Module manager: Dr Rebecca Darley
Email: r.r.darley@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
The Roman Empire once stretched from the Euphrates to the Irish Sea. It furnished later European and American empires with legal, ideological and material tools of imperialism - from columns to senates to the idea of an unending contest between civilisation and barbarism. Those new empires promoted the view that the Roman Empire was a European phenomenon and that it fell in the fifth century, only to be revived after a ‘backwards’ and bleak Middle Ages. To create this narrative they had to obscure the critical importance of North Africa and West Asia to Roman power and identity and disguise the fact that the Roman Empire, its capital legally transferred to Constantinople in 330 CE, continued for another thousand years. They called these medieval Romans ‘Byzantines’ and marginalised their pivotal role in shaping the geopolitics and culture of Afro-Eurasia, a colonial historiography that we still live with today. In this module you will have the chance to explore the diverse, dynamic world of the medieval Roman/Byzantine Empire through written, visual and material sources. We will see how its changing shape and encounters with the Persian Empire, the Islamic Caliphates and European kingdoms marked the slow division of the Mediterranean, from a unified Afro-Eurasian power centre to a contested frontier between Islam and Christianity. We will explore the medieval Roman/Byzantine empire as a lens through which to understand and rethink dominant narratives of culture clash, globalism and diversity and to identify the living legacies of the Roman Empire that continue to connect and divide the world. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the history of the Roman/Byzantine Empire from a global perspective; to enable you to interpret, read and debate primary sources (textual, visual and material) associated with the Roman/Byzantine Empire; to give you experience engaging actively with the historiography of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, including debates about the legacy and continued resonance of Roman/Byzantine history today; and to support you in developing your written and oral communication skills through the analysis of Roman/Byzantine history.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically assess core narratives of medieval Roman/Byzantine history and key debates about evidence, interpretation and modern relevance.
2. Evaluate with insight a range of primary sources associated with medieval Roman/Byzantine history.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
3. Effectively apply fundamental standards and practices of historical study for research, discussion, and assessed work.
4. Communicate nuanced arguments about the medieval Roman/Byzantine past in the context of appropriate historiography.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 179.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will have the opportunity to discuss your podcast in advance of the deadline via a one-on-one meeting with your tutor, and from peers in class. You will be invited to discuss an essay plan and bibliography in a meeting with your tutor.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Podcast | 40 |
| Coursework | Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 29/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team