Summary
Tonja Kjusopulu: Emperor or administrator
Byzantium in the 15th century is easily understood as an anachronistic remnant of the ancient ecumenical empire, whose only achievements were the contribution of Hellenic literature to the development of ideas of humanism and renaissance and the preservation of Orthodoxy from the influence of Catholicism.
In the study Emperor or administrator, the Greek historian Tonja Kjusopulu rejects this point of view and tries to show that it was a small fortified enclave in the heart of the Ottoman Empire, which was remaining from the former great and powerful Byzantine Empire, following the example of the Italian model, it accepted the social structure and political ideology of a secular city-state, in the hope that it would thus ensure its survival. Accordingly, the empire of the last Paleologues is presented in a completely different light than the one we are used to when it comes to this topic.
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