Core courses
MSc Courses
Select a course to view its full outline, syllabus and assessment details
Byzantine History and Culture
Constantinople: The Power and Splendour of the Byzantine Capital
This course examines the historical, architectural, and urban development of Constantinople. It explores the city’s strategic geography, complex infrastructure, and artistic legacy, analyzing how its physical environment and monuments reflected imperial ideology and cultural identity from its foundation through the Ottoman period.
Icons and Experience: Seeing, Believing, and Understanding Byzantine Art
This course explores the multifaceted role of icons in Byzantine life, examining them not merely as artistic objects, but as spiritually charged mediators. Students will investigate the technical materiality, liturgical function, and theological significance of icons, as well as their power to shape human experience, social identity, and devotional practice.
Imperial Ideology and Collective Identities in Byzantine Society (4th– 15th c.)
This course explores the evolution of Byzantine imperial ideology and the construction of collective identities from Late Antiquity through the 15th century. Students examine how religion, political crisis, foreign relations, and perceptions of the past shaped what it meant to be “Roman” within the Byzantine Empire and its successor states.
Fundamentals of AI and ML for Byzantine Studies I
Mixed Reality and Digital Representation of Byzantine Culture
Fundamentals of AI and ML for Byzantine Studies II
Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis in Byzantine Studies
Functions of Words and Letters in Byzantine Daily Life
This course explores the multifaceted role of writing in Byzantine society, examining how inscriptions, monograms, seals, and signatures functioned in administration, commerce, and daily life. Students analyze how text was used to construct authority, facilitate exchange, and mediate religious and magical practices.
The Art of War in Byzantium : Military Thought, Strategy, and Cross-Cultural Conflict
This course provides an in-depth examination of the “art” of Byzantine warfare, covering the tactics, strategy, army structure, and equipment that underpinned the state’s military power. Through the analysis of military manuals and historical accounts, students will explore the evolving war ideology and strategic traditions that allowed the empire to survive and adapt across centuries of conflict.
Byzantium and Armenia: From the Arshakuni to the Het’umids (4th-14th Centuries)
This course offers a comprehensive study of the intricate relationship between the Byzantine Empire and Armenia, spanning from the Arshakuni dynasty to the Hetumids. Students explore the political, religious, and cultural dynamics that shaped their interaction, analyzing how shifting borders, diplomatic exchanges, and shared experiences in peace and war influenced both societies over centuries of contact.
After Byzantium: Living Icons and the Global Journey of a Sacred Tradition
This course examines the enduring legacy of the Byzantine Empire following its collapse in 1453, tracing the “afterlives” of its sacred traditions and artistic heritage across different geographies and periods. Students will explore how Byzantine icons and cultural memory survived as living symbols, political ideals, and spiritual heritage, profoundly shaping the development of various national identities and artistic movements throughout Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and beyond.
Interactive Cultural Applications and Creative Computing for Byzantine Heritage
Natural Language Processing for the Byzantine Corpus
AI as a Research Partner in Byzantine Studies
The magic of small objects: Byzantine seals and coins
This course explores the significance of Byzantine seals and coins as “small objects” that served as vital instruments of administration, authentication, and economic exchange. Students will analyze these artifacts not only as carriers of historical information—such as titles, family names, and iconography—but also as material evidence for understanding the social, political, and economic structures of the Byzantine world.
Byzantium and its Northern Neighbours
This course examines the complex political, social, and cultural interactions between the Byzantine Empire and its northern neighbors, spanning from the Balkans to the steppes of Eurasia. Students explore how diplomatic relations, trade, religious missions, and military conflict shaped the evolution of these borderland regions and their long-term engagement with the Byzantine world.
The Splendor of Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts : The Art of Miniature from Late Antiquity to the End of the Eastern Roman Empire
This course examines the artistry and cultural significance of Byzantine illuminated manuscripts, tracing their evolution from early Christian roots to the final centuries of the empire. Students will analyze the intersection of text and image, the technical production of these works, and their role as instruments of imperial, religious, and social prestige.
The Reception of Byzantium in Modern and Contemporary Literature. Comparative approaches
This course investigates Byzantium as a cultural “palimpsest”—a concept that is continuously layered, erased, and rewritten in modern and contemporary literature. Students explore how the Byzantine Empire has been reimagined through diverse media, including poetry, novels, cinema, and digital platforms, while analyzing the shift from 19th-century aesthetic archetypes to contemporary interpretations of history, myth, and identity.