History and Society of Byzantium and the Christian East I [ LGLOR1521 ]

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An introduction to the geographical, linguistic and historical framework of the
Christian East in the Byzantine, Persian and Arab worlds. 

In part 1 (Christian East), the course examines the geographical context of the Christian communities in their historical evolution as from the fourth century. It presents the history of Christianity in the regions concerned (Armenia and Georgia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Persia), as well as its influence in Asia and India.

In part 2 (Byzantium), the course examines the main historical steps of the
Byzantine Millenium (IVth Century - 1453), focussing on key-periods,
important dynasties, territorial development, etc.

works of reference relating to historical subjects (dictionaries, encyclopedias,
compendia of sources, historical atlases, monographs, etc.). He will be able to
present orally the results of a research of limited dimension on a specific
historical subject, and will know the main lines of Byzantine history.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

For part 1 (Christian East): continuous evaluation during the course with a final
exam (oral or written) based on the required readings (50%).
For part 2 (Byzantium): an oral exam based on written preparation (50%).

In part 1 (Christian East), the lectures are given for the most part by means of a Power-point. The students will be required to do small class-work exercises of research and/or prepare short presentations (individually or in group) on specific aspects of the themes that have been exposed in the lectures, with a view to leading a discussion.
In part 2 (Byzantium), the 'ex cathedra' lectures may be completed by ppt when required by the subject.

This course has two successive parts:
1. Part 1: Christian East (A. Schmidt). The course is composed of several
modules, each complete in itself. These modules vary from year to year in
function both of the current context and the interests of the students, touching, for example, on the following themes:
- Beginnings of Christianity in the Caucasus;
- Cultural and national identity in Armenia and Georgia;
- Antioch and the development of Syriac churches in Syria and Mesopotamia;
- Christianity in Arabia and the Persian Gulf before Islam;
- The specialities of Persian Christianity;
- The image of Edessa and the Mandylion of Christ;
- The Greco-Syriac tradition of the apostle Thomas and Christianity in southern India;- The churches in Palestine.
2. Part 2: Byzantium (V. Somers). The different lectures follow the Byzantine
Empire's history, from Late Antiquity to 1453.
 

1. Part 1 (Christian East) :
- I. Gillman et H.-J. Klimkeit, Christians in Asia before 1500, London, 1999.
- M. Zibawi, Orients chrétiens: entre Byzance et l'Islam, Paris, 1995.
- J. et A. Sellier, Atlas des peuples d'Orient. Moyen-Orient, Caucase, Asie
Centrale, Paris, 2004.
Other bibliography will be supplied during the course.
2. Part 2 (Byzantium):
- Jean-­'Claude CHEYNET, Byzance. L'Empire romain d'Orient, Paris, 2007 deuxième édition)
-­ Alain DUCELLIER, M. KAPLAN, B. MARTIN, F. MICHEAU, Le Moyen Âge en Orient. Byzance et l'Islam, Paris, 2006 (troisième édition)
-­ Liz JAMES (ed.), A Companion to Byzantium, Chichester, 2010
-­ Elizabeth JEFFREYS, John HALDON, Robin CORMACK (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, Oxford, 2008
- Paul STEPHENSON (ed.), The Byzantine World, New York, 2012 (2e éd.)

Nouvelle Clio (3 vol.) :
-­ Cécile MORRISSON (dir.), Le Monde Byzantin, I. L'Empire romain d'Orient  (330-­641), Paris, 2004 -
­'Jean-­'Claude CHEYNET (dir.), Le Monde Byzantin, II. L'Empire byzantin (641-­1204), Paris, 2006 -
­' Angeliki LAIOU (') et Cécile MORRISSON (dir.), Le Monde Byzantin, III. L'Empire grec et ses voisins (XIIIe-­XVe siècles), Paris, 2011.

More  bibliography will be supplied during the course.

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