Knowra De administrando imperio De administrando imperio A tenth-century Byzantine handbook of political and military advice compiled under Emperor Constantine VII. It describes neighboring peoples, diplomacy, frontier defense, and imperial governance.
Byzantine Empire : The medieval Roman state, centered on Constantinople, that endured from late antiquity until 1453. The handbook presents strategies for governing and defending this empire.
Byzantine foreign policy : The strategies Byzantine rulers used to manage other states, peoples, and political communities. The handbook recommends how the emperor should deal with neighboring powers.
Constantine VII's court : The imperial household and scholarly circle surrounding Constantine VII in tenth-century Constantinople. The handbook emerged from the court's program of collecting and organizing knowledge.
Magyars : A people who migrated into the Carpathian Basin in the late ninth century and formed the basis of medieval Hungary. The handbook describes their position and potential role in regional strategy.
Byzantine historiography : The writing and study of historical works produced in the Byzantine Empire. The handbook's mixed purpose complicates how it can be used as historical evidence.
Constantine VII : A Byzantine emperor who ruled from 913 to 959 and was known for scholarly and literary work. The work was compiled under his authority and reflects his imperial program.
Byzantine military manuals : Texts that record military theory, tactics, and practical instruction in the Byzantine Empire. This work applies military knowledge to political and frontier problems.
Byzantine encyclopedism : The Byzantine practice of compiling, excerpting, and reorganizing earlier learning into reference works. The handbook combines inherited information with advice directed to an imperial heir.
Serbs : A South Slavic people whose medieval polities developed in the western Balkans. Its account of Serbia mixes political information with claims about origins.
Ethnography : The description and analysis of peoples, their customs, and social organization. Its accounts of neighboring peoples helped shape later knowledge of them.
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