This book addresses two main topics. The first, multifaceted and largely narrative, is the history of the relationships between Byzantium and the peoples of Eastern Europe. These relationships—political, diplomatic, economic, ecclesiastical, and cultural—will be examined through the lens of the foreign policy of the Byzantine Empire as well as from the perspective of the peoples of Eastern Europe, who, whether on their own initiative or in response to motives provided by Byzantium, found themselves in its sphere of influence.

The second topic is more cohesive and comprehensive. Through the relationships established by these peoples with the empire during the Middle Ages, their leading and educated classes came to adopt many characteristics of Byzantine culture, resulting in their ability to participate in and ultimately contribute to a common cultural tradition. This tradition comprised various elements. Among them were the common confession of faith in Eastern Christianity; the recognition of the primacy of the Church of Constantinople; the—at least tacit—acceptance that the Byzantine emperor had some degree of authority over the entire Orthodox Christianity; the acceptance of the rules of Byzantine-Roman law; and the belief that the literary standards and artistic methods cultivated in the schools, monasteries, and workshops of the empire held universal authority and were worthy of emulation.

The Byzantine legacy of these countries in Eastern Europe was, I believe, a significant aspect of their medieval tradition to justify the claim that, from certain perspectives, they formed a unified international community.