sarah craft
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CONSTANTINOPLE: QUEEN OF CITIES 

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N.B.: This course is designed as a twice-a-week class for undergraduates at the introductory or intermediate level. It can easily be expanded to appeal to a higher intermediate level through the addition of readings, extra writing assignments, and student presentations; or it can be adapted to fit a class schedule that meets three times a week. 

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

On May 11, 330 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great dedicated Constantinople - the city of Istanbul in modern Turkey - as his imperial capital and 'The New Rome.' What brought him there, and how did the city's new status - and new religious affiliation with Christianity - influence its development over the coming centuries? For over a millennium, the Byzantine city expanded and contracted, changed hands and changed alliances, and made an indelible mark on the architecture, literature, art and politics of the Mediterranean world (and beyond). In this class, we will explore the origins, foundation, development, and nominal 'end' of this fascinating Byzantine city through its history and topography. 

CLASS OBJECTIVES

Throughout this course, students will learn to:
  • identify political, cultural, social and religious developments that took place in Constantinople during its reign as the imperial capital of the eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire 
  • analyze how and why those changes were manifested in the material fabric of the city 
  • contrast those changes with continuities and identify potential reasons why they occurred 
  • synthesize various forms and specific examples of evidence - textual and material - in order to demonstrate their command of the material over the long-term history of the city 
  • consider the long-term impact of the developments in the city on the world you live in today

ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING 

This is primarily a lecture course, but student attendance and participation through asking and answering questions is a must for everyone to get the most out of the class. In addition to the mid-term and final exams, students will be asked to write a short research paper (8-10 pages) on a topic of their choice, due in its final form by the end of Week 12. This topic should be submitted as a proposal with an abstract and annotated bibliography to be approved by me no later than the end of Week 7 (guidelines and examples will be provided). Because the class is so dependent upon an understanding of Constantinople and geographical context, there will be a map quizzes in class in Weeks 3 and 9, focusing on locations that have been discussed in class (practice maps and potential locations will be provided). 

I am happy to provide starting bibliographies or read drafts of the proposal or paper in any form. Please consider coming to my office hours to discuss ideas or issues you are having with the course, its content, or any of the assignments. 

The breakdown of the final grade is as follows: 

Attendance
Participation
Map Quiz 1
Mid-Term Exam
Research Paper Proposal
Map Quiz 2
Research Paper
Final Exam 
10%
10%
10%
15%
5%
10%
15%
25%

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1: THE CITY AS WE SEE IT 

Day 1:  Introduction to the class and overview of the city's history

Day 2: Byzantium-Constantinople-Istanbul

Magdalino (2010) "Byzantium = Constantinople" 
Tunay (2001) "Byzantine Archaeological Findings in Istanbul During the Last Decade" 


WEEK 2: GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING

Day 1: Byzantion before Constantinople 
Mango (2001) "The Shoreline of Constantinople in the Fourth Century" 

Day 2: Rome comes to Byzantion

Herrin (2009) "The Eastern Roman Empire" 
Cassius Dio, "Rome Under Seige" 

WEEK 3: FOUNDATION OF A CAPITAL CITY 

Day I: The shape and significance of Roman cities 
Bassett (2004) Chapter 1, "The Shape of the City" 
Loseby (2012) "Mediterranean Cities" 

Day 2: Constantinople: A New Rome? 
Lønstrup (2009) "Normativity and Memory in the Making: The Seven Hills of the 'Old' and 'New' Rome" 

Ward-Perkins (2012) "Old and New Rome Compared" 
Bassett (1991) "The Antiquities in the Hippodrome in Constantinople" 


MAP QUIZ 1

WEEK 4: CONSTANTINE'S CITY 

Day 1: Constantine's city as Christian city? 
McLynn (2012) "'Two Romes, Beacons of the Whole World': Canonizing Constantinople" 

Selections from Bardill (2012) Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age 

Day 2: Church of the Holy Apostles 
Mango (1990) "Constantine's Mausoleum and the Translation of Relics" 
Epstein (2011) "The Rebuilding and Redecoration of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople: A Reconsideration" 

WEEK 5: SUPPLY AND PROTECTION: THE CITY AND ITS HINTERLAND

Day I: Water
Hennessey (2008) "Topography of Constantinople" 
Crow (2012) "Water and Late Antique Constantinople"

Ljungkvist et al. (2010) "The Urban Anthropocene: Lessons for Sustainability from the Environmental History of Constantinople" 

Day 2: Walls 
Selections from Turnbull (2004) "The Walls of Constantinople" 
Whitby (1985) "The Long Walls of Constantinople" 
Külzer (2011) "The Byzantine Road System in Eastern Thrace" 

WEEK 6: THE CHANGING SHAPE OF THE CITY 

Day 1: MID-TERM EXAM

Day 2: Enumerating the City in the Public and Private Spheres 
Matthews (2012) "The Notitiae Urbis Constantinopolitae" (optional) 
Bardill (1997) "The Palace of Lausus and Nearby Monuments in Constantinople: A Topographical Study" 
Bassett (2000) "'Excellent Offerings': The Lausos Collection in Constantinople," The Art Bulletin

[MIDTERM BREAK]


WEEK 7: THE REIGN OF JUSTINIAN 

Day 1: Justinian's Constantinople 
Selections from Evans (2000) The Age of Justinian: The Circumstances of Imperial Power 
Croke (2005) "Constantinople in the Age of Justinian" 


Day 2: Hagia Sophia 
Selections from Kleinbauer (2004) Hagia Sophia
Herrin (2009) "The Church of Hagia Sophia" 
Pentcheva (2011) "Hagia Sophia and Multisensory Aesthetics" 


RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL DUE 

WEEK 8: MOVING THROUGH CONSTANTINOPLE 

Day 1: The Mese
Mango (2001) "The Porticoed Street at Constantinople" 
Bardill (1999) "The Golden Gate in Constantinople" 

Day 2: Constantinople as Christian Landscape 

Berger (2012) "Imperial and Ecclesiastical Processions in Constantinople" 
Mayer (1998) "The Sea Made Holy: The Liturgical Function of the Waters Surrounding Constantinople" 
Malmberg (2014) "Triumphal Arches and Gates of Piety at Constantinople, Ravenna, and Rome"

WEEK 9: CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM IN CONSTANTINOPLE

Day 1: Iconoclasm and Orthodoxy 
Selections from Brubaker (2012) Inventing Byzantine Iconoclasm 

Wortley (2005) "The Marian Relics at Constantinople" 

MAP QUIZ 2

Day 2: Muslims in Constantinople

Durak (2010) "Through an Eastern Window: Muslims in Constantinople" 
Anderson (2009) "Islamic Spaces and Diplomacy in Constantinople (Tenth to Thirteenth Centuries C.E.)"

WEEK 10: POWER AND THE PEOPLE IN CONSTANTINOPLE 

Day 1: Gender and Power: Women, Men, Eunuchs
Selections from Evans (2002) The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian
Selections from Herrin (2004) Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium
Selections from James (ed.) (1997) Women, Men, and Eunuchs: Gender in Byzantium 


Day 2: Power from the People, Power from God? 
Kaldellis (2015) "The Secular Republic and the Theocratic 'Imperial Idea'" 
Reading on controlling the imperial military: TBD 

WEEK 11: WESTERNERS IN CONSTANTINOPLE 

Day 1: Galata 
Selections from Guinn (2008) Pera: War and Diplomacy in the Final Days of Byzantium 
Other readings: TBD 


Day 2: Fourth Crusade: Fall and Occupation
Herrin (2009) "The Fulcrum of the Crusades" 
Çakmak and Freely (2004) "Latin Occupation" 

[THANKSGIVING BREAK]


WEEK 12: THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Day 1: Siege
Selections from Eco (2000) Baudolino 
Nicolle (2007) "Constantinople 1453" 

Day 2: Conquest and its Aftermath
Boyar and Fleet (2010) "Conquest"
Selections from Mansel (2006) Constantinople, City of the World's Desire


WEEK 13: THE LEGACY OF BYZANTIUM 

Day 1: After the Fall
Necipoğlu (1992) "The Life of an Imperial Monument: Hagia Sophia After Byzantium" 
Finkel (2005) "An Imperial Vision" 

Day 2: Discussion: Byzantium's legacy in the modern world 


FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE 
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