History 101 Library Activities: Nika Riots
Nika Riots - Starting Places
Where was Nika and why was it the scene of a riot?
Print Sources:
From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565: The Transformation of Ancient Rome - DG 311 L44 2013 (Note - Last part of the book is on the Age of Justinian and gives an overview on the era that led up to the riots).
The Oxford History of Byzantium - DF 552 O94 2002
Electronic Sources:
- From East Rome to Byzantium, 395–641 CE From the World History Encyclopedia.
Nika Riots - Citizens and Chariot Teams
Rioting after your sports team of choice wins or loses that key game is nothing new and from the perspective of the Emperor, better they riot about sports than the high taxes they're shelling out to rebuild the Roman Empire. Or are they rioting about taxes after all? How does the little guy benefit, or fail to benefit, from Justinian's actions?
Print Sources:
Constantinople in the Age of Justinian - DR 729 D7 1991
Electronic Sources:
- Chariot Racing From the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, includes history of the sport and concludes with paragraphs about Nika.
- Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity Especially the final chapter: "Spectacle and Sport in Constantinople in the Sixth Century CE."
Nika Riots - Justinian and Theodora
Emperor Justinian had conquered back a good part of the Roman Empire, but at what cost? His wife and Empress Theodora wants him to take a hard line with the rioters, and by hard line we're talking about slaughter en masse. What are the consequences of their actions? Who hired these two, anyway?
Print Sources:
The Emperor Justinian and the Byzantine Empire - DF 572 E83 2005
Justinian: The Last Roman Emperor - DF 572 B 34 2002
Theodora: Portrait in a Byzantine Landscape - DF 572.5 B7 1984
Electronic Sources:
- The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian Biography of the life of Justinian's famous wife.
- Justinian From the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome.
- Theodora I, Empress From "The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students."
Nika Riots - Primary Sources
Print Sources:
The Secret History: With Related Texts - DF 572 P813 2010 (Has a section on the Nika Riots).
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