"How did people climb the social ladder in the Byzantine empire? Did Byzantium have guilds? What did horse-racing fan clubs in the hippodrome have in common with other social organizations? What causes and what religious and civic motivations united urban dwellers? For too long, Byzantium has been seen as an atomized society dominated by the imperial court in Constantinople. This volume breaks new ground in highlighting the existence of vertical connections articulated through collective agency. Focusing on "middling" people-urban professionals, prosperous householders and farmers, and monastics-living in Constantinople, Thessaloniki, and elsewhere, eight contributions present new materials and fresh approaches the strategies of collective self-empowerment"-- Provided by publisher.