New Lectures in History (300-0-22)

Topic

Byzantium: Emperors and Hooligans

Instructors

Sergey A. Ivanov
Ivanov is a Fellow of the British Academy. He specializes in Byzantine religious culture and Byzantine–Slavic relations He has published more than 200 scholarly works, including the monographs Holy Fools in Byzantium and Beyond (Oxford, 2006), Pearls Before Swine: Missionary Work in Byzantium (Paris, 2015), and In Search of Constantinople (Istanbul, 2022).

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L28: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Topic: Byzantium: Emperors and Hooligans

This course brings face to face two leading forces of the Byzantine culture: the Emperor and the Saint. The Emperor is the most visible figure of the Byzantine history.
We know a lot of personal details about each of the thirty seven individuals who sat on the throne during one thousand years. Their appearance is also familiar to us, thanks to the Byzantine coins. The Emperor was the only person entitled to wear red boots. In his presence, his subjects and foreign ambassadors alike had to prostrate themselves on the ground. It was forbidden to touch the august flesh. The Emperor was the "animate law", he was an embodiment of absolute power, unconstrained by anything. And yet, the secular authorities in Byzantium always felt themselves a bit "illegitimate": for many сenturies there was no rule of succession, and each emperor was a usurper. Consequently, even the rituals of power emphasized the perishability of any earthly might. Also, there existed a counterbalance to the Emperor's omnipotence, and, in contrast to the West, it was not the Church, but the Saint. Also in contrast to the medieval West, in Byzantium, a holy "person" became a saint not thanks to his virtues -- but despite his transgressions. The more blatantly did he violate common norms, the stronger was his sacred power. The saint dared to contradict Emperors, to reprove or even condemn them. We can say that Byzantium was an autocratic regime limited by saintly authority of the hooligans.

Learning Objectives

Explain major developments in Byzantine political, social, and religious history through the study of emperors, urban crowds, and popular unrest. Analyze primary sources (chronicles, saints' lives, legal texts, visual materials) in their historical contexts. Evaluate the relationship between imperial authority and popular action, including riots, factional politics, and forms of social dissent. Interpret the role of performance, ritual, and urban spectacle in Byzantine political culture. Assess modern scholarly debates about state power, social conflict, and "the people" in Byzantium. Develop historical arguments in discussion and writing using primary and secondary evidence

Evaluation Method

writing assignments 50 percent, exam 30 percent, participation 20 percent

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): European, Asia/Middle East
History Minor Concentration(s): Europe, Middle East

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is restricted to History Majors and Minors only until the end of pre-registration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites (if any)