2020-21

The subject matter of the course is material culture and societies during the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods and the Bronze Age throughout the Balkans and Anatolia. The aim of the course is to present in summary form matters regarding the spatial organization, architecture, burial practices and material culture of prehistoric communities during the chief periods of prehistory in the various regions in question, together with interpretations and views regarding economy, social organization and social relations.

The course presents the history of the so-called "Islamic world", i.e. those areas where Islam raised and prevailed. The course examines the periods of Islamic history from the pro-Islamic era in Arabia (6th c.) until the 16th century, when most of the Islamic territories are incorporated into    the Ottoman state. The course is historical and not theological, it deals with the history of regions conventionally called "Islamic world" and not with Islam as a religion.

From the 15th to the 18th century, Europe witnessed a series of intellectual, social and economic changes that led to the transformation of old institutions and to the creation of new. The course deals with the factors that contributed to these changes and to the ways in which European social and economic structures and dominant ideologies and beliefs changed.

The course deals with the gradual penetration by Latins of the Byzantine empire and the conquest of Byzantium by the Crusaders in 1204. It examines in detail Venetian rule in Crete, the Ionian Islands and the Peloponnese, with emphasis upon various matters regarding the administrative and social organization, relations between Orthodox and Latins, the cultural environment and the economic activity of Venetian citizens. The course rests on the examination of archival sources, which it employs to justify the various conclusions that it draws.