he aim of the course is to promote the acquisition of historical and historical-cultural notions and of the methodological tools that allow students of the master's degree to draw on the heritage of Byzantine civilization and to deal with the different aspects of the millennium of Byzantium, which extends between late antiquity and the end of what in the West is called medieval, and of the historical and ideological afterlife of the Byzantine state in the political thought of the modern and contemporary age.
Curriculum
teacher profile teaching materials
Byzantine History and Civilisation LM module, which primarily targets Art History; Archaeology; Religions, Cultures, History; History and Society; Philology, Literatures and History of Antiquity students, examines the fall of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks on 29 May 1453, following fifty-five days of siege led by the young and ambitious Sultan Mehmet II Fatih.
A topographical survey of the Byzantine capital will be provided in the course: Using maps, a faithful reconstruction of the city on the eve of its fall will be presented, highlighting the defensive structures, including the great Theodosian walls, the sea walls around the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn, and the walls surrounding the imperial palace of the Blacherne.; finally, the harbour, which was barred to enemy ships in the event of an attack by stretching a long chain from Constantinople to Pera/Galata in front). After that, the course will clearly reconstruct the various phases of the siege and the final battle, illustrating the findings of the research conducted by the chair of Byzantinistics at Roma Tre and corroborated by articles published and presentations given in national and international scientific contexts. These findings contradict the widely held view that the victory of the Turks was inevitable, due to superior numerical strength and armament, or even due to the "will to fall" (Braudel) of an exhausted Byzantium on a political level.
For the conclusion of the course, students will have the opportunity to attend an educational trip to the Peloponnese, in particular to the archaeological site of Mystras (Unesco heritage site since 1989), organized in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Athens and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lakonia. The main purpose of the event will be to present on site to the participants various elements illustrated during the course of the lectures.
- S. Ronchey, Lo Stato bizantino, Torino, Einaudi, 2002
- A. Pertusi (a c. di), La caduta di Costantinopoli, 2 voll., Fondazione Lorenzo Valla / Mondadori, Milano 1976
Programme
1453: The 55 Days that Changed the World (“Ci sono luoghi in cui la storia è inevitabile come un incidente automobilistico — luoghi in cui la geografia provoca la storia. Uno è Istanbul, alias Costantinopoli, alias Bisanzio”. Iosif Brodskij)Byzantine History and Civilisation LM module, which primarily targets Art History; Archaeology; Religions, Cultures, History; History and Society; Philology, Literatures and History of Antiquity students, examines the fall of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks on 29 May 1453, following fifty-five days of siege led by the young and ambitious Sultan Mehmet II Fatih.
A topographical survey of the Byzantine capital will be provided in the course: Using maps, a faithful reconstruction of the city on the eve of its fall will be presented, highlighting the defensive structures, including the great Theodosian walls, the sea walls around the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn, and the walls surrounding the imperial palace of the Blacherne.; finally, the harbour, which was barred to enemy ships in the event of an attack by stretching a long chain from Constantinople to Pera/Galata in front). After that, the course will clearly reconstruct the various phases of the siege and the final battle, illustrating the findings of the research conducted by the chair of Byzantinistics at Roma Tre and corroborated by articles published and presentations given in national and international scientific contexts. These findings contradict the widely held view that the victory of the Turks was inevitable, due to superior numerical strength and armament, or even due to the "will to fall" (Braudel) of an exhausted Byzantium on a political level.
For the conclusion of the course, students will have the opportunity to attend an educational trip to the Peloponnese, in particular to the archaeological site of Mystras (Unesco heritage site since 1989), organized in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Athens and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lakonia. The main purpose of the event will be to present on site to the participants various elements illustrated during the course of the lectures.
Core Documentation
MANDATORY TEXTS- S. Ronchey, Lo Stato bizantino, Torino, Einaudi, 2002
- A. Pertusi (a c. di), La caduta di Costantinopoli, 2 voll., Fondazione Lorenzo Valla / Mondadori, Milano 1976
Reference Bibliography
OPTIONAL TEXTS TO BE CHOSEN AMONG - G. Ostrogorsky, Storia dell’impero bizantino, Einaudi Tascabili 2005 - S. Runciman, Gli ultimi giorni di Costantinopoli (trad. it.), Piemme, Casale Monferrato, 1997 - AA.VV., Il mondo bizantino. III: L’Impero greco (1204-1453), a c. di A. Laiou e C. Morrisson, edizione italiana a c. di S. Ronchey e T. Braccini, Torino, Einaudi, 2013 [chapters to be chosen together with the Professor] - P. Schreiner, Costantinopoli, metropoli dai mille volti, Roma, Salerno, 2009 - S. Ronchey – T. Braccini, Il romanzo di Costantinopoli. Guida letteraria alla Roma d’Oriente, Torino, Einaudi, 2010 [chapters to be chosen together with the Professor] - A. Pertusi, Fine di Bisanzio e fine del mondo. Significato e ruolo storico delle profezie sulla caduta di Costantinopoli in Oriente e in Occidente. Edizione postuma a c. di E. Morini, Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo, Roma 1988 - S. Ronchey, L’enigma di Piero, Milano, BUR, 2017 - S. Ronchey, Malatesta/Paleologhi. Un’alleanza dinastica per rifondare Bisanzio nel quindicesimo secolo, “Byzantinische Zeitschrift” 93 (2000), ii, pp. 521-567 - S. Ronchey, Tommaso Paleologo al Concilio di Firenze, in G. Lazzi e G. Wolf (a cura di), La stella e la porpora. Il corteo di Benozzo e l’enigma del Virgilio Riccardiano. Atti del Convegno di Studi (Firenze, 17 maggio 2007), Firenze, Polistampa, 2009, pp. 135-159 - S. Ronchey, Bisanzio veramente ‘volle cadere’? Realismo politico e avventura storica da Alessio I Comneno al Mediterraneo di Braudel, “Quaderni di Storia” 52 (luglio/dicembre 2000), pp. 137-158 - S. Ronchey, Piero, Pisanello e i bizantini al concilio di Ferrara-Firenze, in Piero della Francesca e le corti italiane, catalogo della mostra, Milano, Skira, 2007, pp. 13-19 - S. Ronchey, Andrea, il rifondatore di Bisanzio. Implicazioni ideologiche del ricevimento a Roma della testa del patrono della chiesa ortodossa nella settimana santa del 1462, in M. Koumanoudi e C. Maltezou (a cura di), Dopo le due cadute di Costantinopoli (1204, 1453). Eredi ideologici di Bisanzio. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi (Venezia, 4-5 dicembre 2006), Venezia, Edizioni dell’Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini, 2008, pp. 259-272 - S. Ronchey, Il piano di salvataggio di Bisanzio in Morea, in L’Europa dopo la caduta di Costantinopoli: 29 maggio 1453. Atti del XLIV Convegno Storico Internazionale del Centro Italiano di Studi sul Basso Medioevo - Accademia Tudertina (Todi, 7-9 ottobre 2007), Spoleto, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 2008, pp. 517-531 - S. Ronchey, Orthodoxy on Sale: the Last Byzantine, and the Lost Crusade, in E. Jeffreys (ed.), Proceedings of the 21st International Congress in Byzantine Studies, London, 21-26 August 2006, I-III, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2006, I, pp. 313-344 - S. Ronchey, Un’aristocratica bizantina in fuga: Anna Notaras Paleologina, in S. Winter (a cura di), Donne a Venezia, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura – Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani, 2004, pp. 23-42 TEXTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE - E. Pears, The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks, London 1903 - G. Schlumberger, Le siège de Constantinople en 1453, Plon, Paris 1922 - D.M. Nicol, The End of the Byzantine Empire, Edward Arnold Publishers, London 1979 - D.M. Nicol, The Immortal Emperor. The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans, Cambridge University Press, 1992 - R. Crowley, 1453. The Holy War for Constantinople and the Crash of Islam and the West, Hyperion, New York 2005 - C. Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power, Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2002 (More texts to be studied in English, French and German could be decided together with the professor, who is happy to also help finding them in case of need.)Attendance
OptionalType of evaluation
Oral exam teacher profile teaching materials
Byzantine History and Civilisation LM module, which primarily targets Art History; Archaeology; Religions, Cultures, History; History and Society; Philology, Literatures and History of Antiquity students, examines the fall of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks on 29 May 1453, following fifty-five days of siege led by the young and ambitious Sultan Mehmet II Fatih.
A topographical survey of the Byzantine capital will be provided in the course: Using maps, a faithful reconstruction of the city on the eve of its fall will be presented, highlighting the defensive structures, including the great Theodosian walls, the sea walls around the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn, and the walls surrounding the imperial palace of the Blacherne.; finally, the harbour, which was barred to enemy ships in the event of an attack by stretching a long chain from Constantinople to Pera/Galata in front). After that, the course will clearly reconstruct the various phases of the siege and the final battle, illustrating the findings of the research conducted by the chair of Byzantinistics at Roma Tre and corroborated by articles published and presentations given in national and international scientific contexts. These findings contradict the widely held view that the victory of the Turks was inevitable, due to superior numerical strength and armament, or even due to the "will to fall" (Braudel) of an exhausted Byzantium on a political level.
For the conclusion of the course, students will have the opportunity to attend an educational trip to the Peloponnese, in particular to the archaeological site of Mystras (Unesco heritage site since 1989), organized in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Athens and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lakonia. The main purpose of the event will be to present on site to the participants various elements illustrated during the course of the lectures.
- S. Ronchey, Lo Stato bizantino, Torino, Einaudi, 2002
- A. Pertusi (a c. di), La caduta di Costantinopoli, 2 voll., Fondazione Lorenzo Valla / Mondadori, Milano 1976
Programme
1453: The 55 Days that Changed the World (“Ci sono luoghi in cui la storia è inevitabile come un incidente automobilistico — luoghi in cui la geografia provoca la storia. Uno è Istanbul, alias Costantinopoli, alias Bisanzio”. Iosif Brodskij)Byzantine History and Civilisation LM module, which primarily targets Art History; Archaeology; Religions, Cultures, History; History and Society; Philology, Literatures and History of Antiquity students, examines the fall of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks on 29 May 1453, following fifty-five days of siege led by the young and ambitious Sultan Mehmet II Fatih.
A topographical survey of the Byzantine capital will be provided in the course: Using maps, a faithful reconstruction of the city on the eve of its fall will be presented, highlighting the defensive structures, including the great Theodosian walls, the sea walls around the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn, and the walls surrounding the imperial palace of the Blacherne.; finally, the harbour, which was barred to enemy ships in the event of an attack by stretching a long chain from Constantinople to Pera/Galata in front). After that, the course will clearly reconstruct the various phases of the siege and the final battle, illustrating the findings of the research conducted by the chair of Byzantinistics at Roma Tre and corroborated by articles published and presentations given in national and international scientific contexts. These findings contradict the widely held view that the victory of the Turks was inevitable, due to superior numerical strength and armament, or even due to the "will to fall" (Braudel) of an exhausted Byzantium on a political level.
For the conclusion of the course, students will have the opportunity to attend an educational trip to the Peloponnese, in particular to the archaeological site of Mystras (Unesco heritage site since 1989), organized in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Athens and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lakonia. The main purpose of the event will be to present on site to the participants various elements illustrated during the course of the lectures.
Core Documentation
MANDATORY TEXTS- S. Ronchey, Lo Stato bizantino, Torino, Einaudi, 2002
- A. Pertusi (a c. di), La caduta di Costantinopoli, 2 voll., Fondazione Lorenzo Valla / Mondadori, Milano 1976
Reference Bibliography
OPTIONAL TEXTS TO BE CHOSEN AMONG - G. Ostrogorsky, Storia dell’impero bizantino, Einaudi Tascabili 2005 - S. Runciman, Gli ultimi giorni di Costantinopoli (trad. it.), Piemme, Casale Monferrato, 1997 - AA.VV., Il mondo bizantino. III: L’Impero greco (1204-1453), a c. di A. Laiou e C. Morrisson, edizione italiana a c. di S. Ronchey e T. Braccini, Torino, Einaudi, 2013 [chapters to be chosen together with the Professor] - P. Schreiner, Costantinopoli, metropoli dai mille volti, Roma, Salerno, 2009 - S. Ronchey – T. Braccini, Il romanzo di Costantinopoli. Guida letteraria alla Roma d’Oriente, Torino, Einaudi, 2010 [chapters to be chosen together with the Professor] - A. Pertusi, Fine di Bisanzio e fine del mondo. Significato e ruolo storico delle profezie sulla caduta di Costantinopoli in Oriente e in Occidente. Edizione postuma a c. di E. Morini, Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo, Roma 1988 - S. Ronchey, L’enigma di Piero, Milano, BUR, 2017 - S. Ronchey, Malatesta/Paleologhi. Un’alleanza dinastica per rifondare Bisanzio nel quindicesimo secolo, “Byzantinische Zeitschrift” 93 (2000), ii, pp. 521-567 - S. Ronchey, Tommaso Paleologo al Concilio di Firenze, in G. Lazzi e G. Wolf (a cura di), La stella e la porpora. Il corteo di Benozzo e l’enigma del Virgilio Riccardiano. Atti del Convegno di Studi (Firenze, 17 maggio 2007), Firenze, Polistampa, 2009, pp. 135-159 - S. Ronchey, Bisanzio veramente ‘volle cadere’? Realismo politico e avventura storica da Alessio I Comneno al Mediterraneo di Braudel, “Quaderni di Storia” 52 (luglio/dicembre 2000), pp. 137-158 - S. Ronchey, Piero, Pisanello e i bizantini al concilio di Ferrara-Firenze, in Piero della Francesca e le corti italiane, catalogo della mostra, Milano, Skira, 2007, pp. 13-19 - S. Ronchey, Andrea, il rifondatore di Bisanzio. Implicazioni ideologiche del ricevimento a Roma della testa del patrono della chiesa ortodossa nella settimana santa del 1462, in M. Koumanoudi e C. Maltezou (a cura di), Dopo le due cadute di Costantinopoli (1204, 1453). Eredi ideologici di Bisanzio. Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi (Venezia, 4-5 dicembre 2006), Venezia, Edizioni dell’Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini, 2008, pp. 259-272 - S. Ronchey, Il piano di salvataggio di Bisanzio in Morea, in L’Europa dopo la caduta di Costantinopoli: 29 maggio 1453. Atti del XLIV Convegno Storico Internazionale del Centro Italiano di Studi sul Basso Medioevo - Accademia Tudertina (Todi, 7-9 ottobre 2007), Spoleto, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 2008, pp. 517-531 - S. Ronchey, Orthodoxy on Sale: the Last Byzantine, and the Lost Crusade, in E. Jeffreys (ed.), Proceedings of the 21st International Congress in Byzantine Studies, London, 21-26 August 2006, I-III, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2006, I, pp. 313-344 - S. Ronchey, Un’aristocratica bizantina in fuga: Anna Notaras Paleologina, in S. Winter (a cura di), Donne a Venezia, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura – Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani, 2004, pp. 23-42 TEXTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE - E. Pears, The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks, London 1903 - G. Schlumberger, Le siège de Constantinople en 1453, Plon, Paris 1922 - D.M. Nicol, The End of the Byzantine Empire, Edward Arnold Publishers, London 1979 - D.M. Nicol, The Immortal Emperor. The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans, Cambridge University Press, 1992 - R. Crowley, 1453. The Holy War for Constantinople and the Crash of Islam and the West, Hyperion, New York 2005 - C. Imber, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power, Palgrave Macmillan, New York 2002 (More texts to be studied in English, French and German could be decided together with the professor, who is happy to also help finding them in case of need.)Attendance
OptionalType of evaluation
Oral exam