Constructing Belisarius: His Life in Context
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The Story of the Byzantine Empire
THE STO RY O F T HE NATIO NS L LU T T E E R VO L . I z M o I S A . P , R D , T H E E AR L I E R VO L UM E S A R E f I N E F R E E B P o AS A . SO T H STO R Y O G E C . y r . I . HARR R F R E B TH U ILM A N T HE STO Y O O M . y A R R G EW B P f A K O S E R F T HE S . o S . M T HE ST O Y O J y r . J . H R B Z N R O F DE . A R A coz I T HE ST O Y C HA L A . y . — R F E R N . B S B ING O U L THE ST O Y O G MA Y y . AR G D F N W B P f H B YE S E N o . H . O T HE ST O R Y O O R A Y . y r N E n E B . E . a d S SA H T HE ST O R Y O F SP A I . y U N AL N B P R of. A . VAM B Y T HE STO R Y O F H U GA R Y . y r E ST R O F E B P of L E TH E O Y C A RT H A G . -
The Politics of Roman Memory in the Age of Justinian DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the D
The Politics of Roman Memory in the Age of Justinian DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Marion Woodrow Kruse, III Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Anthony Kaldellis, Advisor; Benjamin Acosta-Hughes; Nathan Rosenstein Copyright by Marion Woodrow Kruse, III 2015 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the use of Roman historical memory from the late fifth century through the middle of the sixth century AD. The collapse of Roman government in the western Roman empire in the late fifth century inspired a crisis of identity and political messaging in the eastern Roman empire of the same period. I argue that the Romans of the eastern empire, in particular those who lived in Constantinople and worked in or around the imperial administration, responded to the challenge posed by the loss of Rome by rewriting the history of the Roman empire. The new historical narratives that arose during this period were initially concerned with Roman identity and fixated on urban space (in particular the cities of Rome and Constantinople) and Roman mythistory. By the sixth century, however, the debate over Roman history had begun to infuse all levels of Roman political discourse and became a major component of the emperor Justinian’s imperial messaging and propaganda, especially in his Novels. The imperial history proposed by the Novels was aggressivley challenged by other writers of the period, creating a clear historical and political conflict over the role and import of Roman history as a model or justification for Roman politics in the sixth century. -
Medieval French Alexander: Arthurian Orientalism, Cross-Cultural Contact, and Transcultural Assimilation in Chrétien De Troyes’S Cligés
Otterbein University Digital Commons @ Otterbein Modern Languages & Cultures Faculty Scholarship Modern Languages & Cultures 2013 The »Other« Medieval French Alexander: Arthurian Orientalism, Cross-Cultural Contact, And Transcultural Assimilation in Chrétien de Troyes’s Cligés Levilson C. Reis Otterbein University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/mlanguages_fac Part of the French and Francophone Literature Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, and the Modern Languages Commons Repository Citation Reis, Levilson C., "The »Other« Medieval French Alexander: Arthurian Orientalism, Cross-Cultural Contact, And Transcultural Assimilation in Chrétien de Troyes’s Cligés" (2013). Modern Languages & Cultures Faculty Scholarship. 14. https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/mlanguages_fac/14 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Modern Languages & Cultures at Digital Commons @ Otterbein. It has been accepted for inclusion in Modern Languages & Cultures Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Otterbein. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Romanische Forschungen , 125 (3), 2013 The “Other” Medieval Alexander The »Other« Medieval French Alexander: Arthurian Orientalism, Cross- Cultural Contact, And Transcultural Assimilation in Chrétien de Troyes’s Cligés Résumé/Abstract En tenant compte du climat xénophobe des croisades cet article recense la réception de Cligés , roman de Chrétien de Troyes dont la plus grande partie de l’action se passe en Grèce, et explore les stratégies dont l’auteur se serait servi pour en déjouer un mauvais accueil. On examine d’abord les idées que les Francs se faisaient des Grecs par le biais de la réception contemporaine de l’ Énéide et du Roman d’Alexandre . On examine par la suite comment Cligés cadre avec ces perspectives. -
Michael Psellos and Byzantine Astrology in the Eleventh Century, Culture and Cosmos , Vol
CULTURE AND COSMOS A Journal of the History of Astrology and Cultural Astronomy Vol. 13 no. 1, Spring/Summer 2009 Published by Culture and Cosmos and the Sophia Centre Press, in partnership with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, in association with the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Faculty of Humanities and the Performing Arts Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales, SA48 7ED, UK. www.cultureandcosmos.org Cite this paper as: Andrew Vladimirou, Michael Psellos and Byzantine Astrology in the Eleventh Century, Culture and Cosmos , Vol. 13 no 1, Spring/Summer 2009, pp. 24-61. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue card for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publishers. ISSN 1368-6534 Printed in Great Britain by Lightning Source Copyright 2018 Culture and Cosmos All rights reserved Michael Psellos and Byzantine Astrology in the Eleventh Century ________________________________________________________________ Andrew Vladimirou Abstract. The following work uses the writing of one of the most outstanding personalities of the Byzantine Empire, Michael Psellos (1018–1078?), as a conduit into the world of Byzantine astrology. The focus of the article is his celebrated chronicle, The Chronographia, which documents his life and experiences as an influential courtier at the Byzantine court in the eleventh century. Psellos was at the forefront of political life in the Empire and its fluctuating fortunes but somehow managed to combine these duties with a prodigious scholarly vocation. -
Combat Motivation and Cohesion in the Age of Justinian by Conor Whately, University of Winnipeg
Combat Motivation and Cohesion in the Age of Justinian By Conor Whately, University of Winnipeg One topic that regularly recurs in the scholarship on modern warfare is combat cohesion and motivation. Many volumes have been published on these topics, and there is no sign that this interest might abate any time soon. That interest has only rarely filtered down to scholarship of the ancient and late antique worlds, however. 1 The sixth century is well suited to analyses of these issues given the abundance of varied and high quality evidence, despite the lack of attention given the subject by modern scholars. This chapter seeks to remedy this by offering an introduction to combat cohesion and motivation in the sixth century. It forms the second half of a two-part project on the subject, and the core this project is the evidence of Procopius. 2 Procopius describes more than thirty battles or sieges from the age of Justinian,3 and his battle narratives have been the subject of a good deal of research. 4 Yet there is much more work to do on sixth-century combat and our understanding Procopius’ value as a source for military history. By introducing the subject of combat cohesion and motivation in the sixth century, this paper seeks to move the discussion forward. 5 The first part of this paper will be concerned with motivation, and will explore the much discussed “ratio of fire” and its applicability in an ancient context, the presumed bellicosity of some soldiers that many of our sources hint at, and the role of fear in motivating soldiers to fight and to maintain their cohesion. -
Profile of a Plant: the Olive in Early Medieval Italy, 400-900 CE By
Profile of a Plant: The Olive in Early Medieval Italy, 400-900 CE by Benjamin Jon Graham A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in the University of Michigan 2014 Doctoral Committee: Professor Paolo Squatriti, Chair Associate Professor Diane Owen Hughes Professor Richard P. Tucker Professor Raymond H. Van Dam © Benjamin J. Graham, 2014 Acknowledgements Planting an olive tree is an act of faith. A cultivator must patiently protect, water, and till the soil around the plant for fifteen years before it begins to bear fruit. Though this dissertation is not nearly as useful or palatable as the olive’s pressed fruits, its slow growth to completion resembles the tree in as much as it was the patient and diligent kindness of my friends, mentors, and family that enabled me to finish the project. Mercifully it took fewer than fifteen years. My deepest thanks go to Paolo Squatriti, who provoked and inspired me to write an unconventional dissertation. I am unable to articulate the ways he has influenced my scholarship, teaching, and life. Ray Van Dam’s clarity of thought helped to shape and rein in my run-away ideas. Diane Hughes unfailingly saw the big picture—how the story of the olive connected to different strands of history. These three people in particular made graduate school a humane and deeply edifying experience. Joining them for the dissertation defense was Richard Tucker, whose capacious understanding of the history of the environment improved this work immensely. In addition to these, I would like to thank David Akin, Hussein Fancy, Tom Green, Alison Cornish, Kathleen King, Lorna Alstetter, Diana Denney, Terre Fisher, Liz Kamali, Jon Farr, Yanay Israeli, and Noah Blan, all at the University of Michigan, for their benevolence. -
Journeys to Byzantium? Roman Senators Between Rome and Constantinople
Journeys to Byzantium? Roman Senators Between Rome and Constantinople Master’s Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Michael Anthony Carrozzo, B.A Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2010 Thesis Committee: Kristina Sessa, Advisor Timothy Gregory Anthony Kaldellis Copyright by Michael Anthony Carrozzo 2010 Abstract For over a thousand years, the members of the Roman senatorial aristocracy played a pivotal role in the political and social life of the Roman state. Despite being eclipsed by the power of the emperors in the first century BC, the men who made up this order continued to act as the keepers of Roman civilization for the next four hundred years, maintaining their traditions even beyond the disappearance of an emperor in the West. Despite their longevity, the members of the senatorial aristocracy faced an existential crisis following the Ostrogothic conquest of the Italian peninsula, when the forces of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I invaded their homeland to contest its ownership. Considering the role they played in the later Roman Empire, the disappearance of the Roman senatorial aristocracy following this conflict is a seminal event in the history of Italy and Western Europe, as well as Late Antiquity. Two explanations have been offered to explain the subsequent disappearance of the Roman senatorial aristocracy. The first involves a series of migrations, beginning before the Gothic War, from Italy to Constantinople, in which members of this body abandoned their homes and settled in the eastern capital. -
BIOGRAPHY WORKBOOK for GRADES 7-12 Belisarius
BELISARIUS BIOGRAPHY WORKBOOK FOR GRADES 7-12 Belisarius BELISARIUS (505-565 C.E.) Few men have performed Emperor Justinian, was an equally greater achievements than this remarkable personage, capable of general, to whom it was given to be conceiving and accomplishing conqueror again and again over magnificent designs, yet withal of a nations hitherto invincible, and to mean, ungenerous, ungrateful arrest, during his own lifetime, the character. Justinian was responsible disintegration of the Roman Empire. for the codification (under He lived in the early part of the sixth Christianized conditions) of the old century of the Christian era, though Roman law (known as the Justinian the date of his birth is not certainly Code), so as to serve as the foundation known, and he was in the prime of life of jurisprudence to all the European about 530. Belisarius is believed to nations except the English; the have been the son of a peasant of building of the church of St. Sophia Thrace, probably of Slavonian descent, (Hagia Sophia); and the rolling back as his name, stripped of its classical for a time the flood that on all sides form, would belong to that language was overwhelming the ancient Empire and would be Beli-than, or the White of Rome, were all due to this prince. Prince. 2. Who ruled as emperor of the 1. Describe Belisarius’ father. Eastern Roman (Byzantine) ____________________________________ Empire during the life of ____________________________________ Belisarius? ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ For the last two centuries, the Apparently he began life as a Eastern and the Western Roman common soldier, and gradually rose by empires had been separated, though courage and ability. -
Byzantine Missionaries, Foreign Rulers, and Christian Narratives (Ca
Conversion and Empire: Byzantine Missionaries, Foreign Rulers, and Christian Narratives (ca. 300-900) by Alexander Borislavov Angelov A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in The University of Michigan 2011 Doctoral Committee: Professor John V.A. Fine, Jr., Chair Professor Emeritus H. Don Cameron Professor Paul Christopher Johnson Professor Raymond H. Van Dam Associate Professor Diane Owen Hughes © Alexander Borislavov Angelov 2011 To my mother Irina with all my love and gratitude ii Acknowledgements To put in words deepest feelings of gratitude to so many people and for so many things is to reflect on various encounters and influences. In a sense, it is to sketch out a singular narrative but of many personal “conversions.” So now, being here, I am looking back, and it all seems so clear and obvious. But, it is the historian in me that realizes best the numerous situations, emotions, and dilemmas that brought me where I am. I feel so profoundly thankful for a journey that even I, obsessed with planning, could not have fully anticipated. In a final analysis, as my dissertation grew so did I, but neither could have become better without the presence of the people or the institutions that I feel so fortunate to be able to acknowledge here. At the University of Michigan, I first thank my mentor John Fine for his tremendous academic support over the years, for his friendship always present when most needed, and for best illustrating to me how true knowledge does in fact produce better humanity. -
The Carthaginians Free
FREE THE CARTHAGINIANS PDF Dexter Hoyos | 288 pages | 09 Aug 2010 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9780415436458 | English | London, United Kingdom Carthage - Wikipedia But who were the people of Carthage? Pitted as the original hero of Rome and an ancestor of Romulus and Remus, Aeneas came close to marrying Dido, before being forced to leave after divine intervention. Historians today question the veracity of the Dido legend, but it is clear that Carthage was founded as a trading outpost by the Phoenicians — a maritime civilisation originally from The Carthaginians region that today forms part of Lebanon. The city gradually grew to become a major centre of Mediterranean trade, and controlled a network of dependencies in North Africa, Spain, and Sicily. Specialising in the production of fine textiles, perfumes, and household goods such as furniture and cooking implements, in its heyday Carthage was the dominant metropolis in the western Mediterranean, and profited hugely from the merchants passing through its port. The city also served as a hub for the trading of metal, and tin mined in the Middle East was brought to Carthage to be forged into bronze. Carthage was also famous for its highly sophisticated agricultural practices. One of the earliest centres of wine production, evidence of Carthaginian goods, including wine amphorae, have been excavated as far away as the British Isles and the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Ancient sources, most notably the Greek The Carthaginians Polybius, reported that the Carthaginian military was predominantly a mercenary- based force. Rather than develop a fully militarised society akin to that of ancient Sparta, the Carthaginians largely relied on others to fight on their behalf. -
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A Chronological Particular Timeline of Near East and Europe History
Introduction This compilation was begun merely to be a synthesized, occasional source for other writings, primarily for familiarization with European world development. Gradually, however, it was forced to come to grips with the elephantine amount of historical detail in certain classical sources. Recording the numbers of reported war deaths in previous history (many thousands, here and there!) initially was done with little contemplation but eventually, with the near‐exponential number of Humankind battles (not just major ones; inter‐tribal, dynastic, and inter‐regional), mind was caused to pause and ask itself, “Why?” Awed by the numbers killed in battles over recorded time, one falls subject to believing the very occupation in war was a naturally occurring ancient inclination, no longer possessed by ‘enlightened’ Humankind. In our synthesized histories, however, details are confined to generals, geography, battle strategies and formations, victories and defeats, with precious little revealed of the highly complicated and combined subjective forces that generate and fuel war. Two territories of human existence are involved: material and psychological. Material includes land, resources, and freedom to maintain a life to which one feels entitled. It fuels war by emotions arising from either deprivation or conditioned expectations. Psychological embraces Egalitarian and Egoistical arenas. Egalitarian is fueled by emotions arising from either a need to improve conditions or defend what it has. To that category also belongs the individual for whom revenge becomes an end in itself. Egoistical is fueled by emotions arising from material possessiveness and self‐aggrandizations. To that category also belongs the individual for whom worldly power is an end in itself.