Constantinople: The Power and Splendour of the in Byzantine Capital
Postgraduate Programme — Level 7
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion, students will be able to:
1)
Demonstrate a structured understanding of the historical development, urban topography, and spatial organization of Constantinople
2)
Identify and critically analyze key monuments of Byzantine architecture within their political, ceremonial, and religious contexts
3)
Interpret a range of primary sources, including archaeological evidence, textual descriptions, and visual material
4)
Evaluate the role of art and architecture in the construction and communication of imperial power in Byzantium
5)
Apply basic methodological approaches from archaeology, art history, and urban studies to the study of the Byzantine city
6)
Critically assess the transformation and reception of Byzantine urban and architectural heritage in Ottoman Istanbul
7)
Develop and present coherent arguments in oral and written form using appropriate scholarly terminology
COURSE SYLLABUS
13 Modules
Week 01 | Introduction: Location and Scholarly Approaches to Istanbul
Geographical setting of Constantinople, its long historical continuity, and the main scholarly approaches used to study the city, including archaeological evidence, written sources, and modern interdisciplinary methods.
Week 02 | History and Urban Topography
Overview of the historical development of the city from its foundation to the late Byzantine period, with a focus on its spatial organization, major districts, and the relationship between urban form and imperial ideology.
Week 03 | Land and Sea Routes
Constantinople’s integration into wider networks of communication and trade, including major land routes and maritime connections between Europe and Asia. The module also examines approaches to the city by land and via its harbours, highlighting its strategic position within regional and transregional networks.
Week 04 | Defensive Structures and Divine Protection
Examination of the city’s fortification systems, particularly the Theodosian and Anastasian walls, and their role in military defence. This module also explores the ideological dimension of protection, including the perception of divine safeguarding of the city.
Week 05 | Water Supply and Hydraulic Engineering
Study of the hydraulic systems that sustained the city, including aqueducts, cisterns, fountains, and distribution networks. Particular attention is given to the engineering achievements and their importance for urban life.
Week 06 | Public Spaces
Investigation of forums, squares, and other civic spaces where political, social, and ceremonial life took place. These areas are examined as stages of public interaction and imperial representation.
Week 07 | Palaces and Residential Architecture
Exploration of imperial palace complexes and elite residential structures. The module addresses spatial hierarchy, functions of court architecture, and the relationship between private and ceremonial space.
Week 08 | Sacred Buildings I: Early Byzantine Period
Development of church architecture from the 4th to 6th centuries, including basilicas and centrally planned buildings. Consideration of architectural form, liturgical function, and early furnishing and decorative programmes.
Week 09 | Sacred Buildings II: Middle Byzantine Period
The emergence of the cross-in-square type, monastic architecture, and evolving spatial concepts. Integration of architecture with furnishings and decorative schemes.
Week 10 | Sacred Buildings III: Late Byzantine Period
Architectural developments in the Palaiologan period, with increasing complexity of structures and rich interior decoration.
Week 11 | Visual Arts: Portable Objects and Image Culture
Icons, ivory diptychs, reliquaries, and other small-scale objects. Functions of images in devotion, ritual, and representation, distinct from monumental architectural decoration.
Week 12 | Ottoman Reception and Transformation
Examination of the reuse, adaptation, and reinterpretation of Byzantine monuments after 1453, with attention to continuity and transformation in the urban landscape under Ottoman rule.
Week 13 | Conclusion: Memory and the Byzantine City
Synthesis of the course themes, with reflection on how Constantinople is remembered, reconstructed, and interpreted in modern scholarship and cultural discourse.
ASSESSMENT
Student Evaluation
30%
Participation in class discussions
30%
Public presentation
40%
Research Essay
Workload — ECTS Distribution
250 Hours Total
Lectures
26
Seminar discussions
13
Primary source workshops
20
Study and analysis of bibliography
40
Student presentations
11
Independent study
70
Essay writing
70
Course Total
250
Recommended Bibliography
Suggested bibliography:
History and Topography:
S. Bassett, The Urban Image of Late Antique Constantinople (Cambridge et al., 2004).
A. Berger, Konstantinopel: Geschichte – Topographie – Religion (Stuttgart, 2011).
L. Grig and G. Kelly (eds.), Two Romes: Rome and Constantinople in Late Antiquity (Oxford/ New York, 2012).
S. Ivanov, In Search of Constantinople: A Guidebook through Byzantine Istanbul and Its Surroundings (Istanbul, 2021).
R. Janin, Constantinople Byzantine, développement urbain et répertoire topographique (Paris, 1964).
P. Magdalino, Constantinople médiévale: études sur l’évolution des structures urbaines (Paris, 1996).
P. Magdalino, Studies on the History and Topography of Byzantine Constantinople (Aldershot u.a., 2007).
C. Mango, Le développement urbain de Constantinople (IVe-VIIeme sciècles) (Paris, 2004).
W. Müller-Wiener, Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls (Tübingen, 1977).
M. Restle, Istanbul, Bursa, Edirne, Iznik: Baudenkmäler und Museen [Reclams Kunstführer] (Stuttgart, 1976).
M. Restle, Konstantinopel, in: Reallexikon zur byzantinischen Kunst 4 (1990), 366- 737.
P. Schreiner, Konstantinopel: Geschichte und Archäologie (München, 2007).
Defensive Structures:
B. Meyer-Plath and A. M. Schneider, Die Landmauer von Konstantinopel (Berlin, 1943)
C. Foss and D. Winfield, Byzantine Fortifications: An Introduction (Pretoria, 1986).
N. Asutay-Effenberger, Die Landmauer von Konstantinopel-Istanbul (Berlin/New York, 2007).
J. Crow, The Anastasian Wall and the Danube Frontier in the Sixth Century, in: L. Vagalinski (ed.), The Lower Danube in Antiquity (the Fifth Century BC – the Beginning of the Seventh Century AD) (Tutrakan, 2007), 397-410.
J. Crow, Recent Research on the Anastasian Wall in Thrace and Late Antique Linear Barriers Around the Black Sea, in: N. Hodgson, P. Bidwell and J. Schachtmann (ed.), Roman Frontier Studies 2009 (Oxford, 2017), 131–138.
E. McGeer, The Defence of Constantinople, in: S. Bassett (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Constantinople (Cambridge, 2022), 117-133.
Harbours and Water Supply:
F. Daim (ed.), Die byzantinischen Häfen Konstantinopels (Mainz, 2016).
J. Crow, J. Bardill and R. Bayliss, The Water Supply of Byzantine Constantinople (London, 2008).
J. Crow, Waters for a Capital: Hydraulic Infrastructure and Use in Byzantine Constantinople, in: S. Bassett (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Constantinople (Cambridge, 2022), 67-86.
Public Spaces:
F. A. Bauer, Stadt, Platz und Denkmal in der Spätantike (Mainz, 1996).
E. Boeck, The Bronze Horseman of Justinian in Constantinople: The Cross-Cultural Biography of a Mediterranean Monument (Cambridge et al., 2021).
G. Dagron, L’hippodrome de Constantinople. Jeux, peuple et politique (Paris, 2011).
B. Pitarakis (ed.), Hippodrom/Atmeydanı: İstanbul’un Tarih Sahnesi
[Hippodrome/Atmeydani: A Stage for Istanbul’s History] (Istanbul, 2010).
Ch. Roueché, “Entertainments, Theatre, and Hippodrome,” in: E. Jeffreys, J. Haldon
und R. Cormack (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies (Oxford, 2008), 677– 684.
Palaces and Residential Architecture:
A. Berger and Ph. Niewöhner, Residential Constantinople, in: S. Bassett (ed.), The
Cambridge Companion to Constantinople (Cambridge, 2022), 150-165.
J. Featherstone, Der Große Palast von Konstantinopel: Tradition oder Erfindung?,
Byzantinische Zeitschrift 106 (2013), 19-38.
P. Magdalino, Imperial Constantinople, in: S. Bassett (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Constantinople (Cambridge, 2022), 135-149.
M. Rautman, Entertainment, in: S. Bassett (Hrsg.), The Cambridge Companion to Constantinople (Cambridge, 2022), 277-291.
D. Talbot Rice, The Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors (Edinburgh, 1958).
Sacral Buildings:
R. J. Mainstone, Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian’s Great
Church (London, 1988).
V. Marinis, The Monastery Tou Libos: Architecture, Sculpture, and Liturgical Planning in Middle and Late Byzantine Constantinople (Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 2004).
Th. Mathews, The Early Churches of Constantinople. Architecture and Liturgy (Pennsylvania State University und London, 1971).
R. Ousterhout, The Architecture of the Kariye Camii in Istanbul (Washington, DC, 1987).
R. Ousterhout, The Art of the Kariye Camii (London, 2002).
R. Ousterhout, Eastern Medieval Architecture: The Building Traditions of Byzantium and Neighboring Lands (New York, 2019).
C. L. Striker, The Myrelaion (Bodrum Camii) in Istanbul (Princeton, 1981).
H. Svenshon and R. Stichel, Neue Beobachtungen an der ehemaligen Kirche der Heiligen Sergios und Bakchos (Kücük Ayasofia Camisi) in Istanbul, Instanbuler Mittelungen, Band 50, 2000 (Tübingen, 2001), S. 389–409.
L. Theis, Die Flankenräume im mittelbyzantinischen Kirchenbau (Wiesbaden, 2005).
P. A. Underwood, The Kariye Camii, 3 vols. (New York, 1966)
P. A. Underwood (ed.), The Kariye Camii (Princeton, 1975).
Ottoman Reception and Transformation:
Ç. Kafescioğlu, Constantinopolis/Istanbul: Cultural Encounter, Imperial Vision, and
the Construction of Ottoman Capital (University Park, PA, 2009).