“From the perspective of the exhaustive collection and indexing of historical sources and aids, I believe that the book by Demosthenes serves as a key reference point for the history of Byzantine Cyprus.

The uniqueness of the value of this book lies rather in the methodology that the author follows in approaching and utilizing the sources and aids. Faithful to a historiographical understanding that seeks the most holistic reconstruction of the past — a notion first taught to us by the French Annales school — Demosthenes recognizes that the cultural entity of a society is defined by the multifaceted, fluid, and dynamically interdependent relationship of the material and ideal forms that characterize the society under study.

The astute analysis and confrontation of historical testimonies, along with Demosthenes’s interpretative capability, make the work of this new historian distinctive, vibrant, contemporary, and noteworthy. It is significant that in his bold proposals on specific issues, Demosthenes clearly anticipates not to close but rather to open a discussion with other historians of his time. As Demosthenes rightly, I believe, appreciates, respect for the work of a historian does not necessarily imply absolute agreement with all the views expressed by that historian.

It certainly entails the understanding that the acceptance of pluralism of well-founded interpretive perspectives is an essential component of progress, both in historiography and in any other form of expression of a truly democratic state. These few thoughts briefly refer to the main reasons why I consider that the book by Anthoulis Demosthenes represents a multifaceted and significant contribution to the modern historiography of Byzantine Cyprus in particular and to the historiography of Byzantium in general.” Katia Galatariotou [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]