BYZANTINE HISTORY
- Academic year
- 2026/2027 Syllabus of previous years
- Official course title
- STORIA BIZANTINA
- Course code
- FT0189 (AF:508582 AR:421697)
- Teaching language
- Italian
- Modality
- On campus classes
- ECTS credits
- 6
- Degree level
- Bachelor's Degree Programme
- Academic Discipline
- L-FIL-LET/07
- Period
- 3rd Term
- Course year
- 3
- Where
- VENEZIA
Contribution of the course to the overall degree programme goals
This course in the History of the Byzantine Empire belongs to the field of Late Antique and Medieval History and examines the Eastern Roman Empire from the foundation of Constantinople (330) to its fall (1453). Rather than indicating a clearly separate historical reality, so-called “Byzantine History” invites students to reflect on the forms of continuity and transformation of the Roman Empire in the Christian age, as well as on the historiographical categories through which that continuity has been described and, in part, constructed.
The course is shaped by a fundamental question: whether, when, and to what extent the Roman Empire may be defined as “Byzantine.” More than a simple segment of the Middle Ages, Byzantium appears as a political, religious, and cultural system that continued to define itself as Roman, while at the same time developing specific institutional, linguistic, and ideological forms. Studying the Eastern Empire therefore means questioning established narratives of European history and recognizing that the separation between East and West was the outcome of long and non-linear processes.
The area under consideration is not limited to the Greek-speaking world, but includes the whole eastern Mediterranean and its surrounding regions, from the Balkans to the Near East, in constant interaction with the Islamic world, the Latin polities, and the Slavic kingdoms. From this perspective, the history of the Eastern Roman Empire offers a privileged vantage point from which to analyse long-term phenomena: the transformation of imperial structures, the Christianization of power, and the dynamics of contact, conflict, and negotiation among different cultures.
The course stands in continuity with Greek and Roman History and is in dialogue with Medieval History, thus contributing to a broader view of the Middle Ages. More specifically, it encourages students to reconsider critically such categories as “crisis,” “decline,” and “renewal,” which have often been applied to Byzantine history in reductive or anachronistic ways.
Particular attention will be devoted to the relations between the Eastern Roman Empire and the different contexts of the Mediterranean, examined from a broad and comparative perspective.
The course also introduces students to the main trends in contemporary scholarship, with the aim not only of providing historical knowledge, but also of developing a critical awareness of the tools and interpretative categories of the discipline.
The course is shaped by a fundamental question: whether, when, and to what extent the Roman Empire may be defined as “Byzantine.” More than a simple segment of the Middle Ages, Byzantium appears as a political, religious, and cultural system that continued to define itself as Roman, while at the same time developing specific institutional, linguistic, and ideological forms. Studying the Eastern Empire therefore means questioning established narratives of European history and recognizing that the separation between East and West was the outcome of long and non-linear processes.
The area under consideration is not limited to the Greek-speaking world, but includes the whole eastern Mediterranean and its surrounding regions, from the Balkans to the Near East, in constant interaction with the Islamic world, the Latin polities, and the Slavic kingdoms. From this perspective, the history of the Eastern Roman Empire offers a privileged vantage point from which to analyse long-term phenomena: the transformation of imperial structures, the Christianization of power, and the dynamics of contact, conflict, and negotiation among different cultures.
The course stands in continuity with Greek and Roman History and is in dialogue with Medieval History, thus contributing to a broader view of the Middle Ages. More specifically, it encourages students to reconsider critically such categories as “crisis,” “decline,” and “renewal,” which have often been applied to Byzantine history in reductive or anachronistic ways.
Particular attention will be devoted to the relations between the Eastern Roman Empire and the different contexts of the Mediterranean, examined from a broad and comparative perspective.
The course also introduces students to the main trends in contemporary scholarship, with the aim not only of providing historical knowledge, but also of developing a critical awareness of the tools and interpretative categories of the discipline.
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will have acquired:
A) Knowledge and understanding
• A critical understanding of the history of the Eastern Roman Empire between the fourth and the fifteenth century, understood not as a mere succession of events, but as a process of transformation affecting the political, cultural, and religious structures of the Roman Empire in the Christian age.
• The ability to problematize the very notion of “Byzantium,” recognizing its character as a historiographical construct and discussing the main interpretations of the continuity, or discontinuity, of the Roman experience.
• Knowledge of the main historical turning points and their contexts, situated within the long-term dynamics that shaped the eastern Mediterranean and its relations with the Islamic, Latin, and Slavic worlds.
B) Tools for historical analysis and interpretation
• Critical analysis of different kinds of sources (historiographical, documentary, normative, hagiographical, epistolary), with attention to their nature, purposes, and informational limits.
• The distinction between textual evidence, interpretation, and historiographical construction, applied to specific case studies.
• The formulation of well-grounded interpretative hypotheses and the ability to place events and phenomena within coherent and non-simplified historical frameworks.
C) Independent critical thinking and communication
• Critical independence in the assessment of sources and of the main historiographical positions.
• The ability to build arguments grounded in textual evidence and in a knowledgeable use of bibliography, while avoiding simplifications and anachronisms.
• Command of disciplinary language and the ability to present ideas clearly and in a well-structured way, both orally and in writing.
A) Knowledge and understanding
• A critical understanding of the history of the Eastern Roman Empire between the fourth and the fifteenth century, understood not as a mere succession of events, but as a process of transformation affecting the political, cultural, and religious structures of the Roman Empire in the Christian age.
• The ability to problematize the very notion of “Byzantium,” recognizing its character as a historiographical construct and discussing the main interpretations of the continuity, or discontinuity, of the Roman experience.
• Knowledge of the main historical turning points and their contexts, situated within the long-term dynamics that shaped the eastern Mediterranean and its relations with the Islamic, Latin, and Slavic worlds.
B) Tools for historical analysis and interpretation
• Critical analysis of different kinds of sources (historiographical, documentary, normative, hagiographical, epistolary), with attention to their nature, purposes, and informational limits.
• The distinction between textual evidence, interpretation, and historiographical construction, applied to specific case studies.
• The formulation of well-grounded interpretative hypotheses and the ability to place events and phenomena within coherent and non-simplified historical frameworks.
C) Independent critical thinking and communication
• Critical independence in the assessment of sources and of the main historiographical positions.
• The ability to build arguments grounded in textual evidence and in a knowledgeable use of bibliography, while avoiding simplifications and anachronisms.
• Command of disciplinary language and the ability to present ideas clearly and in a well-structured way, both orally and in writing.
Pre-requirements
A basic knowledge of Greek and Roman history and of classical culture is useful, but not indispensable. The course is structured so as to introduce students progressively to the historical contexts, interpretative categories, and methodological tools necessary for the study of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Particular attention will be devoted to defining chronological frameworks, political and religious vocabularies, and the main types of sources, so as to enable students from different academic backgrounds to follow the course actively and with full awareness.
Particular attention will be devoted to defining chronological frameworks, political and religious vocabularies, and the main types of sources, so as to enable students from different academic backgrounds to follow the course actively and with full awareness.
Contents
Byzantium is perhaps only an unfathomable symbol,
secret and ambiguous like this life,
Byzantium is a myth unfamiliar to me,
Byzantium is a dream that remains incomplete,
perhaps Byzantium never existed at all...
(F. Guccini, Bisanzio, 1981)
The course introduces the study of the Eastern Roman Empire from the fourth to the fifteenth century, starting not from a fixed definition of “Byzantium,” but from the very problem of its existence as a historical and historiographical object. The quotation points to the elusive and stratified nature of the category of “Byzantium” and introduces a reflection that runs through the entire course.
The course analyses the processes through which the Roman Empire, in its eastern component, was transformed in the Christian age while at the same time maintaining a strong continuity with the Roman tradition. Particular attention is devoted to forms of imperial self-representation, to the relationship between power and orthodoxy, and to the dynamics of interaction with the Islamic world, the Latin polities, and the Slavic contexts.
The course is grounded in the guided analysis of sources, understood as situated testimonies shaped by specific intentions. Students are introduced to the distinction between textual evidence, interpretation, and historiographical construction.
A central role is assigned to texts — historiographical, epistolary, hagiographical, and normative — considered not only as literary objects, but as instruments through which imperial power and religious and cultural identity are constructed and represented. At the same time, the course examines the ways in which the Greco-Roman heritage is selected, reworked, and employed within specific political and institutional contexts.
Main topics:
• An empire that does not end
Continuity and transformation of the Roman Empire between the fourth and the fifteenth century; the persistence of a Roman identity in a profoundly changed context.
• The problem of imperial power
The basileus between political authority and religious legitimation; forms of exercising and representing power.
• The problem of truth and orthodoxy
Councils, doctrinal controversies, and the role of imperial authority in defining truth; the interplay between theological decision and political order.
• The transformation of the empire in the seventh century
Military and territorial crises, reorganization of structures, and the redefinition of internal balances.
• Iconoclasm: images, worship, and authority
The conflict over images as a theological and political issue; religious practices, imperial intervention, and the redefinition of orthodoxy.
• Byzantium and the Latin West
Long-term relations and tensions; the gradual construction of a separation between East and West, from ecclesiastical controversies to the Crusades and 1204.
• The end of the empire and the construction of memory
Transformations in the Palaiologan age, 1453, and the reworking of the Byzantine past in later traditions.
secret and ambiguous like this life,
Byzantium is a myth unfamiliar to me,
Byzantium is a dream that remains incomplete,
perhaps Byzantium never existed at all...
(F. Guccini, Bisanzio, 1981)
The course introduces the study of the Eastern Roman Empire from the fourth to the fifteenth century, starting not from a fixed definition of “Byzantium,” but from the very problem of its existence as a historical and historiographical object. The quotation points to the elusive and stratified nature of the category of “Byzantium” and introduces a reflection that runs through the entire course.
The course analyses the processes through which the Roman Empire, in its eastern component, was transformed in the Christian age while at the same time maintaining a strong continuity with the Roman tradition. Particular attention is devoted to forms of imperial self-representation, to the relationship between power and orthodoxy, and to the dynamics of interaction with the Islamic world, the Latin polities, and the Slavic contexts.
The course is grounded in the guided analysis of sources, understood as situated testimonies shaped by specific intentions. Students are introduced to the distinction between textual evidence, interpretation, and historiographical construction.
A central role is assigned to texts — historiographical, epistolary, hagiographical, and normative — considered not only as literary objects, but as instruments through which imperial power and religious and cultural identity are constructed and represented. At the same time, the course examines the ways in which the Greco-Roman heritage is selected, reworked, and employed within specific political and institutional contexts.
Main topics:
• An empire that does not end
Continuity and transformation of the Roman Empire between the fourth and the fifteenth century; the persistence of a Roman identity in a profoundly changed context.
• The problem of imperial power
The basileus between political authority and religious legitimation; forms of exercising and representing power.
• The problem of truth and orthodoxy
Councils, doctrinal controversies, and the role of imperial authority in defining truth; the interplay between theological decision and political order.
• The transformation of the empire in the seventh century
Military and territorial crises, reorganization of structures, and the redefinition of internal balances.
• Iconoclasm: images, worship, and authority
The conflict over images as a theological and political issue; religious practices, imperial intervention, and the redefinition of orthodoxy.
• Byzantium and the Latin West
Long-term relations and tensions; the gradual construction of a separation between East and West, from ecclesiastical controversies to the Crusades and 1204.
• The end of the empire and the construction of memory
Transformations in the Palaiologan age, 1453, and the reworking of the Byzantine past in later traditions.
Referral texts
Students are required to prepare the examination on at least one reference handbook, supplementing their preparation, when necessary, with further readings in order to gain a fuller and more informed understanding of the field.
Among the most up-to-date handbooks, the following may be recommended:
• Kaldellis, Anthony, The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2023.
• Stathakopoulos, Dionysios, A Short History of the Byzantine Empire, Revised Edition, Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2023.
For students who prefer to study in Italian:
• Di Branco, Marco, Breve storia di Bisanzio, Carocci, Rome, 2016.
• Ducellier, Alain – Kaplan, Michel, Bisanzio (IV-XV secolo), San Paolo Edizioni, Cinisello Balsamo, 2005.
• Gallina, Mario, Bisanzio. Storia di un impero (secoli IV-XIII), Carocci, Rome, 2016 (to be supplemented for the final part of the course covering the period 1204–1453).
• Ravegnani, Giorgio, Introduzione alla storia bizantina, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2006.
• Treadgold, Warren, Storia di Bisanzio, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2009.
Further reading
For further thematic and historiographical study, students are encouraged to consult the following work:
• Morrisson, Cécile (ed.), Il mondo bizantino. Volume I: L’Impero romano d’Oriente (330-641), Einaudi, Turin, 2007.
• Cheynet, Jean-Claude (ed.), Il mondo bizantino. Volume II: L’Impero bizantino (641-1204), Einaudi, Turin, 2008.
• Laiou, Angeliki – Morrisson, Cécile (eds.), Il mondo bizantino. Volume III: Bisanzio e i suoi vicini (1204-1453), Einaudi, Turin, 2013.
During the course, additional materials will also be provided (sources in translation, articles, and research essays), and these will form an integral part of the course.
Among the most up-to-date handbooks, the following may be recommended:
• Kaldellis, Anthony, The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2023.
• Stathakopoulos, Dionysios, A Short History of the Byzantine Empire, Revised Edition, Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2023.
For students who prefer to study in Italian:
• Di Branco, Marco, Breve storia di Bisanzio, Carocci, Rome, 2016.
• Ducellier, Alain – Kaplan, Michel, Bisanzio (IV-XV secolo), San Paolo Edizioni, Cinisello Balsamo, 2005.
• Gallina, Mario, Bisanzio. Storia di un impero (secoli IV-XIII), Carocci, Rome, 2016 (to be supplemented for the final part of the course covering the period 1204–1453).
• Ravegnani, Giorgio, Introduzione alla storia bizantina, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2006.
• Treadgold, Warren, Storia di Bisanzio, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2009.
Further reading
For further thematic and historiographical study, students are encouraged to consult the following work:
• Morrisson, Cécile (ed.), Il mondo bizantino. Volume I: L’Impero romano d’Oriente (330-641), Einaudi, Turin, 2007.
• Cheynet, Jean-Claude (ed.), Il mondo bizantino. Volume II: L’Impero bizantino (641-1204), Einaudi, Turin, 2008.
• Laiou, Angeliki – Morrisson, Cécile (eds.), Il mondo bizantino. Volume III: Bisanzio e i suoi vicini (1204-1453), Einaudi, Turin, 2013.
During the course, additional materials will also be provided (sources in translation, articles, and research essays), and these will form an integral part of the course.
Assessment methods
The final mark is determined by the combination of:
• oral examination (70%)
• critical review of a monograph (Critical Review) (30%)
Critical Review
Each student is required to submit, at least 15 days before the examination date, a critical review of a monograph selected from a list provided on Moodle.
The review must not exceed 4 pages (approximately 3,000 words, including notes).
The paper must not be limited to a summary of the volume, but must present a critical analysis, with particular attention to:
• the historical problem addressed by the author and the main thesis of the volume
• the use of sources and the methodological approach
• the place of the work within the historiographical debate
• comparison with other studies discussed during the course
Particular importance will be given to the ability to distinguish between textual evidence, interpretation, and historiographical construction.
Oral examination
The oral examination will cover the contents of the course and the selected handbooks, and will assess:
• understanding of the main historical problems addressed during the course
• the ability to place events and phenomena within a coherent framework
• a knowledgeable use of disciplinary language
• the ability to construct an argument grounded in evidence rather than merely descriptive
• oral examination (70%)
• critical review of a monograph (Critical Review) (30%)
Critical Review
Each student is required to submit, at least 15 days before the examination date, a critical review of a monograph selected from a list provided on Moodle.
The review must not exceed 4 pages (approximately 3,000 words, including notes).
The paper must not be limited to a summary of the volume, but must present a critical analysis, with particular attention to:
• the historical problem addressed by the author and the main thesis of the volume
• the use of sources and the methodological approach
• the place of the work within the historiographical debate
• comparison with other studies discussed during the course
Particular importance will be given to the ability to distinguish between textual evidence, interpretation, and historiographical construction.
Oral examination
The oral examination will cover the contents of the course and the selected handbooks, and will assess:
• understanding of the main historical problems addressed during the course
• the ability to place events and phenomena within a coherent framework
• a knowledgeable use of disciplinary language
• the ability to construct an argument grounded in evidence rather than merely descriptive
Type of exam
oral
The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.
Grading scale
Oral examination
• 18–24/30 (sufficient) → basic understanding, uncertain presentation, limited ability to elaborate independently
• 25–26/30 (fair) → adequate understanding, correct but not particularly developed argumentation
• 27–28/30 (good) → clear and well-structured presentation, informed use of knowledge
• 29/30 (very good) → solid and independent argumentation, good use of sources and disciplinary language
• 30/30 (excellent) → full command of the subject, critical ability, and clarity of presentation
• 30/30 cum laude → particularly refined and original argumentation, with full critical independence
Critical Review
The Critical Review is assessed on a thirty-point scale according to the following criteria:
• 18–24/30 (sufficient) → predominantly descriptive paper, limited critical ability
• 25–26/30 (fair) → well-structured, but still limited in historiographical comparison
• 27–28/30 (good) → solid analysis, with initial elements of critical comparison
• 29/30 (very good) → well-developed analysis, informed use of bibliography
• 30/30 (excellent) → full ability to problematize the topic and very good command of the historiographical debate
• 30/30 cum laude → particularly refined and original analysis, with advanced historiographical comparison
• 18–24/30 (sufficient) → basic understanding, uncertain presentation, limited ability to elaborate independently
• 25–26/30 (fair) → adequate understanding, correct but not particularly developed argumentation
• 27–28/30 (good) → clear and well-structured presentation, informed use of knowledge
• 29/30 (very good) → solid and independent argumentation, good use of sources and disciplinary language
• 30/30 (excellent) → full command of the subject, critical ability, and clarity of presentation
• 30/30 cum laude → particularly refined and original argumentation, with full critical independence
Critical Review
The Critical Review is assessed on a thirty-point scale according to the following criteria:
• 18–24/30 (sufficient) → predominantly descriptive paper, limited critical ability
• 25–26/30 (fair) → well-structured, but still limited in historiographical comparison
• 27–28/30 (good) → solid analysis, with initial elements of critical comparison
• 29/30 (very good) → well-developed analysis, informed use of bibliography
• 30/30 (excellent) → full ability to problematize the topic and very good command of the historiographical debate
• 30/30 cum laude → particularly refined and original analysis, with advanced historiographical comparison
Teaching methods
The course combines lectures and discussion, with particular attention to the guided analysis of sources. Classes are organized around thematic nuclei and historical problems and are intended not only to provide an outline of the main events, but also to develop the ability to interpret texts and construct well-grounded arguments.
Part of the course is devoted to the reading and commentary of sources in translation (historiographical, normative, hagiographical, and epistolary), considered as situated testimonies and as instruments for the representation of power and religious identity.
Students are expected to participate actively in class and to work on the assigned materials, which form an integral part of the course.
Part of the course is devoted to the reading and commentary of sources in translation (historiographical, normative, hagiographical, and epistolary), considered as situated testimonies and as instruments for the representation of power and religious identity.
Students are expected to participate actively in class and to work on the assigned materials, which form an integral part of the course.
Further information
International students may choose to take the oral examination in English.
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