Conversion and Empire: Byzantine Missionaries, Foreign Rulers, and Christian Narratives (ca. 300-900)
For a broader modern audience today, if taken somewhat journalistically, Pusicius’ story is an example that cuts along cultural and religious lines that presumably originate in ancient, political divisions and confirm a “clash of civilizations” thesis.
The Indigenous Christians of the Arabic Middle East in an Age of Crusaders, Mongols, and Mamlūks (1244-1366)
The chronological period of study is highlighted by the usurpation of the Ayyūbid-ruled Sultanate by the Baḥrī Mamlūks, while the two most important political-military events in the region were the collapse of the Crusader States and the invasion of the Mongols. This thesis will examine how events impacted on the nine Christian Confessions, treating each separately.
The Origins of the Great Schism
One of the more profound of such differences—and one which would shape the course of religious development in the eastern and western worlds—is the nature of the Latin and Greek languages.
Imperial Ideology: The Idea of the Universal Christian Empire in Late Antiquity
This paper examines the evolution of Christian universalist ideologies from the year 300 AD to about 800 AD, with a focus on their development in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
Twelve-year project to research the Chronographia of John Malalas begins
The Chronographia of John Malalas has been considered one of the most important historical sources for the study of Byzantium.
Holy Land, Holy Bones, Holy Image: Byzantine Pilgrimage Art
In Christianity that’s when pilgrimage, sacred bones, holy people and holy places were defined. That’s when the rules were set, and the rules that were sent in those three centuries are the same rules that apply now, and that is same crucible of time and location out of which emerged the icon
Hot Holiday Reads!
Put down those turkey left-overs and check out some of these hot holiday reads!
The Schism that never was: Old Norse views on Byzantium and Russia
It is my contention that, in the general view of Icelanders, the Christian world was united, ’catholic’ in the original meaning of the word. Christianity in the East was thought to have similar roots to Christianity in Iceland and differences between the religions of Nordic and Eastern people were considered insignificant.
“The English Exodus to Ionia”: The Identity of the Anglo-Saxon Varangians in the Service of Alexios Comnenos I (1081-1118)
Most historians who focus on this period have examined the effects of the Norman invasion and its aftermath on the island itself, but few have studied the journeys of those who left England in search for new opportunities in foreign lands.
Was Innovation unwanted in Byzantium?
This paper aims at answering these questions by studying Byzantine sources. After some preliminary reflections on the study of innovation in historical writing, it looks briefly at the Byzantine explanation of innovation in Byzantine lexica. Then it considers if the Byzantine understanding of innovation in politics, that is to say innovation as rebellion, was as monolithic as modern scholarship seems to believe.
Catastrophe and Conspiracy: The evidence of the sixth century Byzantine sources for the AD 536 environmental event
Furthermore, as the historical record shows, the history of mankind did not end in 536 AD. To argue that the environmental event plunged the developed world into the Middle Ages is farfetched from a historical point of view.
The Papacy and the Imperial Court in the Aftermath of the Acacian Schism
Viezure’s paper examines how the Papacy portrayed their efforts to end the Acacian Schism, in what she describes as ‘an attempt to paint the image of a powerful Pope.’
John Lydus’ Political Message and the Byzantine Image of the Ideal Ruler
What makes a great emperor? This was one of the questions addressed by John Lydus, a 6th century Byzantine administrator and writer, whose work On Powers examined the rule of previous Roman emperors.
West versus East: the Sixth Century Literary Sources and Justinian’s Wars
Most scholars of the Byzantine empire have given an important role to Justinian’s invasion of Italy during the sixth century – it has been envisioned as a grand reconquest of the West by the East.
The Medievalverse – Boston 2012 – Day 1
We are in Boston, Massachusetts to cover two history conferences: The Haskins Society Conference and the 38th Byzantine Studies Conference.
The sea republic of Genoa and the conquest of Black Sea in 1261
I’m going to explain how Genoa conquered the Black Sea in 1261, which was the most important, or better, only road to Asia
Cultural Interactions in Cyprus 1191-1571: Byzantine and Italian Art
Cyprus was one of the most important ports of the Byzantine Empire, and became even more significant for the control of the Eastern Mediterranean after the conquest of Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks following the fall of Manzikert in 1071.
Kassia: A female hymnographer of the 9th century
It’s obvious that the Byzantine female hymnography was not flourished especially in Byzantium.
The Empress in Late Antiquity and the Roman Origins of the Imperial Feminine
This thesis seeks to explore the construction and conceptualization of the Byzantine imperial feminine, up until the sixth century AD.
Iconography of the Unicorn from India to the Italian Middle Ages
The earliest unicorn figure discovered in Iran dates to the proto-Iranian cultureof Amlash (9th-8th century B.C.). This consists of a small bronze statue representinga goat with a frontal horn. The unicorn measures four centimeters in height and sixand a half centimeters in length and was part of some grave goods
Byzantium and the Arabs from the VIIth to XIth Century
During the seventh and the eighth centuries, the Arabs built their own empire within the eastern and western boundaries of the Byzantine Empire, obliging the two powers to coexist through war and in peace. How did they live together, or near each other?
A Late Byzantine Swan Song: Maximos Neamonites and His Letters
Maximos Neamonites’ epistulae depict their author as a schoolmaster of primary education active in the second and the third decades of the fourteenth-century Constantinople (fl.1315–1325), true to generic conventions (and the realities of life), eking out a meager income on the basis of his teaching activities, and occasionally lifting his pen to interfere on behalf of others.
Procopius of Caesarea and the Emperor Justinian
My purpose is to examine how Justinian appeared to one contemporary observer, the historian Procopius of Caesarea
Sex and Political Legitimacy: an Examination of Byzantine Empresses (399 -1056 c.e.)
The intent of this paper was to examine another aspect of the life of Byzantine Empresses: their ability to assert political power.