090026 VO History (Byz.) (2018S)

The imperial coronation of the Frankish King Charles by the Pope at Christmas of the year 800 marked a significant change in the relations between the Byzantine Empire and the states of Western Europe: Constantinople could assume beforehand that his sole claim to the Roman Empire as the center of the Christian world also in the West was at least formally recognized. Now it was facing a power seeking equality of status. In addition, there were growing differences in the theology and practice of faith between the Eastern and Western Churches, which mingled with the dispute over ecclesiastical spheres of influence between Byzantium and the papacy from southern Italy to Eastern Europe. Economic developments led to the rise of new power factors such as the Italian maritime cities (Venice, Genoa, Amalfi, Pisa), which first sought recognition by Byzantium, but in the course of time became also competitors. At the same time, Byzantium remained a cultural and ideological model, as the distribution of Byzantine objects all the way to Iceland shows. In the 11th century, the geopolitical conditions changed significantly again, as new dangerous opponents emerged with the Normans in southern Italy and the Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor. In particular, however, the First Crusade led to an intensification of contacts, but also of the mutual perception of differences. The relationship between Byzantium and the Crusaders fluctuated between cooperation and conflict, until it finally found a (provisional) dramatic end in the conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
These events are discussed in a “global” context of developments in the medieval world. In addition to aspects of political, ecclesiastical and cultural history, questions of social, economic and environmental history are also dealt with on the basis of latest research results. The reading of original texts (in translation) and the use of pictures and maps is intended to give a vivid picture of the role of the Byzantine Empire within High Medieval Europe.