DRAFT
History 510:205 — replacing “Byzantium: Imperial Age”
The Byzantine Empire
Sometime 2013-2013, or 2014-2015
Professor Stephen W. Reinert
Email: sreinert@rci.rutgers.edu
Office phone: (848) 932-8234
Campus Address: Van Dyck Hall, 16 Seminary Place, Room #218
Office hours: < to be added >
URL of Course Sakai Site: < to be added >
Course Description
This course surveys the genesis, growth, decline and fall of Byzantium — the
medieval “Empire of the Romans,” centered for over a millennium at Constantinople
— as the dominant political, economic, and cultural force in southeastern Europe
and Asia Minor. We begin with a concise survey of its fundamental institutional
foundations in Late Antiquity (3rd-6th centuries); examine thereafter the evolution of
a predominantly Greek-speaking “Byzantine” state and culture in the 7th and 8th
centuries, in protracted periods of crisis; explore next the remarkable flowering of
Byzantium as a genuine “imperial power” in the 9th-early 11th centuries; assess the
causes and character of its astonishing metamorphosis into a declining power
throughout the 11th and 12th centuries; and plot its rapid contraction and eventual
extinction through dynamics of internal disintegration, and external assault
(European, Turkish), down to the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman sultan,
Mehmmed the Conqueror, in 1453.
Course Requirements and Grading
This class is organized as two eighty-minute meeting sessions, extending
over fourteen weeks of the semester. Students are expected to attend every class,
having read assigned reading and prepared for assigned projects, and to participate
in class discussions.
Grading will be based on:
(1) 15% - Attendance and participation.
(2) 30% - In class midterm examination. Information about the contents of this
exam will be provided to students approximately a week beforehand,
affording them the opportunity to prepare well for this test.
(3) 30% - In class final examination, to be given during the regularly scheduled
exam period. Information about the contents of this exam will be provided to
students approximately a week beforehand, affording them the opportunity
to prepare well for this test.
(4) 25% - A paper of 10-15 pages on a choice of topics to be assigned. In
writings their papers students should draw upon the assigned readings,
classroom lectures and discussions, and (if appropriate) other relevant
materials. Papers will be due a week before the final exam.
Required Readings
Required books are available for purchase at the Rutgers University Bookstore
(Barnes & Noble). These are starred (*) in the following list. Other readings on this
list will be provided in PDF form, in the class Sakai website.
* Required Books
 Browning, Robert. The Byzantine Empire, rev. ed. (Washington, D.C., 1992).
 Gregory, Timothy. A History of Byzantium, 2nd ed. (Chichester, 2010).
 Laiou, Angeliki and Morrisson, Cécile. The Byzantine Economy (Cambridge at
al., 2007)
Required Readings Available on the Class Sakai Website
 Attar, Farid u-Din. “The Story of Sheikh Sam’an,” in his The Conference of the
Birds, trans. Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis (Harmondsworth, 1984), pp.
57-75.
 Choniates, Niketas. “On the Fall of Constantinople to the Latins in 1204,”
translated by Harry Magoulias, in his O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas
Choniates (Detroit, 1984), pp. 301-55.
 Digenes Akrites, Books I-III. Translated by John Mavrogordato (Oxford, 1956),
pp. 3-65.
 Featherstone, Jeffrey. “Emperor and Court,” in Elizabeth Jeffreys et alii edd.,
The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies (Oxford, 2008), pp. 505-17.
 Geanakoplos, Dino. “Documents on Iconoclasm” = Byzantium: Church,
Society, and Civilization Seen through Contemporary Eyes (Chicao, 1984), pp.
152-58.
 Mango, Cyril. “Peoples and Languages,” chapter #1 of his Byzantium: The
Empire of New Rome (New York, 1980), pp. 13-31.
 ___________. “The Disappearance and Revival of Cities,” chapter #3 of his
Byzantium: The Empire of New Rome (New York, 1980), pp. 60-87.
 Meyendorff, Jean. “Byzantine Views of Islam,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 18
(1964), pp. 113-32.
 Obolensky, Dimitri. “Byzantium and the Slavic World,” in Angeliki E. Laiou
and Henry Maguire edd., Byzantium: A World Civilization (Washington, D. C.,
1992), pp. 37-47.
 Sevcenko, Ihor. “The Decline of Byzantium Seen Through the Eyes of Its
Intellectuals,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 15 (1961), pp. 167-86.
 Talbot, Alice-Mary. “The Restoration of Constantinople under Michael VIII,”
Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 47 (1993), pp. 243-61.
 Vryonis, Speros. “Transition from Antiquity and the Emergence of
Byzantium,” chapter I, from his from his Byzantium and Europe (New York,
1967), pp. 11-55.
 Vryonis, Speros. “Decline,” selection from his chapter III, from his Byzantium
and Europe (New York, 1967), pp. 121-32.
Classroom Etiquette and Other Expectations
Students should be in their seats at the time the class begins and should
remain there until the class is over. Laptop computers are permitted only for the
purpose of taking notes; other electronic devices may not be used in the classroom.
A student who expects to miss a class for a compelling reason should use the
University’s absence reporting website (https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/) to indicate
the date and reason for the absence. Your report will automatically be sent to the
instructor via email.
Cheating on tests or plagiarizing materials in your papers deprives you of the
educational benefits of preparing these materials appropriately. It is also personally
dishonest and unfair because it gives you an undeserved advantage over your fellow
students who are graded on the basis of their own work. In this course cheating and
plagiarism will be treated as the serious offenses they are. Suspected cases will be
referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs and will be punished with penalties that are
appropriate to the gravity of the infraction.
Outline of the Course
Part 1: The Late Antique Foundations of Byzantium (late 3rd-late 6th centuries)
Week 1
Roman Christian Absolutism
01 The Development of a Christian Imperial Autocracy Centered at
Constantinople
02 The Sinews of the State: Army, Bureaucracy & Church
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 11-39; Vryonis, “Emergence”;
Gregory, History, pp. 1-128 (do not be overwhelmed – read as more detailed
overview. Much of this you will not be responsisble for).
Week 2
Late Roman Ethnicity and Society
03 The Peoples of the Late Roman Empire & their Languages
04 The Structure of Society — Cities, Towns, Countryside
Read: Laiou-Morrison, Byzantine Economy, pp. 1-22; Mango, “Peoples and
Languages”.
Week 3
The Dislocation of the Late Roman Order
05 Invasionary Crises: Lombards, Avars, and Slavs
06 The Fate of the State ca. 650
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 3-11; Gregory, History, pp. 129-59.
Part 2: Grim Survival & Rebuilding: 7th – early 8th Centuries
Week 4
Dimensions of Social & Institutional Change in a Prolonged “Age of
Crisis”
07 Socioeconomic Impact of the Dislocation of the Late Roman Order:
Waning of Urban Life & Ruralization of Society?
08 Rebuilding the Army and Reorganizing Defense
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 43-51; Gregory, History, pp. 191-96;
Laiou-Morrison, Byzantine Economy, pp. 23-42; Mango, “Disappearance and
Revival of Cities” (focus on disappearance).
Week 5
Byzantium’s Life & Death Struggle with the Arabs
09 The Arab Struggle to Conquer Constantinople
10 The Early Byzantine View of Islam
Read: Gregory, History, pp. 160-97 (focus on Arabs); Meyendorff, “Byzantine
Views of Islam”.
Week 6
The Great Inner Religious Debate: Iconoclasm
11 The Imperial Court & the Politics of Iconoclasm
12 The Theology of Icons and Significance of Iconophil Victory
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 53-91; Gregory, History, pp. 198235; Geanakoplos, “Documents on Iconoclasm”.
Part 3: Revival & Expansion, early 8th – mid 11th Centuries
Week 7
Urban Revival & Socioeconomic Expansion
13 Dynamics of Socioeconomic Change
14 Texture of Byzantine Urban Life & Economy in an “Age of Expansion”
Read: Laiou-Morrison, Byzantine Economy, pp. 90-165 (discussion extends
into 12th century, but is valuable).
Week 8
Revived Imperialism: Byzantium & the Southern Slavs
15 The Absorption & Christianization of the Balkan Slavs
16 The Duel with Bulgaria & Its Political Significance
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 93-117 (focus on Slavs and Bulgars);
Gregory, History, pp. 235-64 (focus on Slavs and Bulgars); Obolensky,
“Byzantium and the Slavic World”.
Week 9
Revived Imperialism: Byzantium & the Eastern Arabs
17 The Age of the Warrior Emperors & Hints of “Byzantine Crusading”
18 Life on the Frontiers — Digenes Akrites & Farid ud-Din Attar’s Sheikh
Sam’an
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 93-117 (focus on Arabs); Gregory,
History, pp. 242-64 (focus on Arabs); Digenes Akrites Books I-III; Attar,
“Sheikh Sam’an”.
Week 10
Constantinople At the Height of Its Medieval Glory
19 The Imperial Court, the Liturgies of Ceremony, & Arts of Diplomacy
20 The Byzantine Mandarins & Their Use of Antique Literature & Art
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 123-54; Featherstone, “Emperor and
Court”.
Part 4: From the “Golden Age” to Catastsrophe (ca. 1025-1204)
Week 11
Dimensions of Weakening & Destabilization
21 Factionalization of Leadership & Weakening of the Imperial Office
22 Invasionary Catastrophes: Turks & Crusaders
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 117-23; Gregory, History, pp. 265289; Vryonis, “Decline”.
Week 12
The Last Great Attempt to Restore “The Roman Empire”: The
Komneni
23 The Komnenian Recovery Plan & Its Successes
24 The Fourth Crusade and the Fate of Byzantium
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 155-219; Gregory, History, pp. 290329; Choniates, “Fall of Constantinople”.
Part 5: The Last Centuries (1204-1453)
Week 13
Fragmentation & Marginal Recovery
25 The Nicaean Empire in Anatolian Exile
26 The Palaiologan Recovery of Constantinople & Retrenchment in Europe
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 220-34; Gregory, History, pp. 330-46.
420; Talbot, “Restoration of Constantinople”.
Week 14
27
28
Irreversible Decline & Conquest
Dynastic Strife & the Withering Away of Institutions of State
The Ottoman Expansion & Absorption of Byzantium
Read: Browning, Byzantine Empire, pp. 234-92; Gregory, History, pp. 347420; Laiou-Morrison, Byzantine Economy, pp. 166-230; Sevcenko, “Decline”.