Byzantine Civilization Author:Steven Runciman This paperback edition was for the general readers and undergrads in Wes Civ classes. Sir Steven Runciman?s scholarly contribution was that in the 1930s he put Byzantium back on the British historical and cultural map as a civilization worthy of serious study. He understood that the Gibbon's stereotypes of Byz. as "backward" and "full of intrigu... more »es" and "pompous" had to be put on the shelf.« less