The Byzantine World, 1071-1204
- Course Code
- HIST 0163
- Course Type
- Tutorials
- Subject Credit
- Course Availability
This course covers what some have seen as the beginning of Byzantium’s steady decline. From the Battle of Manzikert and the subsequent civil wars, it moves on to the rise of the Komnenoi and the dynasty they formed, ending with the devastating sack of Constantinople. However, the period was in reality one of great successes as well as serious problems. The political world was reshaped by the new dynasty, the Crusades and their aftermath dramatically altered Byzantium’s relationship with its neighbours, and the famed wealth and cultural importance of the Empire is visible in the vast array of literary and artistic sources available to students of this period.
Sample Syllabus
• Manzikert and After
• Alexios I and the ‘restoration’
• The Latins and the Crusades from the Byzantine perspective
• John II and Manuel I
• Byzantium and its Neighbours: A Byzantine Commonwealth?
• Minorities in the Empire; Jews, Muslims, Women and Eunuchs
• Fabulous wealth? Economy of Empire
• The Fall of 1204