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Coinage and the Economy in the Byzantine World

The study of Byzantine coins is primarily the study of the movement of people, commodities and ideas within and outside the borders of the Byzantine commonwealth. By placing coins in their geographical, historical and archaeological background, we will trace the commercial, and military land- and sea-routes, the extent of the monetary sector in the cities and the countryside, the political and cultural interchange between areas, and the circulation of various mint issues in the Eastern and Western Medieval Europe.

During the first semester, the course aims to discuss the history and development of the Byzantine coinage and economic history from the currency reform of Anastasius (AD 498) to the early Macedonian dynasty (AD 867-969).

By the end of the first semester we will be able to:

identify and deal with actual coins from the Barber Institute Coin Collection and work with the Institute’s extensive numismatic resources

discuss the origins and development of Byzantine coinage

develop an interdisciplinary approach by a) placing coins in their geographical, socio-economic and archaeological context b) discussing the economy of the Byzantine world in comparison to that of Western Medieval Europe and of the Middle East

understand the role of money in the sixth century and the ‘Dark ages’ society, as well as in the period of economic expansion of the ninth and tenth centuries

 

In semester two, the course continues the examination of the Byzantine coinage and economic history from 969 to 1453. Among the subjects dealt with are:

the tenth- and eleventh-century growth of the monetary economy

Comnenian coinage and its continuation (1092-1261)

coinage in feudal Greece and the restored empire

monetary affairs in the eastern Mediterranean in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

coinage of Byzantium’s eastern and western neighbours (Armenians, Turkmen, Bulgarians, Serbs, Italians)

the relations between sigillography and numismatics

 

Teaching and Learning Methods: