Universität Wien

070080 VO Further Historical Approaches (2025W)

Winter der Imperien. AfroEurasien zwischen Spätantiker Kleiner Eiszeit und Erster Pestpandemie, 500-800 n. Chr.

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 7 - Geschichte
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
Register/Deregister for this course

Details

Language: German

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Friday 03.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 10.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 17.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 24.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 31.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 07.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 14.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 21.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 28.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 05.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 12.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 19.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 09.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 16.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8
  • Friday 23.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 50 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 8

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Winter of Empires: AfroEurasia between the Late Antique Little Ice Age and the First Plague Pandemic, 500-800 AD.
"And in that year there was a terrible omen. (...) Since then, neither war, nor plague, nor anything else that brings death has deserted people." With these words, the Eastern Roman historian Procopius commented on the year 536 AD, when the sun disappeared behind a veil of dust for several months. Today we know that a massive volcanic eruption was responsible, which, together with another eruption in 540 and a reduction in solar activity, ushered in a significantly colder and more unstable climatic period, the "Late Antique Little Ice Age" (LALIA). These climatic fluctuations also favored the spread of pathogens from wild animals to humans. In 541, the "Justinianic Plague" broke out in Egypt, with further outbreaks following as part of the "First Plague Pandemic" until around 750 AD. Researchers, as well as the media, have repeatedly taken up these spectacular events, sometimes uncritically and mono-causally linking them to the collapse of the empires of Late Antiquity, the rise of Islam, or mass migrations throughout Eurasia. Based on the latest historical, archaeological, and natural scientific findings, and comparing them from the Atlantic to East Asia, the lecture critically examines this period and thus also introduces interdisciplinary work with various data sources for the global history of Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages.

Assessment and permitted materials

Final exam

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

No previous knowledge is expected. The final written examination is assessed according to a points system (possible total points: 100, 91-100: very good, 80-90: good, 66-79: satisfactory, 51-65: sufficient, 0-50: not sufficient). It consists of four sections with overview questions and text interpretation.

Examination topics

The basis for the examination is the content presented during the course units and the joint reading and analysis of texts. Preparation materials will always be sent electronically to the registered participants in advance of the respective unit (via Moodle).

Reading list

Introductory literature (a more comprehensive bibliography will be provided as part of the course):
Ch. Baumer, The History of Central Asia: The Age of the Silk Roads. London 2014.
L. Berger, Die Entstehung des Islam: Die ersten hundert Jahre. Munich 2016.
E. de la Vaissiere, Asie Centrale 300-850: des routes et des royaumes. Paris 2024.
F.-X. Fauvelle, The Golden Rhinoceros: Histories of the African Middle Ages. Princeton 2018.
K. Harper, The Fate of Rome - Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire. Princeton 2017.
E. Hermans (ed.), A Companion to the Global Early Middle Ages. York 2020.
J. Howard-Johnston, The Last Great War of Antiquity. Oxford 2021.
J. Howard-Johnston, Witnesses To A World Crisis: Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century. Oxford 2011.
M. E. Lewis, China's Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty. Harvard 2012.
L. K. Little (ed.), Plague and the End of Antiquity: The Pandemic of 541-750. Cambridge 2008.
M. Meier, Geschichte der Völkerwanderung: Europa, Asien und Afrika vom 3. bis zum 8. Jahrhundert n.Chr. Munich 2021.
J. Preiser-Kapeller, Der Lange Sommer und die Kleine Eiszeit. Klima, Pandemien und der Wandel der Alten Welt von 500 bis 1500 n. Chr. Vienna 2021.

Association in the course directory

EAR: Weitere Zugänge zur Geschichte.
BA Geschichte (Version 2019): PM4 Aspekte und Räume - Geschichte in Längsschnitten, VO Weitere Zugänge zur Geschichte (5 ECTS) / ZWM Weitere EAR 1 oder 2, VO Weitere Zugänge zur Geschichte (5 ECTS).
EC Historische EAR im Überblick (Version 2021): APM M1b Aspekte und Räume, VO Weitere Zugänge zur Geschichte (5 ECTS).
EC Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte: Weitere Zugänge (5 ECTS).

Last modified: Tu 07.04.2026 10:46