HIST 203
SYLLABUS
LECTURE OUTLINES
THE BYZANTINE WORLD
Video:
Extra History: Byzantine Empire – Justinian and Theodora, Part 1 (8:09 min.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_2E0RxVHH4&list=PLEb6sGT7oD8HLpPQ0N4UTmTtPlpXfJias
Ben Hur (1959): chariot race (4:17 min.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frE9rXnaHpE
Music:
Old Roman chant: Terra Tremuit (offertorium from the Easter Sunday service, 10:02 min.):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdka1WN1c8c&feature=related
Byzantine chant: “Θεαρχίω νεύματι” (“With a sign by the authority of God,” service of the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin, 10:22 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dgmQd5zVPk&feature=relmfu
| 324-330 | Byzantium re-founded as Constantinople by Constantine |
| 4th C.-7th C. | Donatism (criminal priests cannot perform valid sacraments) flourishes in N. Africa |
| 395 | Final division of Roman Empire into Eastern and Western Empires |
| 5th C.-7th C. | Monophysitism (Jesus’s human and divine natures are fused) flourishes, especially in Egypt and Syria |
| 451 | Council of Chalcedon: 1st coronation of an emperor by patriarch of Constantinople, who claims equal status with the bishop of Rome (=pope); Monophysitism rejected |
| 476 | Odovacer deposes last Western Emperor |
| 527-565 |
Justinian (and wife Theodora, d. 548): Major achievements include: Conquest of N. Africa, S. Spain, and Italy (map) Construction of churches of San Vitale (Ravenna) and Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)
Codification of Roman law in massive Corpus Juris Civilis; major precepts include:
Major failures include: Rebellion and burning of Constantinople in Nika Riots, 532 Exhaustion of treasury and army in wars of conquest, 530s-550s Failure of “Perpetual Peace” treaty with Persia, 540 Massive mortality from plague, 541-3 Rise of Avar state on Danube, 561 Important sources include: Procopius, The Wars, The Buildings, and The Secret History Charioteer factions (Red, White, Blue, Green) Charioteer of the Red Team (factio rossata) with his quadriga (Rome, 3rd cent.) Byzantine silk fragment showing charioteer (from Charlemagne’s tomb) |
| 568 | Lombards invade N. Italy (Byzantines retain Ravenna and S. Italy) |
| late 500s | Visigoths reconquer S. Spain |
| after 602 | Byzantine N. frontier falls to Avars and Slavs; E. frontier to Persians |
| 626 | Avar and Persian siege of Constantinople |
| 636-642 | Islamic conquest of Egypt, Syro-Palestine, and Persia (map) |
| by mid 7th C. | Greek supersedes Latin in Empire |
| 674-8 | Muslim siege of Constantinople (first use by the Byzantines of Greek fire, perhaps a mixture of sulfur, quicklime, and petroleum) |
| 690s | Muslim conquest of N. Africa |
| 717-718 | Muslim siege of Constantinople |
| 726-843 | Iconoclasm constroversy (destruction of religious images as idolotrous) Icon of Virgin and Child (c. 550-600, from St Catherine’s monastery, Mount Sinai, Egypt) |
| 751 | Lombards take Ravenna |
| mid 700s | Rough equilibrium reached between 3 great Western powers: Byzantines, Franks, and Muslims (map) |
| 867-1056 |
Macedonian dynasty: Byzantine “golden age,” including:
reconquest of Balkans and conversion of Slavs by Byzantine missionaries (including St. Cyril, d. 869, and St. Methodius, d. 884, alleged inventors of the Slavonic “Cyrillic” alphabet) destruction of the Bulgar army, and alliance with Prince Vladimir I of Kiev by Basil II “the Bulgar-Slayer”(976-1025) |
| 1071 | Defeat by Seljuk Turks at Manzikert (N. of Lake Van); loss of Asia Minor |
| 1453 | Fall of Constantinople to Ottoman Turks |
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Thursday:
THE RISE OF ISLAM AND THE ISLAMIC WORLD
Islamic call to prayer (3:33 min.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe8qRj12OhY
| c. 571-632 | Muhammed (“call”: c. 610) |
| 622 | Hijra (or Hegira, “flight”) from Mecca to Medina (=Year 1 of Muslim calendar) |
| 630 | Conquest of Mecca |
| 632-750 |
Conquest of Syria, Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, N. Africa, and Spain Umayyad caliphate (661-750): capital moved from Medina to Damascus (click here for map) |
| 717-18 | Siege of Constantinople fails |
| 732 | Defeat by Franks (led by Charles Martel) at battle of Tours-Poitiers |
| mid 700s | Rough equilibrium reached between 3 great Western powers: Byzantines, Franks, and Muslims (click here for map) |
| 750-c. 950 | Golden age of Abassid caliphs (except Spain, where offshoot of Ummayad dynasty rules caliphate of Al-Andalus until 1031): capital moved to Baghdad; non-Arabs allowed political power (click here for map) |
| 786-809 | Harun al-Rashid |
| 909-1171 | Fatimid dynasty established in Egypt |
| 1055 | Seljuk Turks conquer Baghdad |
| 1071 | Battle of Manzikert: Seljuk Turks defeat Byzantines |
| 1453 | Ottoman Turks take Constantinople |
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS:
Islam
Muslim
Allah
Qur’-an (or Koran)
Hadith
Mecca
Hijra (or Hegira)
Medina
- believing that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammed is his messenger (or prophet)
- praying 5 times daily
- giving charity to the needy
- fasting during the month of Ramadan
- making a pilgrimage to Mecca