Byzantine Empire

Spanning almost 1150 years, from the accession of Constantine the Great in AD 306 to the fall of the Queen of Cities, Constantinople in 1453, the Roman-Byzantine empire saw periods both of greatness and decline, brilliance and decadence. But even in periods where its demise seemed imminent (e.g., 610, 717, 1081, 1204) it managed to recover, rebound, and thrive, demonstrating a tenacity and genius that marked it as both the heir of the valor and virtue of ancient Rome and the defender of Christendom. The two legacies often sat uneasily within its capital and countryside, but still this union of Empire and Faith, sometimes a symphony, sometimes a cacophony, animated the drama that was its history. This course, in two parts, covers the history of Byzantium, discussing its religious, political, military, cultural, and economic history; emphasizing the various emperors (from scoundrels and knaves to heroes and statesmen), patriarchs (both saints and sinners), and all the various theologians, monks, generals, and officials who fill out this drama, at once both comedy and tragedy. This course is for those interested in this great empire’s achievements and for those who wish to fill out the wastelands of their knowledge about Byzantium. It is pitched at college level, but all the same geared for high school students, especially home schooled and classical school, i.e., for those in high school who are achievers. For high school use, there is a syllabus attached, along with suggested texts. If you wish Dr. Jenkins involvement with your students, the cost would be $300, and he would meet with your student twice per section (the 27 lectures), along with grading essays and giving feedback on assignments via short meetings of 15 minutes per essay, five essays a term. If you do both terms, the cost will be $450. For both options, Dr. Jenkins will provide PDFs of the original source readings, along with short lectures introducing the students to the readings.