New Medieval Books: Byzantine History Books from 2019
Here are nine books that look at the Byzantine world, published in 2019.
Women and public space: Social codes and female presence in the Byzantine urban society of the 6th to the 8th centuries
The aim of the study is to sketch a picture of female presence in public space in the urban milieu of the Byzantine Empire in the 6th to the 8th centuries.
Finding their Voices: Women in Byzantine and Latin Christian Philosophy
But the two voices of humility and transcendence, respectively lower and higher than the discourse routinely employed by male authors, were characteristic of female medieval authors.
The Art of War from Ancient to Medieval: The Role of Byzantine Military Manuals
One question historians have been asking is how much of these Byzantine manuals are imitations of their ancient predecessors, and how much do they reflect the strategic thinking of their own period?
The Plague of Justinian may not have been that devastating, researchers suggest
Historians have long believed that the plague, which swept through the Mediterranean region in the sixth century, led to a massive loss of life, rivaling even the Black Death. However, a new study suggests that the pandemic’s effects have been exaggerated and that not enough evidence exists to show that it was devastating as many have believed.
Sixth-century Byzantine church discovered near Jerusalem
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of sixth-century Byzantine church near Jerusalem. Dedicated to an unnamed “glorious martyr”, the site is decorated with spectacular mosaic floors and Greek inscriptions.
The Geopolitics on the Silk Road: Resurveying the Relationship of the Western Türks with Byzantium through Their Diplomatic Communications
These empires attempted to take advantage of the newly shaped situation arising after such great movements strategically, each in their own interest. How did they achieve their goals and what problems were they confronted with?
Project to discover who came to Mount Athos in the Middle Ages
Zachary Chitwood of Mainz University will set up a comprehensive database that will include the inhabitants and visitors of Athos over a period of 700 years.
The First Christian Rus’ Generation: Contextualizing the Black Sea Events of 1016, 1024 and 1043
What caused the largely naval wars of 1016, 1024 and 1043 which involved commanders and rulers of Rus’ and Byzantium? Have modern interpretations of these events done justice to them?
The Shroud of Turin was in the Byzantine Empire before 1204 AD, researchers suggest
Could the Shroud of Turin have been displayed in the Byzantine Empire before the thirteenth-century? A pair of Italian scholars suggest so, basing their theory on micro-particles of gold found on the famous cloth
Diplomacy, bribery, trickery and ‘other means’: Defending the Byzantine Empire
I will try to figure out the delicate equilibrium between the appetite of the Byzantines for war, and their willingness to negotiate by ‘other means’, i.e diplomacy, or the employment of stratagems, craft, and bribery.
Trans-Saharan gold trade and Byzantine coinage
This article suggests that minting at Carthage of the Byzantine gold coins known as globular solidi was related to the acquisition of metal through developing trans-Saharan contacts.
Byzantine strategy in the East and the key role of Armenia
What were the deeper reasons that drew the super-power of the time, Byzantium, into a protracted and ‘all-out’ conflict with the Arabs of Aleppo in the middle of the 10th century?
The past and future of De Velitatione Bellica and Byzantine Guerrilla Warfare
This manual contains a great deal of seemingly plausible advice on how to engage in low-intensity warfare along the Byzantine-Islamic frontier across the Tauros and Anti-Tauros Mountains.
Byzantine painting treatises: the case of Codex Panteleimoniensis 259
This article aims to examine the material of a codex entitled Hermeneia of the Painters.
The Danger of the Soft Life: Manly and Unmanly Romans in Procopius’s Gothic War
Rather than uncovering the Goths, Byzantines, and Italians “as they really were,” this paper seeks to unearth some of the purpose and reasoning behind Procopius’s gendered depictions and ethnicizing worldview.
From peasant to Byzantine emperor: the remarkable career of Basil the ‘Macedonian’
The unexpected rise of Basil and the obscurity of his origins resulted in one of the most striking features of the history of the early Macedonian dynasty: the growth of a myth around his birth, his early life and achievements
Love, marriage and abduction in Byzantium: the epic romance of Digenes Akritas
What can an epic poem from the the 12th century tells us about love and marriage in the Byzantine world?
Magic and the Warding-off of Barbarians in Constantinople, 9th – 12th Centuries
What remains to be seen is how the populace of the middle-Byzantine Constantinople tried to ward off “barbarians” by resorting to the “magical properties” of bewitched statues.
How to criticize: The Chronicle of Constantine Manasses
Few can match the 12th century chronicler Constantine Manasses when it comes to inventive ways to criticize a ruler.
Piracy and reprisal in Byzantine waters: resolving a maritime conflict between Byzantines and Genoese at the end of the twelfth century
In 1192, Genoese and Pisan pirates under the command of a Genoese corsair pillaged Venetian ships carrying merchandise and valuable gifts for the Byzantine emperor from the Sultan of Egypt.
What was the fate of the ‘True Cross’ in the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars?
Despite the fact that there is a relative abundance of contemporary or near contemporary sources on Heraclius’ campaigns, it is hard – if not impossible – to retrace the chronology of the events leading up to the restoration of the Cross.
Protecting Against Child-Killing Demons: Uterus Amulets in the Late Antique and Byzantine Magical World
This doctoral dissertation examines medicinal-magical amulets pertaining to the uterus and the protection of women and children, the accompanying tradition of magical texts, and the mythology and folktales of demons believed to kill children and parturient women.
Over 800 medieval manuscripts to be digitised
Hundreds of medieval and early modern Greek manuscripts – including classical texts and some of the most important treatises on religion, mathematics, history, drama and philosophy – are to be digitised thanks a collaboration between Cambridge University, Heidelberg University and the Vatican Library.
