AN IN-DEPTH METHODOLOGY FOR STUDYING HISTORIOGRAPHY IN SCHOOL USING THE EXAMPLE OF THE THEME "LYDIA AND SARDIS: FROM ANCIENT MYTH TO CHRISTIAN SYMBOL"

УГЛУБЛЕННАЯ МЕТОДИКА ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ИСТОРИОГРАФИИ В ШКОЛЕ НА ПРИМЕРЕ ТЕМЫ «ЛИДИЯ И САРДЫ: ОТ АНТИЧНОГО МИФА К ХРИСТИАНСКОМУ СИМВОЛУ»

Нукушов Руслан Магомедович

магистрант, Белгородский государственный национально исследовательский университет,

РФ, г. Белгород

ABSTRACT

The article is devoted to the development of an in-depth methodology for studying ancient and early Byzantine historiography within the school curriculum, using the theme "Lydia and Sardis" as a case study. The author considers historiography as a key tool for developing students' critical thinking and holistic historical consciousness. The proposed approach is based on a comprehensive analysis of primary sources, enhanced by interdisciplinary connections and modern digital visualization tools. The methodology includes a system of practical tasks aimed at developing research skills and is differentiated according to the age characteristics of students.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Статья посвящена разработке углубленной методики изучения античной и ранневизантийской историографии в рамках школьного курса на примере темы «Лидия и Сарды». Автор рассматривает историографию как ключевой инструмент формирования критического мышления и целостного исторического сознания учащихся. В основе предлагаемого подхода лежит комплексный анализ первоисточников, усиленный междисциплинарными связями и современными цифровыми инструментами визуализации. Методика предусматривает систему практических заданий, направленных на развитие исследовательских навыков, и дифференцирована с учетом возрастных особенностей школьников.

Keywords: historiography, history teaching methodology, ancient history, critical thinking, interdisciplinary approach.

Ключевые слова: историография, методика преподавания истории, античная история, критическое мышление, междисциплинарный подход.

Teaching historiography within the school history curriculum represents a complex and multifaceted pedagogical task that extends far beyond simply familiarizing students with the opinions of historians of the past. It is a process aimed at forming students' holistic historical consciousness, in which understanding events is inseparable from recognizing the methods of their reconstruction and interpretation. In essence, studying historiography transforms history from a static set of dates and names into a dynamic intellectual laboratory, where every assertion about the past is tested for validity, examined from different angles, and linked to the broad cultural and ideological context of the era. Such an approach requires from the teacher not only deep subject knowledge but also mastery of an arsenal of methodological techniques that make the abstract concepts of source analysis accessible and engaging for students of different ages. An ideal model for practicing these techniques is a substantive yet chronologically and geographically focused theme, such as the history of Lydia and its capital Sardis in the ancient and early Byzantine tradition, which, like a magnifying glass, allows for the examination of the universal mechanisms of creating historical narratives.

The central element around which all educational work should be built is the students' direct interaction with the texts of primary sources. However, this interaction cannot be chaotic; it requires a careful selection of contrasting fragments that demonstrate different types of historical discourse. Thus, immersion in the ancient tradition is usefully begun by comparing three fundamentally different optics. The geographical and administrative optic of Strabo [8], viewing Lydia as a province with specific resources, roads, and cities useful for Roman administration, introduces students to a pragmatic, systematizing view of history. Here it is important to draw students' attention to the very language of description: how the terms used by Strabo reflect the imperial logic of subjugating and classifying space. A completely different task is addressed by the moral-didactic discourse of Plutarch [4-6], for whom the fall of King Croesus is not a political event but a philosophical parable about the vanity of earthly greatness and the importance of inner virtue. Working with such texts teaches one to distinguish the core of a historical fact from its subsequent literary and ethical processing, showing how the same event can serve different semantic purposes. Finally, the politico-historical works of Tacitus [3] or Appian [1] present Lydia as an actor in high politics, whether it be receiving aid after an earthquake or participating in the Wars of the Diadochi. Analysis of these texts allows for the identification of persistent stereotypes and value judgments (like characterizing the Lydians as "unreliable allies"), behind which lie specific ideological stances of Rome.

The transition to the early Byzantine period opens up for students an even more complex process—the total recoding of the past within the framework of a new, Christian worldview. Here it is useful to contrast several strategies for dealing with the ancient heritage. Eusebius of Caesarea in his "Ecclesiastical History"[2] employs a strategy of replacement: the pagan capital Sardis is transformed into the site of the Christian feat of Bishop Melito and the martyrs Carpus and Papylus. The past ceases to be self-valuable; it becomes a preface to the history of salvation, and its value is determined by the degree of connection to the emerging church tradition. John Chrysostom uses a different strategy—one of rhetorical instrumentalization[7]. The figure of Croesus and the fall of Lydia are for him not an object of historical inquiry but a powerful polemical argument in the dispute with paganism, a vivid illustration of the futility of trusting oracles and false gods. Thus, a historical event is reduced to the level of a didactic allegory. Of particular interest is the synthetic strategy of John Malalas, who in his "Chronography" attempts to fuse into a single providentialist whole pagan myths, biblical prophecies, and data from secular history. His work is a striking example of how historical narrative becomes the handmaiden of theology, and chronology is subordinated to the logic of divine providence. Working with these texts requires from students special attention to the frame of reference in which the author places events: what is the driving force of history for him—the will of emperors, moral law, or Divine Providence?

However, any work with texts will remain speculative if it is not supported by a strong visual and material context. Understanding historiographical constructs is impossible without immersion in the reality that these constructs describe or, conversely, ignore. Therefore, the visualization system must be multi-layered and interactive. At the first, cartographic level, students work not with one but with a series of maps overlaid on each other: a physical map of Asia Minor, demonstrating natural boundaries and resources; a map of ancient trade routes, explaining Lydia's economic prosperity; a map of the administrative division of the Roman Empire; a map of the spread of Christian communities in Asia Minor by the 4th century. Such layering allows one to literally see how political, economic, and cultural spaces intersected and transformed. The second level is archaeological. A detailed analysis of photographs, plans, and reports from excavations at Sardis (the Temple of Artemis, the synagogue, Byzantine workshops) serves a critical function. It allows for a comparison of the grandiose descriptions of Croesus's wealth that have come down through literary tradition with the real, albeit impressive, material heritage. This direct confrontation between text and artifact becomes the basis for a crucial conversation about the nature of historical evidence, about the difference between a legendary topos and material reality. The third level is that of material culture: coins depicting a lion and a bull as symbols of economic sovereignty and power, gold jewelry from burial mounds speaking to social stratification, terracotta reliefs reflecting everyday beliefs. Modern digital tools—interactive maps with "layers," 3D reconstructions of Sardis, digital manuscript archives—bring this context to life, allowing students not just to learn about, but to literally "visit" the space being studied.

Huge potential for deepening understanding lies in establishing interdisciplinary connections, which break down the artificial boundaries between school subjects. Comparing historical narratives about Lydia with its image in ancient poetry and mythology (legends of Midas, Omphale) shows how cultural stereotypes are born and reinforced, later penetrating even the works of historians. Turning to art history allows one to trace how local Anatolian, Greek, Persian, and later Roman artistic influences interwove in Lydian artifacts, which is a direct reflection of complex political and cultural interactions. Analyzing the process of the region's Christianization requires drawing on knowledge from religious studies: how did pagan cults (e.g., Cybele) coexist, conflict, or synthesize with early Christian practices? Even linguistics contributes: the problem of deciphering and interpreting the Lydian language, its place among the Anatolian family, becomes a window into deep ethnogenetic and cultural processes inaccessible with a purely event-based approach.

Students' practical work should be built on the principle of ascending complexity, from mastering basic analytical operations to independent micro-research. At the initial stage, tasks involving the compilation of detailed comparative tables are effective, where not just facts from different sources are compared, but the underlying value systems, worldviews, and methods of argumentation. What is the cause of Croesus's fall for Herodotus—personal pride, divine punishment, or a strategic mistake? How does this causality change in Plutarch or John Chrysostom? Parallel to this, meticulous textual work is conducted: in a given passage, students learn to identify factual statements, value judgments, rhetorical figures, hidden quotations, and allusions. A more complex form is the organization of role-playing projects, for example, simulating a scholarly conference on a contentious issue (the Lydian origin of the Etruscans). Students, divided into groups, prepare presentations from the perspective of different scholars or even from the perspective of the ancient authors themselves, learning to formulate and defend theses based on sources. The highest form of practice for high school students becomes historical-archaeological investigations, where, based on a specially curated set of heterogeneous materials (a chronicle fragment, an excavation field report, an artifact photograph), it is necessary to reconstruct an event, explain existing contradictions, and present the results in the form of a professional historian's report.

The fundamental goal of this entire process is not the accumulation of knowledge about ancient or Byzantine historiography, but the systematic formation of critical, reflective thinking. Students must learn that any historical narrative, from the work of Herodotus to a modern textbook, is a construct created by a specific person or group at a specific time and for specific purposes. To develop this skill, applying the "five questions" method to any text about the past is useful: who is the creator, what is their purpose, for whom are they writing, on what sources or ideas are they relying, and—especially important—what are they omitting or leaving on the periphery of their story? Work on deconstructing established historical myths is no less productive. The legend of Croesus's immense wealth is an excellent example. Students, together with the teacher, can trace the genesis of this myth in Herodotus, its development in Roman rhetoric, its use by early Byzantine authors as a symbol of the vanity of the pagan world, and finally, compare it with archaeological and numismatic data. Such analysis allows one to separate literary topos from economic reality and understand the social functions this myth served in different eras. Discussions on borderline topics that have no unambiguous answers are of particular value: is Eusebius's church history [2] a continuation of the ancient historiographical tradition or its radical negation? Can one reconstruct the political history of an era relying only on Plutarch's moralizing biographies? Such questions teach tolerance for uncertainty, weighing complex arguments, and rejecting black-and-white interpretations.

It is obvious that such complex work cannot be conducted uniformly across all grades; it requires careful age adaptation. In grades 5-7, the emphasis should be on imagery, play, and emotional engagement. This could involve creating a "traveler's diary through Lydia," drawing comics based on historical anecdotes (the meeting of Solon and Croesus), interactive quests with the search for "artifacts" based on Strabo's descriptions [8], or simple quizzes based on vivid details of material culture. In grades 8-9, comparative analysis and work with cause-and-effect relationships come to the fore. Students can already work with adapted contradictory texts (for example, two opposing views on one event), compile complex timelines combining political history, cultural history, and the development of historical thought, and prepare substantive presentations about one author or monument. For grades 10-11, the possibility of genuine research activity opens up. This includes participation in seminars discussing fragments of contemporary scholarly articles, writing reviews, completing group projects on complex topics (e.g., "Constructing the Image of the 'Barbarian': Lydians in Greek Historiography"), and finally, conducting their own micro-research based on an accessible corpus of sources and literature.

Thus, an in-depth, methodologically sound study of historiography using a substantive theme like the fate of Lydia and Sardis addresses tasks fundamental to modern humanities education. It moves the student beyond the passive assimilation of ready-made truths into the active position of a researcher who knows how to ask uncomfortable questions of a text, see the author and their time behind it, and understand the conditionality and multifaceted nature of any reconstruction of the past. This complex yet fascinating intellectual experience of working with contradictory evidence, evaluating arguments, and constructing reasoned versions is a meta-subject skill of the highest value. It prepares a young person not only for understanding antiquity or Byzantium but also for a meaningful, critical, and responsible perception of the modern media and information landscape, where old rhetorical strategies honed by Tacitus and Eusebius find new life in the political narratives and public debates of the 21st century.

References:

1. Appian of Alexandria. Roman History / Appian of Alexandria. – Moscow : Nauka, 1998. – 726 p. – ISBN 5-02-010146-X.
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