Courses

Conjuring Empire: Art, Faith and Power in The Byzantine World

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The Byzantine Empire stands as one of history's most enduring and influential civilizations, and has long been imagined as bridging a critical gap between the classical world and the medieval era. In this eleven part lecture series, we journey through the art and culture of a society marked by continual political turbulence and transformation as it fashioned itself into one of the most powerful and yet enigmatic empires in history.

The series begins with an examination of the lasting legacy of the classical world on Byzantine culture as it transformed the inherited artistic, philosophical and political traditions of Greece and Rome, making them distinctively their own. Further, early Christianity’s role in shaping Byzantine society through religious art and architecture is closely analysed, from sacred icons and relics to monumental churches, through elaborate palace complexes and into the stark simplicity of monasteries. Particular attention is also paid to the iconoclasm controversies of the 8th - 9th centuries and their deep impact on the material culture of both Byzantium as a metropolis as well as the wider reaches of the empire. 

The centuries of political and religious turbulence and wars with neighbouring empires, particularly Sasanian Persia and later the loss of Byzantine territories to the emerging Islamic empires had a lasting impact on Byzantine culture, particularly in the shape and extent of imperial patronage, and the shifts in the empire’s political fortunes. The series also explores the culture of Byzantine trade, from luxury goods to everyday objects, understanding the impact of periods of economic prosperity as well as turmoil in shaping an empire as it negotiated its place amidst tectonic shifts in the identities, religions and cultures of its people.

As the Byzantine Empire contended with the rise of Islam and the empires it gave rise to in the 7th and 8th centuries, both its borders as well as its core became sites of formative cultural encounters that left lasting impressions on its society, politics and culture. The series places a critical focus on the impact of Islamic influences on Byzantine artistic traditions and the reciprocal exchange of artistic ideas that took place in this formative period.

Through this lecture series, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the dynamic interplay between art, material culture, and politics, religion and society in the Byzantine world during a transformative period in its history, shedding light on the enduring legacy of this remarkable civilization.