. Forms of social and cultural organisation: infrastructures and hierarchies; 11. Forms of representation: language, literature and the icon; Conclusions: the transformation of a culture; Addendum: further observations on the question of the late ancient city; Bibliography; Index.