Undergraduate Course: The Long Twelfth Century: Byzantium in the Era of the Crusades (1071-1204) (ANHI10092)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The period between the famous battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the sack of Constantinople by the armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 is usually regarded as a period of a developing crisis which resulted in the disintegration of the East Roman Empire. This is a crucial period of Byzantine history, since the watershed of the year 1204 marked the end of twelve centuries of continuous centralized Roman imperial authority in the East. Therefore, it may justifiably be studied as the historical moment of the ultimate fall of Rome. |
| Course description |
The defeat of the imperial armies by the Seljuks at the battle of Manzikert in 1071 led to the swift loss of imperial control over the largest part of Asia Minor, the empire's territorial core since the radical contraction of the East Roman world in the early seventh century. This development triggered a series of major geo- and socio-political changes in the Byzantine world, such as the emergence of various principalities or states in Asia Minor and the Balkans, the social and cultural transformation of Byzantine elite society, the phenomenon of decentralization and provincialism, and the empire's clash with western Christendom in the form of the Crusading movement. In this course we will study all these developments and will try to trace the reasons which led to the final and irreversible disintegration of Constantinople's centralized imperial authority in the year 1024.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is available to all students who have progressed to Honours. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics, History or Archaeology at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge provided about the history of the Byzantine Empire from 1071 to 1204;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon secondary literature on Byzantium in the era of the Crusades;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of Byzantine and medieval Latin primary sources in translation;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
M. Angold, The Byzantine Empire, 1025-1204. A Political History, London/New York 2 1997
M. Angold, The Fourth Crusade: Event and Context, Harlow/New York 2003
Ch.M. Brand, Byzantium Confronts the West, 1180-1204, Cambridge, Mass 1968
A. Bucossi & A. Rodriquez (eds.), John II Komnenos, Emperor of Byzantium: In the shadow of his father and his son, Farnham 2016
P. Frankopan, The First Crusade: The Call from the East. London 2012
J. Harris, Byzantium and the Crusades, London-New York 2003
A. Kazhdan & A.W. Epstein, Change in Byzantine culture in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, University of California Press 1990
A. Laiou, "The Just War of Eastern Christians and the 'Holy War' of the Crusade", in R. Sorabji & D. Rodin (eds.), The Ethics of War. Shared Problems in Different Traditions, Oxford 2006, 30-43
A. Laiou (ed.), Urbs Capta: The Fourth Crusade and its Consequences (Réalités Byzantines 10), Paris 2005
R-J. Lilie, Byzantium and the Crusader States, 1096-1204, Oxford 1994
P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos 1143-1180, Cambridge 1993
M. Mullet & D. Smythe (eds.), Alexios I Komnenos, vol. I: Papers of the Second Belfast International Colloquium 14-16 April 1989 (Belfast Byzantine Texts and Translations 4.1), Belfast 1996 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Yannis Stouraitis
Tel: (0131 6)50 9110
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Claire Brown
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: |
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