Indiana University
History
C300: Byzantine History
Spring
Semester 2006
Ballantine Hall 003
TuTh 4:00-5:15 pm
Office: BH 708
Office Hours: Mondays 2:30-4, or by appt.
email: ddeliyan@indiana.edu
Although the Roman empire "fell" in western Europe, the eastern half of the Roman empire survived for over a thousand years, and is known to us as the Byzantine empire. Until the thirteenth century, it remained one of the most powerful and splendid societies in the world, far overshadowing the emerging countries of western Europe. This course is designed as an introduction to Byzantine history and civilization, A.D 330-1453. In it we will explore the survival of the eastern empire, how it developed a distinctive Christian culture and ideology, how it interacted with, and impacted, its neighbors, and how it responded to economic, political, and military challenges.
The 1000 years of Byzantine history consists of ups and downs; periods when strong emperors and generals brought peace, or at least victory, to the empire, and periods in which internal turmoil and weak emperors led to internal chaos and disastrous losses of territory. Ultimately, this is a story of the decline of an empire, but a decline that was not continuous. One of the things we will consider is what stayed the same throughout the course of this 1000 years, and in what ways Byzantine society and culture changed radically.
Course requirements
Grading will be based on attendance, a midterm exam, papers (4-5 pages each) on the primary source readings, and a final exam.
The following are the requirements for this course:
Attendance 5%
Three 5-7 page papers 30% (10% each)
Participation in debate 15%
Midterm exam 20%
Final exam 30%
Class meetings will consist of lecture and discussion. Readings from the textbooks are assigned in order to provide background and supplementary material to what happens in class. It is very important that you do the reading BEFORE the class for which it is assigned. Discussion, group activities, debates, and other types of exercises will take place at various points in the semester, and you will be expected to be prepared for these.
Four papers are
assigned in the course of the semester; you
must write three of them.
If you choose to write all four, you can earn 2% on your final
grade for
an A or A- on the extra paper, or 1% for a B+ or B on the extra paper. I will calculate your grade to give you
the best option. Each paper is
based on one of the full-length primary source readings for the class. You must read each book by the time you
write your paper; note that you are expected to have read, and will be
tested
on, all four books even though you only have to write three papers. Descriptions of the papers
may be found
at the end of this syllabus. Each
paper must be turned in in class on the day that it is due. Even an hour after class will be
counted as late; late papers will be marked down one letter grade for each
day that they are late.
Instructions for the debates can be found at the end
of this syllabus.
The midterm and final exams will be a combination of short identifications and essays (they may also include a map section). They will be open-note tests; you may NOT however use books or photocopies. It behooves you, therefore, to attend class and take good notes; also to take good notes on readings and other materials. Because this form of test is often difficult for people who haven't taken one before, a "practice test" will be made available three weeks before the midterm. This test can be graded so that you can see how you might have done, although it will not count toward your class grade.
Readings
There is a textbook for the class, from which readings are assigned on the syllabus:
Gregory, Timothy. A History of Byzantium: 306-1453. (Blackwell Publishers, 2005).
There are also four full-length texts assigned, of which one can be bought in the bookstore, and the others are found on the World Wide Web, linked to the syllabus. The one that can be purchased is:
Hull, Denison B., trans. Digenis Akritas: The Two-Blood Border Lord. (Ohio University Press, 1986).
These readings will introduce us to the ways that the Byzantines thought about their own culture and society.
The
origins of
Byzantium
Jan. 10 Introduction; The Roman empire in crisis
Gregory, pp. 1-44
Jan. 12 Constantine to Theodosius
Gregory, pp. 45-94
Jan. 17 The Barbarians and the "fall of Rome"
The
Early
Byzantine Empire (400-843)
Jan. 19 Political summary, to 527
Gregory, pp. 95-97, 100-101, 106-110
Jan. 24 Constantinople
Jan. 26 Fifth-century women: empresses and saints
Paper
1 due (on Lives and Sozomen)
Gregory, pp. 98-99, 141-142
Jan. 31 Religion and society in the fifth century
Gregory,
pp. 101-106, 110-118
Feb. 2
Justinian
Gregory, pp. 119-140, 143-147
Feb. 7 Heraclius and the rise of Islam
Gregory, pp. 148-178
Feb. 9 Social and military organization in the 7th-9th centuries
Gregory, pp. 178-181,
Feb.
14 Iconoclasm and
ideology after Islam
Gregory, pp. 183-209
The
Middle
Byzantine Empire (843-1050)
Feb. 16 The political background
Gregory, pp. 209-248
Feb. 21
Life
in the cities and life on the frontier
Feb. 23 Internal political tensions
Debate 3: Military vs. Bureaucracy
Feb. 28 Foreign relations
Mar.
2 Epic and
the Byzantine hero
Paper 2 due (on Digenis Akritas)
Mar. 7 The Macedonian renaissance
Mar.
9 Midterm
exam
Spring Break
Disaster
and recovery (1050-1261)
Mar.
21 Politics after Basil II
Paper
3 due (on Michael Psellos' Chronographia)
Gregory, pp. 248-256
Mar. 23 Foreign relations in the late 11th century
Mar. 28 Alexios I Comnenus and his successors
Gregory, pp. 257-273
Mar. 30 Society and Culture in the Twelfth Century
Gregory, pp. 274-279
Apr. 4 The Crusades
Apr. 6 The Fourth Crusade
Gregory, pp. 279-281
Apr. 11 The Frankish interregnum
Gregory, pp. 282-197
The
Late
Byzantine period
Apr. 13 The return of the Byzantines
Gregory, pp. 298-324
Apr. 18 Late Byzantine monasticism and spirituality
Paper
4 due (on Byzantine monastic foundation documents)
Apr. 20 Culture and society in and outside of Constantinople
Apr. 25 East and West One Last Time
Debate
5: The Council of Florence
Apr. 27 The fall of Byzantium
Gregory, pp. 325-358
Final
exam: Thursday,
May
4, 7:15-9:15 p.m. in the regular classroom
Note that you are to write three of the papers.
Each of the books that we are reading for this class is of a different type: saints' lives, epic, history, and monastic documents. I would like you to begin to understand how history can be written based on each type of source; therefore a different question has been asked for each paper (see below). all, however, specifically ask you to consider what biases and problems there might be for the source that would influence the use a historian can make of it.
Some general comments on the papers:
- Papers should be typed/word processed, and should be of a length equivalent to 5-7 double-spaced pages, with settings of 1 inch margins (top, bottom, and sides) and twelve-point font.
- Don't be afraid of including your own opinions about what is in the book; the purpose of the exercise is to make you react to the book and what it is about.
- When you quote or paraphrase any part of any written text, either these books or any other published material, you must provide the appropriate reference, either in footnotes or endnotes. Failure to provide adequate references is considered plagiarism, for which the university has severe penalties. If you have any question about your use of sources, it is better to be on the safe side and provide a reference.
Hints on writing a paper:
- Introduction. These are fairly short papers. It is essential for a good paper that you have a strong introduction that clearly explains what you are going to be discussing. That way, each paragraph makes sense in the context of the whole thing. Don't let it be a surprise to the reader! One way to do this, which is effective, is to have the concluding sentence of the first paragraph be: "In this paper I will . . . ." Don't be afraid of using such a sentence! That is not the only way to do it, but it works.
- Be sure to include dates in the introduction, both the date the text was written, and the date of the events described in the text (if they are different).
- Use of source. Be SURE to provide specific quotes from the source, appropriately referenced, for every point you make. Don't just generalize about what it says; that is not the right way to go about proving your point.
- Don't waste time summarizing the plot of the text; or if you want to provide a summary, it should be no more than one paragraph long.
- If you are quoting a passage that is more than 3 lines long, it should be set as a block quote: indented and single-spaced.
Women played an
important role in
Byzantine society, not just behind the scenes but in active political
and
religious life as well. The texts
that you are reading for today are about strong women of the fifth
century
(although some of the texts are written slightly later) who were
considered
saints even in their lifetimes.
Read the following:
Holy Women of Byzantium: Ten Saints' Lives in English
Translation, edited by
Alice-Mary
Talbot
Read: St. Matrona of Perge
St.
Elisabeth the Wonder-worker
Sozomen, Ecclesiastical
History, on Pulcheria
Read: Book IX chs. 1-3
Write a paper about
expectations and
women's roles in Byzantine society, based on these texts.
What biases are found in these texts,
and how do these influence the way you can use them in your paper?
Digenis Akritas is the hero of an epic poem. The action takes place in the late 9th/early 10th century, although the poem was probably composed a century or more later, as an oral poem, and then written down even later than that. This poem was written as entertainment for members of the provincial aristocracy; presumably it would have been recited at banquets.
Read pp. 3-113 (and the introduction if you wish). Write a paper about life on the Byzantine frontier. What details of social, cultural, political life can you glean from this text? How do you have to read between the lines to do so?
Michael Psellos was a
philosopher
and government official in the mid-11th century. He
wrote many different texts on may subjects (including
astronomy, medicine, grammar, physics, etc.). Among
his works was the Chronographia, a history of his own day, 976-1077, based in
part (so he
tells us) on his own observation.
His work is a major source for the history of this crucial
period.
Read books 2-7 (you
may read the
introduction and book 1 if you would like). Write
a paper on life in Constantinople in the eleventh
century. Who are the people with
the power, and how is power exercised?
How do those in Constantinople interact with those outside the
city? What are Psellus' biases,
and how do they influence your use of the text?
When a monastery was founded, or when a substantial donation was made to a monastery, a document was usually drawn up explaining who was completing the action, why they were doing it, and what they expected the monks/nuns to do. Several of these documents have survived from the later Byzantine period, and have been translated:
Byzantine Monastic Foundation
Documents:
A
Complete Translation of the Surviving Founder's Typika and
Testaments, Edited by John Thomas and Angela Constantinides Hero
Read selections 46-61; they consist of last wills and testaments of various people, as well as rules for monastic conduct written by various people. As you read the documents, be sure to focus on the part that says "Translation" - the introductory material, which is quite lengthy, can be skipped if you prefer, and certainly should not form the evidence for your paper. Write a paper in which you describe the historical and social context for monasticism in this period. Who is funding these monasteries, and why? Who is regulating the lives of the monks? What is the relationship between monasticism and the secular world? What biases in these documents might make it difficult to evaluate these things?
DEBATES
- GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Note that there is no term-paper for this class. The debate is an opportunity for you to examine one issue in more depth than simply reading a book and reacting to it. I expect that for your debate you will be well-prepared, knowledgable about the historical background and the issue itself, and able to argue a case. You are not required to do huge amounts of research, but you should at a minimum be very familiar with everything provided on the debate webpage. Pay particular attention to the primary sources, on which you should base your argument.
The debate will take the place of lecture on a given topic for that day; thus, debaters will be responsible for providing background material on their subjects (from the textbook, for example) as well as arguing their side. Background material assignments are made on the debate webpage. At a minimum you should present the relevant material from the textbook, in such a way that it forms a useful introduction to the debate. You may certainly use additional materials if you like.
The background material is intended to give everyone in the class the necessary background to understand what the debate is about. It covers what the primary sources are that you are using, what the background to the issues is, and what the main outline of the issue was. As such, you should be prepared to speak for about 4-5 minutes for EACH item of background. You should certainly include names and dates. If you are in doubt as to whether you are clear enough, practice on a roommate and ask if he/she understands! You might find it helpful to have this material written out and just read it (that is perfectly fine), if you are nervous speaking from notes, or if you think you might forget some of it. Or you can speak from notes if you feel more comfortable doing so.
EVERYONE IN THE CLASS SHOULD LOOK AT THE DEBATE MATERIALS AND READ THE ASSIGNMENT IN THE TEXTBOOK for that day; this material will not otherwise be covered in lecture, but you will be expected to know it for the tests.
Each debate assignment will consist of seven or eight parts. You must prepare all the parts, as you do not know which part(s) you will be called upon to present. In addition to the presentation and argumentation stages of the debate, there will also be counter-argument for which you should be prepared to speak on the spot. You will be graded INDIVIDUALLY on how well you do on the part that you were called on to present, AND how you do in counter-arguments and conclusions. I will NOT be grading you on your debating skills, so if you have never debated before, that is not a problem.
Note that in order to create a solid argument for your side, you will have to figure out what the opposing side's arguments might be so that you can plan what your counter-argument will be. You will be expected to present a solid and detailed argument for your side, using background and other information.
The structure of each debate will be the following:
I. Presentation of the background material
A. Team 1
B. Team 2
II. Presentation of the proposition - Team 1
A. Define the topic and the basis of your argument
B. Give your main arguments in detail, including quotes from primary sources
III. Presentation of the opposition - Team 2
A. Define the basis of your argument, possibly rebutting some points of Team 1.
B. Give your arguments in detail, including quotes from primary sources
IV. Counter-arguments
A. Team 1
B. Team 2
V. Summaries: summarize your arguments, rebut the arguments of the main team, state why your argument is preferable
VI. Vote by the class