Andy Chen
Harvard University, History, Graduate Student
- Central European University, Medieval Studies, Graduate StudentUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, Medieval Studies, UndergraduateUniversity of Cambridge, History, Undergraduateadd
- Interested in Byzantine military management/social organization, rhetoric, religious culture, and ideologies surrounding warfare.edit
- Dimiter Angelovedit
MA thesis, Budapest 2019 I offer in this paper a new perspective of Leo's ideal general in the Taktika. I argue for a social management dimension of the Taktika and contextualise the development of the archetype of the virtuous and pious... more
MA thesis, Budapest 2019
I offer in this paper a new perspective of Leo's ideal general in the Taktika. I argue for a social management dimension of the Taktika and contextualise the development of the archetype of the virtuous and pious general as it eventually appears in the Taktika in relation to the manual's literary tradition. By doing so, I demonstrate both the foundations and innovations of the ideal general of the Taktika as a tool of imperial control and challenge previous analyses of the Taktika’s contents.
Following a historical review of Leo’s reign and literary production, in Chapter 1 I focus on literary influences and the lineage of the ideal general, with discussion on the genre of military writing in Antiquity and Byzantium and the particular tradition in which the Taktika is situated. In Chapter 2, I examine the Taktika as a paraenetic text and provide close readings of its representations of moral virtues.
I offer in this paper a new perspective of Leo's ideal general in the Taktika. I argue for a social management dimension of the Taktika and contextualise the development of the archetype of the virtuous and pious general as it eventually appears in the Taktika in relation to the manual's literary tradition. By doing so, I demonstrate both the foundations and innovations of the ideal general of the Taktika as a tool of imperial control and challenge previous analyses of the Taktika’s contents.
Following a historical review of Leo’s reign and literary production, in Chapter 1 I focus on literary influences and the lineage of the ideal general, with discussion on the genre of military writing in Antiquity and Byzantium and the particular tradition in which the Taktika is situated. In Chapter 2, I examine the Taktika as a paraenetic text and provide close readings of its representations of moral virtues.
Research Interests:
The purpose of this undergraduate project is to examine Byzantine Orthodox concepts of sacred space the military. I draw from a variety of 7th to 12th century Byzantine textual and art historical sources addressing military strategy and... more
The purpose of this undergraduate project is to examine Byzantine Orthodox concepts of sacred space the military. I draw from a variety of 7th to 12th century Byzantine textual and art historical sources addressing military strategy and ritual in order to explore the practice of religion in Byzantine armies and describe the matrices by which sacred space can be said to be constructed and experienced the military settings.