Postgraduate Course: Centre, Province and Periphery in the Age of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos: Byzantium and its Neighbours in the Tenth (PGHC11635)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The age of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913/45-59) is perceived as the apogee of Byzantium's 'imperial centuries'. During the long tenth century, the 'soft factors' Byzantine culture became so famous for - its learning and cultural production, its art and architecture, not least its orthodoxy - were exported to, and coveted around, the Mediterranean and beyond while at the same time, Byzantine armies expanded imperial territory well aware that they were reconquering previously Roman lands. The period proved formative for the definition of the imperial office in Byzantium and its ideological reconceptualization after the end of Iconoclasm as well as exploring novel conceptions of medieval Romanness: this class explores all these topics by zooming out from the centre, Constantinople, via the empire's provinces to its periphery and focusing on different social players and groups along the way. |
| Course description |
The age of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913/45-59) is perceived as the apogee of Byzantium's 'imperial centuries'. During the long tenth century (c.867-1025, coinciding with the rule of the male line of the so-called Macedonian dynasty), the 'soft factors' Byzantine culture became so famous for - its learning and its cultural production, its art and architecture, not least its political orthodoxy - were exported to, and coveted around, the Mediterranean and further afield while at the same time and for the first time in centuries, Byzantine armies expanded imperial territory - well aware that they were reconquering previously Roman lands. The period proved formative for the redefinition of the imperial office in Byzantium and its ideology as well as novel conceptionalisations of medieval Romanness: this class explores all these topics zooming out from the centre, Constantinople, via the empire's provinces to its periphery.
In doing so we will follow three famous treatises on governance: the 'Book of Ceremonies' (De cerimoniis); the tract 'On the Themes' (De thematibus); and the treatise somewhat misleadingly dubbed 'On the Administration of the Empire' (De administrando imperio or DAI), all produced by a circle of learned men at the court of emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos and presumably partly supervised and organised by the emperor himself. Without them, our knowledge of tenth-century Byzantine history and culture would be infnitely poorer. In the order listed above, we will take these three compilations as our guides from centre to periphery and explore life in the tenth-century empire: from the palaces and churches of Constantinople via provincial towns to peasants' villages; and from the imperial city in the middle of the empire to the border regions and beyond, into 'barbarian' lands.
The course aims to provide a multifaceted survey of tenth-century Byzantine culture, history and ideology from various angles and to explore the notion of 'empire' in a medieval eastern Mediterranean and, indeed, Eurasian context as well as the networks and mobility between centre, province and periphery that allowed Byzantium to function and made it a 'strong' medieval polity. At the same time the course will offer a thorough introduction to the sources (written as well material) available to research these questions, and to provide criteria of how to interpret and analyse them critically. The PG tutorial sessions will, inter alia, provide brief introductions to the following ancillary disciplines/research methodologies, as far as pertaining to the course topic and period: prosopography, diplomatics, numismatics, sigillography; manuscript studies.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Ancient or Medieval History 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. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 33,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
163 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Non-written Skills
Participation in class (20%)
Presentation in class (30%)
Coursework
5000 word Research Essay (50%) |
| Feedback |
Students will discuss and decide the topic of their essay together with the course organiser at about mid-term. They will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the course organiser during their published office hours for this course or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Analyse the meaning and ideology of medieval empire in a Eurasian context
- Understand the functioning of the Byzantine state through the lenses of social and spatial mobility and social network analysis
- Situate Byzantium in a nuanced way in its tenth-century context among its western, northern and eastern neighbours and understand diplomacy and contacts among medieval polities
- Perform critical analysis of Byzantine sources (written and material), understanding their problems and challenges
- Problematise historiography focusing on 'great men' and acquire methods of providing a more nuanced and diversified account
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Reading List
- Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, Book of Ceremonies, tr. A. Moffatt and M. Tall, Constantine Porphyrogennetos: The Book of Ceremonies (Leiden, 2017).
- Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, On the Administration of Empire, tr. R.J.H. Jenkins, Constantine Porphyrogennetos: De Administrando Imperio (Washington, D.C., 1967).
- Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, On the Themes, tr. J. Haldon, The De Thematibus 'On the Themes' of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (Liverpool, 2021).
- Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, Vita Basilii, tr. I. Sevcenko, Chronographiae quae Theophanis Continuati nomine fertur Liber quo vita Basilii imperatoris amplectitur (Berlin, 2011).
- Gaul, N., V. Menze and Cs. Bálint (eds), Center, Province and Periphery in the Age of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos: From De Ceremoniis to De Administrando Imperio (Wiesbaden, 2018).
- Holmes, C., Basil II and the Governance of Empire, 976-1025 (Oxford, 2005).
- Kaldellis, A., Romanland: Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium (Cambridge, Mass., 2019).
- Markopoulos, A. (ed.), Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and His Age: Second International Byzantine Conference, Delphi, 22-26 July 1987 (Athens, 1989).
- Németh, A., The Excerpta Constantiniana and the Byzantine Appropriation of the Past (Cambridge, 2018).
- Neville, L., Authority in Byzantine Provincial Society, 950-1100 (Cambridge, 2004).
- Tougher, S.F., The Reign of Leo VI (886-912): Politics & People (Leiden, 1997).
- Toynbee, A., Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World (Oxford, 1973).
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Ability to critically analyse primary sources, written and material
- Ability to approach critically modern scholarly debates and synthesize different arguments
- Ability to hold an oral presentation and communicate a coherent argument effectively
- Ability to engage in dialogue with peers and exchange constructive arguments
- Ability to produce a clear and coherent argument in written form, demonstrating independent thinking
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Niels Gaul
Tel: (0131 6)50 3776
Email: N.Gaul@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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