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.

What are the major events that Rosenwein addresses? If we look at Byzantine history represented in the textbook, what overarching story (grand narrative) about Byzantium is being told?

• 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

The Chronicon Paschale or Easter Chronicle is an anonymous chronicle from the early 7th-c., which preserves an account of the salient events of world history from God's creation of the universe down to the time of writing. Thus it fulfills the standard function of a late Roman or Byzantine chronicle, which was to inter-relate Biblical and secular events, to interpret history in specifically Christian terms, and to present the record of true belief from the beginning of the world, through the turning-point of the Crucifixion, down to the present.

The decrees of the Quinisext Council show the Church seeking to legislate civil/ religious law over Byzantine citizens. What changes do they advocate for?

The account of Constantine VIII show the important of the ritual representation of power among Byzantine kinds.

Michael Psellus' Chronographia (Historical Writings) showcase the leadership of two female 'emperors'.

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.

• "Byzantine Matters is an assessment of the current state of Byzantine studies by a well-respected member of the field. Though a slender volume, its goals are ambitious—to understand the reasons for the marginalization of Byzantine studies in the Western academy and to offer a few prescriptions for its correction. Following a brief introduction, the book progresses as a series of essays on particular themes, close to the author’s personal interest, that she has examined in public lectures in recent years." [From Bynn Mar Classical Review by George E. Demacopoulos]

Do

• The Draft Document Analysis paper is due on Monday, November 2nd by 10am.

Going Further

If students want to do more, they can read the optional reading assignments.

There is also a three-part documentary series entitled Byzantium: Tale of Three Cities (requires login to library resources) which traces the history of the Byzantine Empire through a focus on its capital city from its founding (ep. 1), its growth until the end of the Middle Ages (ep. 2) and its fall and transformation after 1453 (ep. 3).

There is also a short documentary on the Sassanids (the Byzantines major opponents before the rise of Islam), you could watch.

Help

If a student is struggling, how should they seek help?