οί δέ λύκοι ώς Πέρσάι:The image of the “Turks” in the reign of John II Komnenos (1118-1143)
οί δέ λύκοι ώς Πέρσάι:The image of the “Turks” in the reign of John II Komnenos (1118-1143)

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to study the image of the Turks during the reign of John II Komnenos. Among the various terms used by the Greek sources to characterize the Turks may be found very common ones (e.g. barbarians) as well as one or two that could be considered unicum for the period in question (such us the comparison of the Turks to the wolves, which forms the core of the paper). The author concludes that the image of the Turks was created mainly on the battlefield and also stemmed from their moral qualities (as perceived by the Byzantines), qualities that were often portrayed by comparison to animals and physical phenomena. The image of the Turks is more complete than that of other peoples; however, despite the existence of a few positive traits that are mentioned in the sources, the main Byzantine perception of the Turks during the period in question is clearly negative.

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