Module description
This course tells the story of the three heirs to Rome – the Latin West, Byzantium, and the Muslim world – from the fall of the Roman empire in the West down to the mid-tenth century. Each took the legacy of Rome in its own particular direction, politically, culturally and geographically, pulling away from an initial common centre located in the Mediterranean outwards to create, by the end of the first millennium AD, three brand new and distinct geopolitical spaces, with new political centres now situated far apart: a fragmented Latin West whose political centres now lay much further north, closer to the North Sea than to the Alps; a Byzantine empire whose centre of gravity was moving towards the Balkans and Slavic regions; and a Muslim world focused on Asia and North Africa.
The course will follow a chronological order. Some weeks will take as their subject a particular moment in space and time, and take this as a jumping-off point to explore its context, its impact, and what it reveals about historical developments on either side of it. This will provide students with a strong sense of the chronological framework, while allowing us to take the story forward on all three fronts. Other weeks will be more thematic, and explore longer-term trends.
The modules offered in each academic year are subject to change in line with staff availability and student demand: there is no guarantee every module will run. Module descriptions and information may vary between years.
Assessment details
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3 hour exam (60%)
2 x 2,000-word essays (15% + 15%)
1 group presentation (10%)
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Educational aims & objectives
This module aims to provide students with
- i) Systematic, thematic and critical historical engagement with the history of the five centuries from the fall of the Western
Roman empire (476) to the late tenth century
- ii) An appreciation of the variety of ways in which the Western Latin kingdoms, Byzantium and the Islamic world embraced
the Roman tradition while taking it in substantially new and original directions religiously, culturally, politically and
geographically
iii) Knowledge and understanding of key historical developments in all three geopolitical blocks across the period
An understanding of key historiographical traditions and approaches to the period, and how taking in all three helps to make more sense of each on its own terms.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, the students will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable and practicable skills
appropriate to a Level 5 module and in particular will be able to demonstrate an ability to
- i) Respond to the subject-matter in a systematic, thematically-sensitive way, demonstrating an ability to make points and
connections spanning the whole timeframe of the module
- ii) Formulate coherent written and oral responses to the issues, themes, concepts and debates involved in the module
More particularly, they should be able to:
- i) Demonstrate a developed understanding of the contrasting ways in which Western Europe, Byzantium and the early
Islamic world took on the Roman imperial legacy and took it in quite distinct directions
- ii) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the various religious, cultural, political, social and economic factors that
drove this parting of the ways
iii) Demonstrate knowledge of the key historical developments that took place during the period in all three areas and how
these interconnected
iv) Engage critically with the historiography of the early middle ages, Byzantium and early Islam.
Teaching pattern
20 x 2-hour teaching (weekly)
Suggested reading list
Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom, 3rd ed. (2013)
Chris Wickham, The Inheritance of Rome (London, 2009)
Peter Heather, Rome Resurgent: War and Empire in the Age of Justinian (2017)
Jack Tannous, The Making of the Medieval Middle East (Princeton, 2018)
Andrew Marsham ed, The Umayyad World (London, 2022)
Simon Franklin and Jonathan Shepard, The Emergence of Rus, 750-1200 (London, 1996)
John Haldon (ed.), The Social History of Byzantium (Chichester, 2009)