The transformation of the Roman world, c.300-900

This course will examine aspects of these issues and their cultural and socio-historical impetus through the study of the demise of the western Roman Empire, the rise of Byzantium as its eastern counterpart and of the various nation states, the folk movements from beyond the lines of ‘barbarian’ peoples from the Vandals to the Vikings, and the attempts to revive the imperial status in the West by the Carolingians. The impact of the Christian and Islamic faiths and of the Jewish diaspora will also be key themes. What was the nature of continuity, expressed through concepts such as ‘the age of King Arthur’ and by the romanophilia of the Ostrogoths? Why were some of the new regimes successful and others not? Where did integration work and where and why did it not? In short, how did the then known world align in trajectories that still shape our world? Big questions for a short course, but let us make a start…

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