NYU Historical Diversions Barbarians Invaders Assimilate Into the Empires Discussion

Primary Sources:

• ‘Roman Envoys at the Court of Attila (448/449)’ by Priscus
• ‘Baghdad (Late Ninth Century)’ by Al-Ya‘qûbî (d. 897-898)
• ‘On the Characteristics of Different Countries (Late Tenth Century)’ by al-Muqaddasi (b. 946-991)
• ‘Ghana and the Customs of Its Inhabitants’ by Al-Bakri (b. 1040 – d. 1094)

Secondary Sources:

• ‘The Foundations of Christian Society in Western Europe’ by Bentley
• ‘Postimperial Worlds: Problems of Empires in Eurasia and Africa, cs. 200 to ca. 700 C.E.’ by Armesto

I just want to remind you that when we read primary sources we should be careful about these points:

• Who is the author?
• Is there any bias dependent on the author’s worldview?
• What is the date for the source?
• What is the place that the source was created?
• Who was the audience of the author?

Please chose 2 questions and answer them in 250-300 words. While you are answering the questions, please pay attention to the points that I wrote above.

• In what ways did the ‘Barbarians’/invaders try to assimilate into the empires they overthrew?

• Please compare ‘the successor states’ that we learned in the previous weeks with the new empires that we are learning this week. What are the similarities and differences? Why? (Please read the secondary sources carefully and consider the lectures)

• How did Priscus describe Attila’s court? How was the image of Attila depicted in the document? What do we learn about ‘his people’ from this document?

• How does al-Ya‘qûbî describe Baghdad? Why do you think he talks about Baghdad in the way that he does? What do you think about al-Muqaddasi’s short text?

• Please focus on the text about Ghana. What were the major features of the West African state? What were the major features of the West African economy? What is the most interesting part for you in this text?

• Reflect on all of the primary sources in a thoughtful way. You can write about what you learn from these texts, what you find very interesting or you can write about anything you want to share with your friends and me about these sources. But please tell us why these sources are important for historians.

Also, ask a question at the end of your response.