The Eastern Roman Empire
Goals for this week
By the end of this week, what should students know, be able to do and understand?
student will come to understand the continuing challenges and changes that happen over the course of the Early Middle Ages in the East Roman Empire (they never did call themselves Byzantine, this is a modern term).
learn about the difficulties of studying the "Byzantine Empire" and how current scholars are reinterpreting a field still defined by problematic 19th century interpretations of its history and significance (e.g. the problem of modern nationalism)
write up a detailed analysis of a primary source
Overview:
The Eastern Roman Empire (aka Romanland/ Romania) continues in various forms until the 15th century. We will explore aspects of its history, focussing on the reign of Justinian and Theodora, and the representation of imperial power in mosaic and chronicles.
Online Time
On Tuesday November 3rd, we will consider why Constantine chose the small port city of Byzantium to be his new capital, how it is incorrect to talk about a Byzantine Empire (but we will anyways), and how a focus on Justinian tends to distract us from the challenges Byzantium will face after his death.
Read/Watch/Listen
Required:
Rosenwein's textbook is organized chronologically, so that you can read about three different regions (Europe, Byzantium, Dar-al-Islam) in temporal chunks. I'm asking you to take a read these chapters differently - this week, looking at "Byzantium" as a whole in chapters 2-4.
The primary sources you will read this week attempt to show the nature of Byzantine political and religious identity during the early Middle Ages.
Chronicon Paschale
the Quinisext Council
Constantine VIII (Patron of Arts)
Zoe and Theodora
Optional:
Kaldellis, Anthony. Romanland. Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019. Pp. xvi, 373. The preface outlines his major thoughts.
"Romanland is a brilliant, big-picture analysis of the highest caliber with a time frame stretching from the third to the eleventh century (including some glimpses on late Byzantium) and a geographical scope encompassing Italy, the Balkans, and Asia Minor. Kaldellis' text is bristling with stimulating observations and compelling arguments and invites us to rethink numerous well-established scholarly opinions. In a nutshell, the author aspires to demonstrate that the Byzantine Empire was neither "Byzantine" nor an"'empire," or at least what scholars traditionally consider to be a multiethnic imperial state. Byzantium, he argues, should be seen as a medieval Roman nation-state dominated by a largely homogeneous and clearly defined ethnic group, the Romans." [Quoted from a review by Alexander Beihamme on The Medieval Review.]
Averil Cameron, Byzantine Matters. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2014. xiv, 164. ISBN 9780691157634.
Do
Going Further
If students want to do more, they can read the optional reading assignments.
Help
If a student is struggling, how should they seek help?
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