Byzantine Empire

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Over the course of more than 1100 years (c. 330-1453), Byzantium, the Eastern Roman Empire, demonstrated remarkable endurance in surviving natural disasters,pandemics, ‘the worst year to be alive’ (536), the Little Ice Age, and a host of powerful enemies—Persians, Huns, Arabs, Normans, Crusaders, and Ottomans. Byzantium’s successive crises and resurgences provide a powerful case study of the adaptive capacity of empires and highlight the social, political, and ideological resources that allowed it to outlive the Roman Empire in the West by nearly a thousand years. Drawing on the growing literature theorizing the adaptive capacity of states, this courseexplores the factors behind the exceptional resilience and adaptability of Byzantium that allowed it to navigate these challenges successfully. Beginning with Constantine the Great’s efforts to reconstitute the empire in the 4th century, all the way to the Ottoman conquest of the city in the 15th c., the course will examine the state’s fundamental institutions—its government, economy, military, and religion. Traversing Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, we consider the role of fortifications, monetary supply, theological innovations, court protocol, and depth of administration to understand how the empire used hard and soft power—military campaigns, religious missions, and deft diplomacy—to respond and adapt to the external challenges. An object-handling session at the nearby Dumbarton Oaks Museum—housing one of the finest Byzantine collections in the world—will offer a unique opportunity to examine firsthand the artifacts still bearing witness to Byzantium’s soft power.