Byzantium and its Northern Neighbours
Postgraduate Programme — Level 7
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion, students will be able to:
1)
Know the conditions of settlement and state formations in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe
2)
Delve into the internal processes and external influences associated with that region
3)
Analyze information about persons, structures, and state ideology
4)
Elaborates on specific issues related to the history and culture of the region’s peoples
5)
Apply appropriate techniques for preprocessing, mining, and analyzing data in historical and philological texts
6)
Use modern tools for search, analysis and research support
COURSE SYLLABUS
13 Modules
Week 01 | Byzantium and the Goths
Migrations at the Lower Danube in the 4th c. Gothic settlements on Byzantine soil (federates). Christianisation of the Goths.
Week 02 | Byzantium and the Huns
The Huns at the Lower and Middle Danube. Conflicts, treaties and trade relations with Byzantium.
Week 03 | German federates of the 6th c.
Germanic Settlements on the Balkans and the Carpathian Basin. Heruls, Gepids and Longobards. Relations with Byzantium and Christianisation.
Week 04 | The Avar Khaganate
The Avar Khaganate at the Middle Danube. Relations with Byzantium, the West and the Slavs.
Week 05 | The Slavic Migration
The Slavic Migration to the Balkans. Conflicts with Byzantium, settlements and cultural transformations.
Week 06 | Byzantium and the Russian-Ukrainian steppes in the 7th c.
Byzantium and the so-called ‘Great Bulgaria’. Advance of the Khazars and coming of the Protobulgars to the Balkans.
Week 07 | The First and Second Bulgarian State
The First Bulgarian State from Christianisation to its end. Inner development and Byzantine influences. The Second Bulgarian State from its establishment to decline.
Week 08 | Byzantium and the Western Balkans
Relations with Croatia and Serbia. New balance of power under the Nemanjić. The Ottomans on the Balkans.
Week 09 | Byzantium and Kievan Rus’
Rise and development of Kievan Rus’. Conflicts, treaties, trade and cultural relations with Byzantium.
Week 10 | The Lower Danube, 11th-15th c.
Nomads at the Lower Danube, Petsenegs, Kumans and Mongols. The rise of Rumanian Hegemonies.
Week 11 | Byzantium and East Central Europe
Contacts with the modern areas of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The East Central Europe between Byzantium and the West.
Week 12 | Discussion on the students’ essays
Practical information on the written essays (the topic will be given in the first weeks).
Week 13 | Presentation of essays
Presentation of students’ essays.
ASSESSMENT
Student Evaluation
40%
Participation in the Lectures
20%
Public presentation
40%
Research Essay
Workload — ECTS Distribution
250 Hours Total
Lectures
20
Seminar discussions
15
Primary source analysis
15
Study and analysis of bibliography
20
Student presentations
20
Independent study
80
Essay writing
80
Course Total
250
Recommended Bibliography
Suggested bibliography:
- Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
- Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages 500-1250. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
- Curta, Florin, and Sébastien Rossignol. Medieval East Central and Eastern Europe. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2025.
- Heather, Peter. The Goths. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996.
- James, Edward. Europe’s Barbarians AD 200–600. London: Routledge, 2009.
- Maenchen-Helfen, Otto. The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 1973.
- Meier, Mischa. Geschichte der Völkerwanderung. Europa, Asien und Afrika vom 3. bis zum 8. Jahrhundert n. Chr. München: Verlag C.H. Beck oHG, 2019.
- Paroń, Aleksander. The Pechenegs: Nomads in the Political and Cultural Landscape of Medieval Europe [East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450 74]. Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2021.
- Pohl, Walter. The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Europe, 567–822. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018.
- Sarantis, Alexander. Justinian’s Balkan Wars: Campaigning, Diplomacy and Development in Illyricum, Thrace and the Northern World A.D. 527–565 [ARCA Classical and Medieval Texts, Papers and Monographs 53]. Prenton: Cairns, 2016.
- Berend, Nora, Przemysław Urbańczyk, and Przemysław Wiszewski, eds. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary and Poland c.900-c.1300. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
- Maiorov, Alexander V., and Roman Hautala, eds. The Routledge Handbook of the Mongols and Central-Eastern Europe. London and New York: Routledge, 2021.
Related academic journals:
- Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi
- Byzantinoslavica