How Global Was the Early Medieval World? An Exploration of Worldwide Connections 500-1000 CE, lecture by Erik Hermans (Independent Scholar), Institute for the Study of the Ancient World via Zoom, October 29, 2020, 5:00–6:30 pm

This talk introduces the connections between early medieval societies that have previously been studied in isolation. From Oceania to Europe and beyond, it transcends conventional disciplinary boundaries and synthesizes parallel historiographical narratives. The period 500-1000 CE witnessed important historical developments, such as the establishment of a Southeast Asian thalassocracy by the Shailendra dynasty and the expansion of the Frankish polity under Charlemagne on the far ends of Afro-Eurasia and the consolidation of the Abbasid and Tang empires in between. This lecture integrates these contemporaneous processes and presents new insights into a neglected phase of world history, focusing on themes such as trade, migration, climate change and intellectual exchange. In doing so, this talk aims to contribute to an emerging historiographical narrative of the global pre-modern world.

Erik Hermans specializes in global intellectual history of the pre-modern world, focusing on Greek, Latin, and Arabic traditions.

Advance registration required.