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Byzantium Essay

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  Quote Justinian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Byzantium Essay
    Posted: 15-Nov-2005 at 20:58

I have a term paper to write for one of my history classes.  I'm going to write about byzantium although I am undecided as to what specifically.  I am leaning towards explaining the 4th crusade or the successors of Justinian and how their reigns set the tone for the byzantine empire.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."--Thomas Mann

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  Quote Belisarius Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Nov-2005 at 00:14
If you're feeling a little lazy, then Justinian himself would be the most logical topic. He is perhaps the only Byzantine emperor that included in every history book, and so you won't have a lack of sources.

As for the 4th Crusade, the subject is a little broad. There is the cause of the event, the intentions of the event, as well as the event itself to talk about.
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  Quote Jazz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Nov-2005 at 01:05
Or - if you are feeling a little adventurous:  Do something based on the collapse of Meditteranean unity after the 602 mutiny.
  • The mutiny itself, the installation of Phokas
  • The collapse of the Danube frontier and the fortification lines
  • The Persian invasions
  • Heraklios's coup d'etat
  • the counter attack (one might term "the Crusade before the Crusades"), the use of religion as propoganda, and the restoration of the True Cross in Jerusalem
  • The Islamic surprise.
If you think about it, it is quite a series of events within a short period (from 602 until until the 645 final evacuation of Alexandria - all within 43 years).  Imagine the sense of panic within the empire as calamity after calamity befalls the realm, acompained by the permanent loss of the Levant and Egypt.  Heraklios himself, a man who fought so hard to achieve all the victories of the Great War, only to see everything collapse before his eyes.....

Again, if you are feeling adventurous..
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  Quote Justinian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Nov-2005 at 23:40
Any resources you would recommend for such a topic?
"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."--Thomas Mann

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  Quote Jazz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-Nov-2005 at 04:20
Byzantium, the Early Centuries,  by John Julius Norwich

Byzantium, the Bridge from Antiquity to the Middle Ages by Michael Angold

and for more indepth:

The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453 by Dimitri Obolensky 
The last one does tend to concentrate more on the Balkans area, but the collapse of the Danube frontier, with the incursions of the Avars and Slavs, and the de-urbanization of the Empire (contraction of urban cities to small fortresses (Kastra) - except for Constantinople of course) is underrated.  This era should make the true end of the age of Antiquity, not the convienient 476 Fall of Rome date, and the start of the Middle Ages.

I'm sure my esteemed collegues here will give other options as well.
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  Quote Justinian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17-Nov-2005 at 20:37
Thanks.  I need at least three non-internet sources; those books you suggested sound excellent. 
"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."--Thomas Mann

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