CONSTANTINOPLE: QUEEN OF CITIES
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:
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"
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"
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
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"
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"
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
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
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"
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.)"
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
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"
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
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
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