Byzantine lesson. Reflections on the book: Harris J. The lost world of Byzantium. Trans. From English by [N. Nartsissov]. Moscow: Alpina Non-Fiction, 2017, 384 pp

In the response to the translation of the book by the English historian Jonathan Harris, “The Lost World of Byzantium”, is given a brief overview of its contents, and highlights the author’s main idea and conclusions. It is shown how the researcher contrasts his conception of the history and fate of the Byzantine Empire with the point of view of famous Western authors (P. Gilles, E. Gibbon, etc.). So, Edward Gibbon in “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” wrote about “cowardice and discord” among the “Greeks” who, instead of collecting and arming legions against their many enemies, indulged in ceremonial actions, the accumulation of antiquities, dogmatic disputes and the decoration of churches. In turn, Harris suggests asking the question, not why did the majestic empire fall, but how did it manage to exist for so long in such adverse conditions and what lesson can the modern reader learn from this. According to Harris, this lesson is that the power of society is determined by its ability to adapt and integrate outsiders even in the most difficult circumstances. We can add to the thesis of the author that the great empire had this skill precisely thanks to Christianity.