The Dream Book of the Byzantine Emperors II: Heavens, Power and Wealth

About this book

What does it mean to dream of the Sun, of ships, of a horse of your own or a well of clear water? In the Byzantine court the heavens, the earth and the waters were the language of power, and this book reads them one by one. It is the second of three books that together translate, in full, the Dream Book of Achmet, son of Sereim, composed around the tenth century and printed in Greek in Paris in 1603.

The Sun is the king, the Moon a second ruler, Venus the empress, Hermes the chief scribe. The sea is the great king, and sea water drunk or poured into vessels brings a king’s wealth. A well of clear water promises a treasure of gold and an heir. A beautiful, obedient horse promises honour, followers and power; riding his own noble horse, a man gains a noble and beautiful wife. A new garment means a new wife, white a beautiful one, green a pious one. Three “teachings”, Indian, Persian and Egyptian, are set side by side.

Book II covers chapters 138 to 229: land, houses and trees, horses, garments and fire, flying, the heavens, the sea, rivers and ships, wine, the garden and the wardrobe. There are living stories too: a ruler asks Sereim about a yellow mare and receives a grim answer, and a man sent to test the interpreter invents a dream of drinking the Tigris and is exposed at once.

Translated into modern English by BlusaBooks, directly from the Greek text of the Paris edition of 1603 (N. Rigault; Duke University copy, archive.org); the Latin translation printed beside it served as an aid, and the text is in the public domain. The translation is complete, without abridgement, and the beliefs of the period are kept as written; our explanations stand only in the notes at the foot of the page. No images of the printed edition are reproduced.

What is inside

• 92 chapters, complete: houses, horses, arms, fire, wind, Sun, Moon and stars, rain, rivers, sea, ships, wine, fruit, fields and clothing.
• The same dream read three ways: Indian, Persian and Egyptian teachings.
• A foreword on the book, its interpreters and how to read it.
• Notes on strange words, places and customs, at the foot of the page.
• A commentary in plain words: what the dreams promised, by wish (power, wealth, a good wife, a child).
• PDF, A5 page size (148 × 210 mm), 108 pages, readable on phone, tablet and computer.

Who it is for

Readers of dream dictionaries and old dream books, of Byzantine and medieval history, of astrology and esoteric texts, and anyone who wants to know what people of the Byzantine court believed the Sun, the sea and the horse in their dreams foretold.

A historical source: the book gives a Byzantine text and what historians know about it. It shares old knowledge and promises no results. What it says about illness is a medieval belief, not medical advice, and the dream meanings are those of the Byzantine court. Digital PDF, delivered for download after payment.