This episode tackles listeners’ questions about Byzantine ethnic identities. How do groups within the Byzantine Empire change their identities? How are new identities born and old ones lost? How did the ancient Greeks become Romans and when did that become an ethnic identity? Where does genealogy and biology fit into all this? What happened to the Romans of the west? What did the Byzantines call their state and language? What does modern Romania have to do with Byzantine Romanía?
Joining Byzantium & Friends for this episode is Brian Swain, Assistant Professor of History at Kennesaw State University. He specializes in Late Antiquity (c. 300 – 700 AD), focusing on the interactions between Romans and Barbarians (i.e., Germanic), including questions of ethnicity and identity. You can follow him on Academia.edu.
Byzantium & Friends is hosted by Anthony Kaldellis, Professor and Chair of the Department of Classics at The Ohio State University. You can follow him on his personal website.
You can listen to more episodes of Byzantium & Friends through Podbean.
Top Image: Byzantine Emperor Theophilos (r. 829-842), surrounded by dignitaries of his court. Illustration from the Madrid Skylitzes. Fol. 42v
This episode tackles listeners’ questions about Byzantine ethnic identities. How do groups within the Byzantine Empire change their identities? How are new identities born and old ones lost? How did the ancient Greeks become Romans and when did that become an ethnic identity? Where does genealogy and biology fit into all this? What happened to the Romans of the west? What did the Byzantines call their state and language? What does modern Romania have to do with Byzantine Romanía?
Joining Byzantium & Friends for this episode is Brian Swain, Assistant Professor of History at Kennesaw State University. He specializes in Late Antiquity (c. 300 – 700 AD), focusing on the interactions between Romans and Barbarians (i.e., Germanic), including questions of ethnicity and identity. You can follow him on Academia.edu.
You can listen to more episodes of Byzantium & Friends through Podbean.
Top Image: Byzantine Emperor Theophilos (r. 829-842), surrounded by dignitaries of his court. Illustration from the Madrid Skylitzes. Fol. 42v
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