Byzantine Outpost in the West (original) (raw)
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CL 380-HY 300: History of the Byzantine Empire, Syllabus 2017
It is an introductory course in the history of the Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453). It will be divided into two parts. The first part consists of 15 lectures and 6 group discussions. We will follow the main events and the milestones of the Byzantine history structured chronologically, and will discuss the specific topics such as Byzantine political organization, international relations, society, economy, and culture. We will start with an overview of the main types of primary sources that scholars use studying Byzantium. Students will explore the different areas of the Byzantine history by reading a selection of the narrative sources, by examination of Byzantine coins, seals, manuscripts and art objects (available on-line). We will immerse ourselves in the legends and realities of the social, political, and cultural life of the majestic capital of the Byzantine empire, the city of Constantinople. Together with the Byzantine historians Eusebius of Caesarea, Procopius, Leo the Deacon, Michael Psellos, and Anna Komnene, we will have a chance to peep in the couloirs and chambers of the Imperial Palace, to eavesdrop on the flattering and defamatory stories about emperors and empresses, generals and bureaucrats, and to learn about intrigues, ambitions, love and hatred of the Byzantine beau monde. We will try to understand why (according to Averil Cameron) Byzantium is virtually " absent " from the public and even academic memory of the Western World, and will discuss the modern examples of the use (and abuse) of the Byzantine aesthetics (see the " Byzantine " collections from Dolce & Gabbana (2013), Valentino (2013), and Chanel). The second part of the course consists of students' presentations. Each student is invited to prepare a talk on the one of the " unorthodox " subjects that often are left behind in the standard expositions on the history of Byzantium (such as Byzantine magic, the Byzantine garden culture, cuisine and fashion, the Byzantine sense of humor and emotions, the Byzantine ideas about death, dreams, beauty, holiness, gender, women, and eroticism; please, find the list of the topics and the suggested bibliography at the end of this syllabus). Students will learn and practice the basic academic skills of preparing and delivering the oral presentations, and giving feedback on their colleagues' talks. This approach will make the fascinating and mysterious civilization of Byzantium more tangible and, in fact, unforgettable. The required primary and secondary literature will be available on the Blackboard, through the UA library E-Resources, and freely on the Internet. The course will require the occasional visits to the library, but the students will not have to purchase their own books or materials. The primary sources will be provided in English translation. Student learning outcomes: 1. Broadly recount the history of the Byzantine empire in the context of world civilization 2. Be able to discuss current issues and debates in Byzantine studies 3. Understand how various types of primary sources and methods of historical inquiry contribute to Byzantine studies.
The Byzantine world contained many important cities throughout its empire. Although it was not 'urban' in the sense of the word today, its cities played a far more fundamental role than those of its European neighbors. This book, through a collection of twenty-four chapters, discusses aspects of, and different approaches to, Byzantine urbanism from the early to late Byzantine periods. It provides both a chronological and thematic perspective to the study of Byzantine cities, bringing together literary, documentary, and archival sources with archaeological results, material culture, art, and architecture, resulting in a rich synthesis of the variety of regional and sub-regional transformations of Byzantine urban landscapes. Organised into four sections, this book covers: Theory and Historiography, Geography and Economy, Architecture and the Built Environment, and Daily Life and Material Culture. It includes more specialised accounts that address the centripetal role of Constantinople and its broader influence across the empire. Such new perspectives help to challenge the historiographical balance between 'margins and metropolis,' and also to include geographical areas often regarded as peripheral, like the coastal urban centers of the Byzantine Mediterranean as well as cities on islands, such as Crete, Cyprus, and Sicily which have more recently yielded well-excavated and stratigraphically sound urban sites. The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City provides both an overview and detailed study of the Byzantine city to specialist scholars, students, and enthusiasts alike and, therefore, will appeal to all those interested in Byzantine urbanism and society, as well as those studying medieval society in general.
The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City
The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City From Justinian to Mehmet II (ca. 500 - ca.1500), 2024
The Byzantine world contained many important cities throughout its empire. Although it was not 'urban' in the sense of the word today, its cities played a far more fundamental role than those of its European neighbors. This book, through a collection of twenty-four chapters, discusses aspects of, and different approaches to, Byzantine urbanism from the early to late Byzantine periods. It provides both a chronological and thematic perspective to the study of Byzantine cities, bringing together literary, documentary, and archival sources with archaeological results, material culture, art, and architecture, resulting in a rich synthesis of the variety of regional and sub-regional transformations of Byzantine urban landscapes. Organised into four sections, this book covers: Theory and Historiography, Geography and Economy, Architecture and the Built Environment, and Daily Life and Material Culture. It includes more specialised accounts that address the centripetal role of Constantinople and its broader influence across the empire. Such new perspectives help to challenge the historiographical balance between 'margins and metropolis,' and also to include geographical areas often regarded as peripheral, like the coastal urban centers of the Byzantine Mediterranean as well as cities on islands, such as Crete, Cyprus, and Sicily which have more recently yielded well-excavated and stratigraphically sound urban sites. The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City provides both an overview and detailed study of the Byzantine city to specialist scholars, students, and enthusiasts alike and, therefore, will appeal to all those interested in Byzantine urbanism and society, as well as those studying medieval society in general.
Proceedings of the Plenary Sessions. The 24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies, 2022
OPEN ACCESS: http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-590-2 The present volume collects most of the contributions to the plenary sessions held at the 24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies, and incisively reflects the ever increasing broadening of the very concept of ‘Byzantine Studies’. Indeed, a particularly salient characteristic of the papers presented here is their strong focus on interdisciplinarity and their breadth of scope, both in terms of methodology and content. The cross-pollination between different fields of Byzantine Studies is also a major point of the volume. Archaeology and art history have pride of place; it is especially in archaeological papers that one can grasp the vital importance of the interaction with the so-called hard sciences and with new technologies for contemporary research. This relevance of science and technology for archaeology, however, also applies to, and have significant repercussions in, historical studies, where – for example – the study of climate change or the application of specific software to network studies are producing a major renewal of knowledge. In more traditional subject fields, like literary, political, and intellectual history, the contributions to the present volume offer some important reflections on the connection between Byzantium and other cultures and peoples through the intermediary of texts, stories, diplomacy, trade, and war.
Some Aspects of Byzantine Civilisation Author(s
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Raptis, K. T. 2015. Seeking the Marketplaces of Byzantine Thessalonike
Niš and Byzantium, Thirteenth Symposium, The collection of scientific works XIII / Nis i Vizantija, Trinaesti naucni skup, Ζbornik radova XΙΙI, 2015
Based on scattered literary sources and archaeological evidence the present paper aims to detect the areas of Byzantine Thessalonike, where commercial activity had been developed, seeks the extended marketplaces of a large urban centre and attempts to draw, even faintly, the commercial map of the city from the Middle Byzantine period until the Ottoman conquest.