Natalya Zhigalova: "There Are Still Discoveries Ahead of Us"

09:32, December 28, 2021

Historian discussed Russia's relationship with Byzantium, King Arthur, and the careers of history graduates

It's My City, together with the company "Brusnika" in the series of materials "Science in the City" continues to tell about the Ural scientists. This time Natalya Zhigalova, Associate Professor at the Department of History of Ancient World and Middle Ages at Ural Federal University, recalled how she got into history school because of fantasy novels; she told us about whether to expect new discoveries in historical science and what career could be built on a historian's education. She also explained what Russia has in common with Byzantium and why the inhabitants of that medieval country would be very surprised to learn what they are called today.

Can there still be discoveries in history? 

- It is not uncommon to hear that everything in historical science is studied and understood, but in reality this is not correct. There are always aspects of any event or process that have not yet been explored. That is why there are so many gaps and ambiguities in history. This is partly due to the fact that not all sources have been published or deciphered. In other cases, on the contrary, there is a mass of subjective evidence, but its reliability and informational potential may be questionable. For example, we know a great deal about the twentieth century from public documents and living people, but the study of such sources must be conducted using special methods and approaches, because sometimes the data from these sources contradict each other.

Modern science offers new methods of solving these problems. If earlier the positivist concept in historiography, which implied the study of facts, was popular, nowadays the imagological approach [from the Latin "imago" - image] is used quite effectively. It is a method based on images and perceptions. With its help, we explore different points of view on problems, take into account the subjectivity of evidence, and understand the reasons for certain statements and attitudes. It is much more interesting and challenging than examining bare facts taken out of context.

And some ancient sources can now be looked at in a new way due, for example, to radiocarbon analysis. Also with a special scanner, scientists scan old manuscripts and sometimes find second or even third layers with texts and images under them.

What can people do after graduating from the Faculty of History?

- Research and teaching are not the only things one can do after the Faculty of History, although, for me personally, they are the most interesting. During the school years, when I told my family that I was going to study history, they immediately started asking me what I would do after graduation. For my family, it was a tragedy. My mother and grandmother argued that it was necessary to get a high-paying job, and then study what you like, but I insisted on my own and never regretted it.

The Faculty of History prepares specialists of the widest possible profile. We are taught to process and analyze huge amounts of information, which is an important skill for many professions.

Our graduates become managers in various organizations, officials in government agencies, there are also journalists, employees of museums, archives and researchers, university professors and teachers.

After I finished my bachelor's degree in 2012, I went to master's program and worked as a school teacher at the same time. I taught classes in the morning, and then I ran to the university and had time for classes, which were held in the afternoon. After I finished my master's degree, I went to graduate school, then defended my thesis in 2019, and now I teach students and do science myself.

From King Arthur to the History of Byzantium

- My first coursework was about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In fact, it is not entirely known whether this king really existed or not. Most likely, the cycle of legends is based on a collective image, copied from several lords at once. The medieval monk Galfrid of Monmouth played a major role in creating this image. It is his work that I have analyzed, dealing with the themes of time and space.

In my second year I did not continue this research. It turned out that in order to fully engage in science in the Department of History of Ancient World and Middle Ages, it is necessary to turn to the study of the history of Byzantium, because it is the study of this state that most of the staff of our department specializes in.

At first I tried to maneuver between topics, going into other territories and eras: I wrote, for example, about the late Crusades. I hoped that the principle of "love comes with habit " would work, and, surprisingly, by the end of my bachelor's degree I really liked Byzantium. When I understood all the processes and the participants in the events, I realized that it is impossible not to love this period.

What Byzantium was, when it existed, and why the Byzantines themselves did not know about it

- The history of Byzantium begins with the division of the Roman Empire in 395 into Western and Eastern parts. At that time Rome was often attacked by barbarians, the city could not cope with its enemies and was no longer able to govern its vast territories. By the decision of Emperor Theodosius I the power in the state was divided between his sons: Arcadius began to rule in Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Empire, and Honorius in Mediolanum (modern Milan). Thus, the Western Roman Empire, which fell to barbarians about a hundred years later, and the Eastern Empire, which lasted more than a millennium and became known as Byzantium.

Throughout the entire existence of the Eastern Roman Empire, the citizens themselves did not consider themselves Byzantines, and they certainly did not call their country Byzantium. They were called Romeans, that is, Romans. The name "Byzantium" appeared much later in the works of historians of modern times.

It is associated with the fact that Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Empire, was founded on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium (with the stress on the second syllable).

Byzantium covers an era of more than a millennium, so each historian has his own specialization in all these processes. I deal with a period of about 70 years between the end of the fourteenth and the first half of the fifteenth centuries. This, in fact, is the specificity of the profession - to study the phenomena or processes of a certain period in a variety of aspects: social, cultural, political.

The fall of Byzantium in simple words

- The end of the fourteenth century and the first half of the fifteenth century is the final stage in the history of Byzantine Empire. In 1453, Byzantium fell under the attacks of the Osman army led by Sultan Mehmed II, who went down in history as the Conqueror. It was in every aspect a crisis period in Byzantine history and a time when the citizens of the state developed various mechanisms for surviving under the conditions of a tense foreign policy environment.

Before the real clash with the Osmans in the fifteenth century, Byzantines perceived the heterodox invaders as a trial or punishment for sins, seeing them as some abstract evil. But as contact with the Turks grew closer and closer, the empire's citizens looked at their enemies differently.

I wrote my thesis based on the testimonies of Byzantine authors of this era: I studied letters, rhetorical works and historical works. This requires knowledge of ancient languages, of course, when working with Byzantine sources, it is ancient Greek. Modern European languages are also important; without the ability to read English, French, and German, it is impossible to know what other scholars have written on the subject before you.

What to read to learn more about Byzantium?

- The history of Byzantium may be of interest not only to professional historians, but also to a broad audience. Russia inherited a great deal from this medieval empire. Our traditions in iconography, temple architecture, and monumental painting come from there. Russia adopted Christianity from Byzantium, the ancient Russian dukes married Byzantine princesses, so the histories of our countries are closely related.

To learn about the history of Byzantium, I would suggest starting with popular academic works. For example, Judith Herrin's Byzantium. "The Amazing Life of the Medieval Empire" or Charles Diehl and his "Byzantine Portraits".