Nathan Websdale

Research Topic

'The Contraction of the Rhomaíoi'

Performative Ethnicity and Social Identification in the Byzantine World, c.1200-c.1230.

My doctoral research looks at the tumultuous years of Byzantium before and after the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade. I am primarily interested in the relationship between province and capital as well as depictions of ethnic 'otherisation' and projected ethnogenesis within the empire in correlation to Byzantium's 'Roman' identity undergoing a period of redefinition and contraction. With this in mind I analyse and discuss the contrast between elite Byzantines' ecumenical ideology compared to their increasingly narrow sense of community.

I graduated with a BA (First Class) in History from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2016 and an MA (Merit) in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies from the Intercollegiate University of London in 2017. I conducted extensive independent research in Euboea, Greece while working as a foreign languages' teacher as preparation for doctoral study.

Supervisor: Dr Ida Toth

https://oxford.academia.edu/NathanWebsdale

President, Oxford University Byzantine Society (2022-2023)

Graduate Outreach Tutor, Faculty of History