Program
24-29 August
This is the preliminary program of the ICBS 2026. Further changes are not possible. If you notice any mistakes, please contact us via email at program(a)icbs2026.org. The ICBS 2026 is an in-person event only.
- Sunday 23 Aug
- Monday 24 Aug
- Tuesday 25 Aug
- Wednesday 26 Aug
- Thursday 27 Aug
- Friday 28 Aug
- Saturday 29 Aug
Sunday 23 Aug
Special Events
Without Registration
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
Registration Required
Guided Tour: Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages (1/3)
Krystina Kubina, Giulia RossettoPapyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This tour is guided by the exhibition’s curators.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Pre-Registration
Arrive early, enjoy the atmosphere in the Arcaded Courtyard of the University of Vienna, and collect your conference bag and lanyard either at the pre-registration on Sunday or at the registration desk on any day of the congress, Monday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Monday 24 Aug
Special Events
Without Registration
Post-Byzantine Icons from the Metropolis of Austria (Exhibition)
Church of the Holy Trinity, Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Vienna
This exhibition shows icons from the holdings of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria. The icons were acquired in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Some of them were donated to the Metropolis by important patrons of the time and bear beautiful witness to Greek culture in the imperial city of Vienna at that time.
Ephesos – A Metropolis of the Ancient World and Modern Archaeological Project
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
For over 130 years, the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW has investigated Ephesos, a major UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye. Excavations reveal 9,000 years of settlement history. An international team studies social, economic, and environmental aspects of ancient life. The poster session presents this project, focusing on Byzantine material culture, diet, vegetation, agriculture, and animal husbandry.
The Stimulant Sea: Sugar, Coffee, & the Acquisition of Taste
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
This exhibition explores the intertwined and commodified histories of sugar and coffee within a specific place and time: the Medieval and Early Modern Red Sea, envisaged as a cultural connector between the Mediterranean world and Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Ocean. The exhibition explores four interrelated themes: first, tracing the trade networks and knowledge transfers that shaped the origins of sugar and coffee as we know them today; second, examining their early medicinal uses; third, considering the social rituals through which sugar and coffee became part of everyday consumption; and fourth, revealing the labor systems that enabled their production and global distribution.
This poster exhibition was part of a display in the Dumbarton Oaks Museum accompanying the 2025 Symposium, Africa and Byzantium, and sought to connect history-based scholarship with the contemporary world. As a public history initiative, it was intended for a wide audience, including visitors with a limited knowledge of the eastern Mediterranean and Byzantine worlds.
Book Exhibition
Main Ceremonial Hall, University of Vienna
Meet international academic publishers and their latest publications dealing with the Byzantine world.
Registration Required
Mekhitarist Monastery of Vienna (Guided Tour 1/2)
Benedetta ContinNeustiftgasse 4, 1070 Wien
During the guided tour of the Mekhitarist Monastery of Vienna, one of the most important centers of Armenian culture in the world, you will gain insights into its valuable holdings: over 2,600 manuscripts, 150,000 books, the largest collection of Armenian journals, as well as precious and unique art works from every corner of the globe.
Opening Reception
Großer Festsaal, Wiener Rathaus, Lichtenfelsgasse 2, 1010 Wien
The ICBS Opening Reception brings participants together in the historic Festsaal of Vienna City Hall for an evening of networking and exchange. The event offers an opportunity to initiate collaborations and joint projects while enjoying food and drinks in a festive and welcoming atmosphere.
10:00 am – 11:55 am Opening Ceremony
No workshops in this session.
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Session I
Free Communications
1.06 FC – Church Construction in Constantinople and beyond
The Orientation of the Building that Predated the Hagia Sophia (415): A New Perspective
Vera ZemskovaBIG-HS
Die konstantinische Konzeption des Apostoleion und anschließende Fragestellungen
Hildegard PoeschelBIG-HS
The Early Middle-Byzantine Construction Industry: The Constantinopolitan Origin of Standardized Construction Practices and their Organized Dissemination for New Building Projects in the Byzantine Provinces
Matthew SavageBIG-HS
1.07 FC – Politics and Culture in the Long End of the Byzantine Empire
The Gift as an Instrument of Byzantine Cultural Diplomacy During the Reign of Manuel II Palaiologos: A Theoretical Approach from the Perspective of International Society
Panagiotis FragkiadakisHS 2
The Master of Demons in Topkapi Palace: Forgotten Manuscript of King Solomon’s Zauberbuch from the Last Phase of Byzantium
Ceylan BorstlapHS 2
Bessarione, Isidoro di Kiev, Tommaso Paleologo: alcune nuove considerazioni
Mario D’AmbrosiHS 2
Gennadios Scholarios and the Last of the Palaiologoi: Personal Relationships and Political Forecasting
Zoran JovanovićHS 2
Dionysius Inside and Outside Byzantium: Gennadios Scholarios’ Reading of Ps.-Dionysius Between Thomas Aquinas and Earlier Byzantines
Jonathan GreigHS 2
1.08 FC – Trauma in Byzantium and Beyond
The Empire Strikes Back: Battle of Manzikert as a Mobilizational Motive in Komnenian Rhetoric
Roman ShliakhtinSR 6
Trauma Repressed or Suppressed? Responses to the Fourteenth-Century Plague in Byzantium
Panos MakrisSR 6
From Euchaita to Hopovo: The Cult of Theodore Tiron and Relic Veneration as a Displacement-Response During the Great Migration of the Serbs
Aleksandar AnđelovićSR 6
Byzantine Practices of Grain Imports From the Black Sea Region: Some Soviet Parallels?
Dimitry ButrinSR 6
1.09 FC – Santa Maria d’Anglona in Basilicata. Topography, Architecture, Wall Paintings, Ceramics and Numismatics
1.10 FC – Law and Legal Practice I
The Impact and Fate of an Eastern-Oriented Theodosian Law in the Law Codes of the Late Ancient West and the Early Middle Ages
László OdrobinaHS 21
“Regarding Law and Justice”: The First Chapter of the Byzantine Eisagoge and the First Constitutional Charter in European History
Vasileios-Alexandros KolliasHS 21
1.11 FC – Gold, Money and Taxes between the 6th and 13th Centuries
Striking Gold? Landscape, Labour, and Metal Extraction in the Sixth-Century Balkans
Radka PallováHS 5
War Coins. The Military Budget of the East Roman Empire in the Sixth Century
Marco CristiniHS 5
Financing International Trade in Byzantium from Justinian the Great to Leo VI the Wise
Elvin Akbulut DağlıerHS 5
Managing the Crown Lands in the Aegean: The Kouratoriai of Mytilene and Chios (8th–11th c.)
Stefanos ChasapoglouHS 5
The Phenomenon of Imitative Byzantine Coinages in the Aftermath of the Fourth Crusade: Continuity and Changes in Monetary Use in the 12th–13th Century Balkans
Ilia Curto PelleHS 5
1.12 FC – Historiographies and Images across Languages
Nous, les ennemis : réfléxions sur le vocabulaire de Procope concernant les Romains et leurs adversaires
Geoffrey GreatrexSR 1
George the Monk’s Chronicle: History of Byzantium as History of the World
Thomas PicciolaSR 1
The Image of Bulgarians in the Historical Work by George the Monk
Kirił MarinowSR 1
1.13 FC – At the Frontiers between Byzantium, Sasanian Persia and the Early Caliphate
Two Eyes of the Earth or Just One? Byzantine-Persian Rivalry at the End of Antiquity
András KraftHS 33
Byzantium and the Church of the East: Were the Christians of Persia Subject to Byzantine Ecclesiastical Centres?
Evgenii ZabolotnyiHS 33
Georgian and Syriac Responses to Zoroastrian Persecution: A Comparative Hagiographical Study
Sophio GuliashviliHS 33
Loyalty and Lineage Beyond the Borders: The Role of Armenian Feudal Families in the Periphery of Byzantium (4th–7th centuries)
İlhami Tekin CinemreHS 33
The Role of the Armenians in the Political and Military Developments of Byzantium during the Seventh Century
Maria RotaHS 33
1.14 FC – The Logic of Metre and Rhythm. Remarks, Approaches and Comparative Perspectives
Clitics and Pseudo-Clitics in the Hymns of Romanos the Melodist
Marc D. LauxtermannHS 41
Metre to Shed Light: Some Insights on the Metrics of Carmen de S. Panteleemone and its (dubious) Attribution to John Geometres
Linda AiazziHS 41
The Σχέδη τοῦ μυός: Prose Rhythm and Authorship Revisited
Ettore PistolesiHS 41
Old Verses for New Rhythms. Hexameters, Dodecasyllables, and Medieval Poetic Practices
Ugo MondiniHS 41
A New Verse for a New Epic? Reflections on Political Verse
Alberto RavaniHS 41
1.15 FC – Politics, Church and Culture in Georgia
Factors Shaping Political Relations Between Byzantium and the Kingdom of Iberia in the 4th Century
Gökhan ŞanlıHS 7
Georgian Translations of John of Sinai’s “Climax”: Linguistic Particularities (Graecisms)
Maia Baramidze, Marine GiorgadzeHS 7
A Shared Artistic Milieu: A Comparative Study of Two 9th-Century Illuminated Manuscripts from the Bagratid Centres
Zaruhi HakobyanHS 7
Illuminated Georgian Manuscripts from Atabag Court Scriptoria and Trebizond
Nino KavtariaHS 7
Thematic Sessions
1.01 TS – Les patriarches, des saints comme les autres?
Holy Bishops of Alexandria: The Early Construction of Patriarchal Holiness and its Transformation through the Ecclesiastical Divisions of the Fifth and Sixth Century
Alberto CamplaniHS 32
Zacharie (609-631?) et Sophrone (634-638?) de Jérusalem : deux trajectoires hagiographiques ambivalentes pour des patriarches de crise
Bastien DumontHS 32
Les saints patriarches du 9e au 10e siècle et les enjeux littéraires d’un nouveau pouvoir ecclésiastique et politique
Stephanos EfthymiadisHS 32
Deux saints patriarches indociles de la période paléologue : Arsène Autoreianos et Athanase Ier
Marie-Hélène BlanchetHS 32
1.02 TS – Aspects of Cultural Transition Between Byzantium and the World Beyond
The Allure of Byzantium in the Albanian-Speaking Regions of SE Europe
Konstantinos GiakoumisHS 1
Byzantium and the Formation of Medieval Scandinavia: The Origins of the Norwegian Military Organization under Harald Hardrada
Leif Inge Ree PetersenHS 1
Beyond Byzantium – Beyond Literary Evidence: The North-western Periphery of the Byzantine Commonwealth According to Archaeological Data: Eastern Poland in Context
Marcin WołoszynHS 1
Byzantium and Lithuania, Factors and Agents in Bringing the Two Polities Closer Together: 14th–15th Centuries
Darius BaronasHS 1
1.03 TS – Sigillographiae provehendae: Zwischen Grundlagenforschung und Datenbanken?
Sigillography and Digital Databases
Andreas Gkoutzioukostas, Alexandra-Kyriaki Wassiliou-SeibtHS 3
Les officiers du corps des Excubites (VIIIe-XIe siècle)
Jean-Claude CheynetHS 3
Some interesting Rarities from the collection of Zafeiris Syrras
Christos StavrakosHS 3
Lead Seals from a Newly Discovered Monastery Complex in Sozopol
Zhenya ZhekovaHS 3
The Prosopography of Healthcare in Byzantium: A Sigillographic Study
Martina FilosaHS 3
Who Owned a Seal and What Was Sealed? Demographic Approaches to the Byzantine Sigillographic Record
Christos MalatrasHS 3
1.04 TS – Narrating Gender and Desire in Middle Byzantium: Women, Eunuchs, Monastics, Men
The Dialectics of Gendered Character(s) in Byzantine History Writing
Matthew KinlochHS 31
Stealth, Voice, and Other Passing Details in Symeon the New Theologian
Felix SzaboHS 31
Narrating Gender in Living Text Traditions: The Fluid Lives of Trans Saints
Julie Van PeltHS 31
Embodied Aesthetics, Somatic Experiences, and Aspirational taxis: The Case of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos
Tiffany Joy Van WinkoopHS 31
1.05 TS – Unifying Byzantine Thrace: The BRIA project
Black Sea Coastal Thrace 4th to 15th c.: the Hinterland of the City and a Borderland of the Empire
Albena Milanova, Rossina KostovaHS 6
Cities, Fortresses, and Monasteries in Thrace and Their Role in Power Struggles of the 14th Century
Dimitra Sikalidou, Anastasios TantsisHS 6
Rereading Borders in Thrace: Urban and Architectural Transitions in the Late Medieval Period
Öykü Bahar Balcı GüngörHS 6
Rock and People in Byzantine Thrace. Two Case Studies from Glouhite Kamani and Michalich
Galina GrozdanovaHS 6
Space-Making in Landscapes Not Made by Human Hands: A Theoretical Model for Byzantine Rock-Cut Architecture
Görkem GünayHS 6
Rethinking Research Models in Byzantine Studies: The BRIA Project Approach
Bilge Ar, Ivana JevtićHS 6
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Plenary Session: The Beasts, the Crops, and the Bones: Biological Perspectives on the Byzantine World
Beyond Literature: Archaeological and Biological Perspectives in Byzantine Human Animal Studies
Tristan SchmidtAudimax
Byzantine Bioarchaeology: From the Church and Crown to the Dirt and Dust of Everyday Life
Chryssa BourbouAudimax
Crops, Cropping Systems, and Agricultural Continuity in the Byzantine Empire ca. 500-1453 CE
Michael DeckerAudimax
The Circulation of Food Products in amphorae in the Middle and Late Byzantine Periods: the Input of Archaeometric Studies
Sylvie Yona WaksmanAudimax
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Session II
Free Communications
1.22 FC – Byzantine Historiography
Form and Function of Siege Narrations in Late Antique Greek Historiography
Nicole KröllBIG-HS
Exploring the Chronicles of George Hamartolos and Its Impact on Medieval Byzantine and Georgian Communities
Tamar MelikidzeBIG-HS
The Chronicler’s Workshop: George Kedrenos and the Use of Sources for the Roman History of the Regal and Republican Periods
Nicolas CampagnoliBIG-HS
In Pursuit of Alternative Histories of the 14th Century: Nikephoros Gregoras and John Kantakouzenos on Their Writing Opponents
Bojana PavlovićBIG-HS
Epitome from the Historia Tripartita of Theodore Anagnostes – A Few Remarks
Adrian SzopaBIG-HS
1.23 FC – Manuscripts in Byzantium and Beyond: Texts and Contexts
Text and Paratext in Medieval Manuscripts of the Iliad: New Research Perspectives
Giuseppe PascaleHS 5
Visualizing the Death in the Illuminated Translation of the Manasses’ Chronicle
Vera Atanasova, Kristiyan KovachevHS 5
Ἡ Συλλογή Χειρογράφων τῆς Ἱερᾶς Μονῆς Κουτλουμουσίου: Μία Πρῶτη Προσέγγισις
Konstantinos/Hieromonk Kallinikos KrikisHS 5
Byzantine, Post-Byzantine, Ottoman: Greek Deluxe Manuscripts in Early Modern Wallachia
Ovidiu OlarHS 5
1.24 FC – Re–Producing Byzantium: Cross–Medial Transfer, Circulation, and Reception of Byzantine Art in the Age of New Media (19th–20th c.)
Shaping Byzantine Colors: Print Technologies and the Transformation of Art Historical Narratives (19th–early 20th c.)
Giovanni GasbarriHS 2
Engineering Byzantium in France. Experiments in Color and Iron, 1830–1920
Adrien PalladinoHS 2
Between Two Empires: Knowledge and “Popularization” of Byzantine Artistic Heritage in Austro-Hungarian Italy
Livia BevilacquaHS 2
“Undeniably Greek”. Publishing Byzantine Art and Constructing Local Identity in Post-Unitarian Naples
Antonino TranchinaHS 2
1.25 FC – The Cult of Saints between Text and Image in Medieval Georgia
Georgian Translation of the Menaion (First Redaction): The Early Constantinopolitan Tradition of the Commemorations of Saints
Dali ChitunashviliHS 21
Old and New Traditions of Saints’ Commemorations in Late Medieval (14th–16th Centuries) Georgian Liturgical Collections – The Gulani
Ketevan AsatianiHS 21
St Demetrios of Thessalonica Across Borders and Centuries: A Comparative Study of His Cult in Byzantium and Medieval Georgia
Maia MatchavarianiHS 21
St George and St Demetrios – Nationalization of the Cult of the Warrior Saints in Medieval Georgia
Ekaterine GedevanishviliHS 21
1.26 FC – Manuscript Production in the 16th Century
The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek’s Codices Græci 490 and 495: The Manuscript Compendium of the Mystras Plethonic Cycle in Humanistic Italy
Petros FokianosHS 31
Byzantine Military Treatises in Early Modern Europe: Production and Dissemination of the Manuscripts
Ferhat Sezer KurtoğluHS 31
Nature, Artichokes, and Salvation in the Oracles of Leo: Illustrated Post-Byzantine Eschatological Literature in Greek and Turkish
Aslıhan Akışık-KarakullukçuHS 31
Greek Manuscripts Beyond Byzantium. Transmediality in Andreas Darmarios’ Atelier at the End of 16th Century?
Pia CarollaHS 31
1.27 FC – Ecclesiastical Matters after 1453
“They Understood that in that Place the Saint Wanted To Be Buried”: Mapping the Final Days of Patriarch Saint Gennadios I in the Cypriot Landscape
Elias PetrouSR 2
The Canonization Procedure at the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Early Ottoman Period. St Patriarch Nephon II (1517): A Case Study
Dan Ioan MureșanSR 2
Saint Sozomenos of Potamia and Galata, Cyprus: The Politics of Plurality and Byzantium Beyond Byzantium
Aliosha BielenbergSR 2
Aristotle in Church Literature from the Period of Ottoman Occupation: The Cases of the Aristotelian Scholars Georgios Koressios and Nectarius, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Anna KaramanidouSR 2
1.28 FC – The Reception of Byzantine Literature Beyond 1453
Receptions of the Work of Gregory of Nazianzus in Sixteenth-Century Europe
Natasha ConstantinidouHS 33
The Reception of Byzantine Hagiography During the Ottoman Period: The Neon Leimonarion and the Martyrdom of Saint Isidore as Examples of Post-Byzantine Metaphrasis
Maria-Heleni AlexiadiHS 33
Τα Καθ’ Ὑσμίνην καὶ Ὑσμινίαν δράματα και οι αναγνώσεις του (Ανδρόνικος Νούκιος ,Βενετία, 16ος αι. – Νεοελληνικός Διαφωτισμός: Αδ. Κοραής, Πολυζώης Λαμπανιτζώτης, 18ος αι.)
Maria PanagiotopoulouHS 33
A Woman Beyond Time: Byzantine Empress Athenais-Eudokia in Modern Literature
Eleni CharchareHS 33
1.29 FC – Philological Approaches to Redactions and Editions of Byzantine Texts: Between Authorial Intent and Collective Endeavour
Authorial Intent or Kreis Project? The Role of Paratexts in Reconstructing the Editio Nicephori
Francesco VanoniHS 41
Building a Text Through Paratexts: Toward a Critical Edition of Nicetas Seides’ Conspectus librorum sacrorum
Giada Di GiuseppeHS 41
La fortuna dell’opera antilatina di Germano II tra edizioni d’autore, manipolazioni e riscritture
Nicolò GhigiHS 41
How to Craft a Treatise: The Rhetorica Monacensis as a Work in Progress
Ugo ValoriHS 41
1.30 FC – Byzantine Literature Across the Centuries
Eine politische Botschaft der Alexias Anna Komnenes und deren anonyme Gegner
Diether Roderich ReinschHS 7
Byzantine History Beyond Byzantium: Niketas Choniates Travels to the West
Julián BértolaHS 7
When Did Michael Kritovoulos Begin Writing The History of Mehmed the Conqueror?
Vojislav PejuškovićHS 7
The Bulgarian-Byzantine Conflict in Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso
Penka DanovaHS 7
Who Brought The Edifying Story of Barlaam and Ioasaph to the Holy City, and From Where?
Elguja KhintibidzeHS 7
Surrounding the Ottomans through Byzantine Marital Diplomacy: The Marriage of John VIII and Maria Komnene
Ivana VeselinovićHS 7
1.31 FC – Ecclesiastical Organization and Administration
Roman Provincial Assemblies and Church Councils in the Late Antique/Early Byzantine Period: Terminological or Institutional Continuity?
Mikhail GratsianskiySR 6
From Capital Grain to Ecclesiastical Gain: The Churches of the annona Route
Catherine KeaneSR 6
The Gothic Diocese in Crimea as an Example of a Byzantine Extraterritorial Church Diocese
Yuriy Mogarichev, Pavel V. KuzenkovSR 6
The Metropolitan See of Salona: Spalatum in Post-Frankish, Partly Byzantine, Dalmatia in the 920s
Vadim ProzorovSR 6
Thematic Sessions
1.17 TS – Byzantium and Its Eurasian Contacts, circa 300–1500
Bridging Eurasia: From the Mediterranean and Iran to China, 400–1000 CE
Jessica RawsonHS 32
Beyond the Caucasus. Northern Pathways from Constantinople to Inner Eurasia from Justinian to Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (6th-10th Centuries)
Johannes Preiser-KapellerHS 32
The Byzantine Reception of Syriac Medical Knowledge: Aḥudemmeh Anṭipaṭros and the pseudo-Hippocratic treatise On The Composition of Man
Thomas BenfeyHS 32
Inscribed Luxury Objects: The Spread of a Habit from Early Byzantium to Medieval Eurasia
Anna M. SitzHS 32
1.18 TS – Environnements et paysages sonores dans le monde byzantin / Places and Soundscapes in the Byzantine World
Le paysage sonore des campagnes militaires byzantines (VIIe-XIIIe siècle) : entre théorie et pratique
Pierrick GervalHS 1
The Integrated Soundscapes of Byzantium: Ritual and Musical Coherence across Performance Frameworks until Hesychasm
Evangelia SpyrakouHS 1
Sons de folie, sons de miracle et leur absence à Byzance. Question de foi, affaire de société ou licence poétique des hagiographes?
Nike Ekaterini KoutrakouHS 1
Sounding the Divine: The Trumpet as Symbol and Messenger in Byzantine Eschatological Imagery
Antonios BotonakisHS 1
Angry Mob, Noisy Mob. Echoes of Urban Violence in Byzantium
Marie-Emmanuelle TorresHS 1
1.19 TS – Byzantium and Rome (15th c.): Manuscripts, Translations, Works of Art
Byzantine and “alla greca” Bindings in the “Fondo Antico” of the Vatican Library (Vaticani graeci 1-1217)
Konstantinos ChoulisHS 3
Translation Techniques in 15th-Century Rome: Theodore Gaza’s Versions of Aristotle’s Zoological Treatises
Chiara GazziniHS 3
Metodi versori nella Roma del ’400: il manuale di Epitteto nella traduzione di Niccolò Perotti
Paola MegnaHS 3
Greek Problems in Latin Shape: The Latin Version of Ps.-Aristotle’s Problemata by Theodore Gaza
Luigi OrlandiHS 3
I Memorabili di Senofonte: sullo scrittoio di Bessarione traduttore
Antonio RolloHS 3
1.20 TS – New Directions in Byzantine Military History
Natural Law and the Struggle for Survival: Animal Metaphors in Byzantine Martial Thought
Georgios ChatzelisSR 1
Byzantine Military Literature: Problems of Editing and Prospects for Research
Immacolata EramoSR 1
Stratagems and Deception in the Early Byzantine Classicising Historians
Larisa Ficulle SantiniSR 1
Multi-Disciplinary Approaches to the Impact of Warfare on Local Communities in the Byzantine Empire, 7th–8th c.
Alexander SarantisSR 1
The Life of the Frontier Soldier in the Early Byzantine Empire, from Recruitment to Retirement
Conor WhatelySR 1
1.21 TS – Within and Beyond: The Islands of Byzantium
Monks and the Formation of Island Identities in Byzantium
Nikolas BakirtzisHS 6
The Island in Between: Sicilian Connections and Trade from the Vandals to the Coming of Islam
Michael DeckerHS 6
New Approaches to the Study of the Early Byzantine Period in the Balearic Islands
Catalina Mas Florit, Miguel Cau OntiverosHS 6
“Islands in the Stream”: Re-Assessing the Byzantine Insular Economy between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (ca. 550-c. 900)
Luca ZavagnoHS 6
Tuesday 25 Aug
Special Events
Without Registration
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
Under the Banner of the Seals: History and Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean (from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages)
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This special showcase provides an insight into the society and culture of the eastern Mediterranean region through clay seals from Egypt (from the holdings of the Papyrus Collection/Austrian National Library) and Byzantine lead seals (private collection of A.-K. Wassiliou-Seibt).
Post-Byzantine Icons from the Metropolis of Austria (Exhibition)
Church of the Holy Trinity, Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Vienna
This exhibition shows icons from the holdings of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria. The icons were acquired in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Some of them were donated to the Metropolis by important patrons of the time and bear beautiful witness to Greek culture in the imperial city of Vienna at that time. The exhibition is free to all congress participants.
Coins of Crisis. Power and Money in Late Byzantium and Beyond
The political fragmentation and cultural diversity of the Eastern Mediterranean after the Fourth Crusade in 1204 was also reflected in a plurality of currencies. In this exhibition, coins from Late Byzantium and neighbouring polities are not only presented as means of payment, but equally as media of power and artefacts of socioeconomic entanglements – reflecting the innovative research of the young collector of these specimens, Samuel Ernest Logan Cowell.
Ephesos – A Metropolis of the Ancient World and Modern Archaeological Project
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
For over 130 years, the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW has investigated Ephesos, a major UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye. Excavations reveal 9,000 years of settlement history. An international team studies social, economic, and environmental aspects of ancient life. The poster session presents this project, focusing on Byzantine material culture, diet, vegetation, agriculture, and animal husbandry.
The Stimulant Sea: Sugar, Coffee, & the Acquisition of Taste
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
This exhibition explores the intertwined and commodified histories of sugar and coffee within a specific place and time: the Medieval and Early Modern Red Sea, envisaged as a cultural connector between the Mediterranean world and Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Ocean. The exhibition explores four interrelated themes: first, tracing the trade networks and knowledge transfers that shaped the origins of sugar and coffee as we know them today; second, examining their early medicinal uses; third, considering the social rituals through which sugar and coffee became part of everyday consumption; and fourth, revealing the labor systems that enabled their production and global distribution.
This poster exhibition was part of a display in the Dumbarton Oaks Museum accompanying the 2025 Symposium, Africa and Byzantium, and sought to connect history-based scholarship with the contemporary world. As a public history initiative, it was intended for a wide audience, including visitors with a limited knowledge of the eastern Mediterranean and Byzantine worlds.
Book Exhibition
Main Ceremonial Hall, University of Vienna
Meet international academic publishers and their latest publications dealing with the Byzantine world.
Registration Required
Guided Tour: Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages (2/3)
Krystina Kubina, Giulia RossettoPapyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This tour is guided by the exhibition’s curators.
City Walk: Between Ostarrichi and the Bosporus. Vienna, Byzantium, the Crusades & the Global Middle Ages
Johannes Preiser-KapellerMain entrance of the main building of the University of Vienna
Vienna already in medieval times was situated at the intersection of ancient transregional routes. Pilgrims, crusaders and merchants passed the city on their way into Southeastern Europe and Constantinople along the Danube. Two imperial princesses from Byzantium settled in Vienna in the 12th and 13th century as wives of Dukes of Austria. Steppe nomadic groups such as the Huns, the Avars, the Magyars, the Cumans and the Mongols created connections to the wider worlds of Central Eurasia. Commodities, manuscripts and other objects found their way to the Danube from across the medieval world. This tour explores the traces of the Global Middle Ages in Vienna’s historical centre from Late Antiquity into the 15th century.
Guided Tour: Ephesos Museum (1/2)
Georg PlattnerEphesos Museum, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Ephesus (Türkiye) was one of most important cities in the ancient world. Hit by severe earthquakes and the deterioration of its harbours, the city remained an important centre in late antiquity and the Byzantine period. Austrian excavations in Ephesus started in 1895. Findings from the first years were brought to Vienna as a gift from the Sultan to the Austrian Emperor and are on display in the Ephesus Museum of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Georg Plattner, director of the collection, will give an overview of old and new projects.
Manuscript Presentation: The Four Gospels in Syriac and Arabic: Biblical Philology and the Birth of Syriac Studies in Europe
Ephrem Ishac, Adrian PirteaAugustinerlesesaal, Austrian National Library, Josefsplatz
Explore Ms. ÖNB Cod. Syr. 1, the 1554 gift securing patronage for the first Syriac printed Gospels (1555), launching Syriac studies in the West and now powering an HTR model. Alongside it, Cod. Or. 1544 showcases the philological methods used by medieval Coptic intellectuals to study the Gospels’ textual history.
Theatron—Experience Byzantine Texts Live
Members from all of the Congress’ national committees may join us for our first International Theatron, designed to highlight the many works of the Byzantine Empire that have inspired us. All languages—Ancient, Medieval, or Modern—and all genres are welcome; provisionally, think in terms of a maximum of 5-minute presentation for each performer.
Film Screening of “Nikolaos Doumbas (1830-1900): A Greek from Western Macedonia, Reformer of Vienna” (Original Greek Version, No Subtitles) accompanied by an Introduction by Dr. Anna Ransmayr
Anna RansmayrLecture Hall Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Postgasse 9
The film deals with the role of Nikolaos Doumbas, (descendant of a Greek merchant family from Macedonia) as a patron of urban architecture, fine arts and music in Vienna in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Accompanied by an Introduction on the History of Greeks in Vienna, curated by Dr. Anna Ransmayr
Student and Early Career Networking Event
CEU Auditorium, Quellenstraße 51
The Student Networking Event aims to connect students and early career researchers. Featuring a reception with journals and publishers stands and an academic speed dating session at thematic tables, the event fosters networking, collaboration, and insights into academic publishing. Food and drinks will be provided.
8:30 am – 10:00 am Session I
Free Communications
2.10 FC – Churches I (Turkey)
Annex Structures and Their Functions in Byzantine Churches of the Lycia Region
Neslihan KılıçHS 6
New Findings Uncovered During the 2024 Work on the Church of St. John of Ayasuluk Hill
Sinan MimaroğluHS 6
The South Basilica of Perge: A Key Example of Byzantine Church Architecture in Pamphylia
Ayça TiryakiHS 6
2.11 FC – Venetian Rule and its Effects
An Echelon of Warrior Saints, Including Constantine the Great, in a Wall Painting from Venetian Crete
Jenny Albani, Voula SarikakiSR 1
Legacies of Byzantium in Venetian Cyprus (1489–1571): Exploring the History of Families and Ideas
Christos ApostolopoulosSR 1
Greek Notarial Practice after Byzantium: Textual Formulae and Legal Education in Sixteenth-Century Venetian Greece
Kyriaco NikiasSR 1
The Monastic Cult of Holy Women: A Case Study from Venetian Crete
Nicolas VaraineSR 1
2.12 FC – Inscribing in Byzantium and Beyond I
Landscapes of Oblivion? Reconsidering Epigraphic Recycling at Early Byzantine Aphrodisias
Arkadiy AvdokhinHS 2
Mapping Faith in Transition: GIS-Based Analysis of Religious Inscriptions in Justinianic Western Anatolia
Emine Bilgiç KavakHS 2
An Epigraphic Record from the Early Byzantine Period at Hephaistia, Lemnos: The Epitaph of Euphrosynos and Aurelia Phila
Drusilla FirindelliHS 2
Pilgrimage Inscribed in Stone: Rupestrian Complex at Medeia, Thrace
Görkem GünayHS 2
2.13 FC – Byzantine Poetry
Μετρικές παρατηρήσεις στους Κανόνες του Ι. Μαυρόποδος για τον Άγιο Ιωάννη τον Πρόδρομο
Irini BogdanouHS 31
From the heirmos to the troparia? Thoughts on the Hymnographer’s Method of Composition and Contemporary Editing Practices
Grigorios PapagiannisHS 31
Of Iambists and Buffaloes: Hipponax in John Tzetzes
Enrico Emanuele ProdiHS 31
Die beiden Gedichte des Johannes Apokaukos auf die heiligen Märtyrer Minas, Hermogenes und Eugraphus
Maria TziatziHS 31
2.14 FC – Challenges of Editing Byzantine Texts II
The Fate of the Greek Oneirocriticon of Pseudo-Achmet in the Latin West: Progress on the Latin Critical Edition
Pierre-Olivier BeaulnesHS 33
Οn The New Edition of the So-Called Chronicle of Monemvasia
Eirene-Sophia KiapidouHS 33
Nicephorus Blemmydes’ Διήγησις μερική – Preparing a New Critical Edition
Ábel TörökHS 33
Zur Überlieferung der Einzelbestandteile der Eisagoge tu nomu
Martin Marko VučetićHS 33
2.15 FC – Women and Power
Rereading Sexual Violence in Byzantine Hagiography from the Fifth to the Twelfth Centuries
Isabella LewisHS 34
L’iconographie du pouvoir impérial dans les monnaies de la régence d’Anne de Savoie
Stefano VianelliHS 34
Female Imperial Power? Authority? Influence? Towards a Reassessment of Late Antique Imperial Women
David Víu DomínguezHS 34
Round Tables
2.01 RT – Scholars, Teachers and the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Palaiologan Period: New Insights and New Questions
Teaching Elementary Spelling in the Palaiologan Period
Theodora AntonopoulouHS 21
A Scholar and Clergyman Writes History: George Pachymeres and His Network
Ekaterini MitsiouHS 21
Moral Reform and Pastoral Leadership: The Preaching Activity of Patriarch Kallistos I
Mihail MitreaHS 21
The Longing for Paradise: Reflections on Paradise Among Scholars in the Circle of the Patriarchate of Constantinople
Vratislav ZervanHS 21
2.02 RT – Eastern Roman Art and Culture Beyond “Byzantium”?
What We Keep When We Say “Byzantine”: Curating the Category in the Museum
Andrea AchiBIG-HS
2.03 RT – Inscriptions Between Stone and Fresco: Aspects of Materiality in the Byzantine Monumental Script Culture
Painters as Scribes and the Materiality of Writing in Byzantine Monumental Decoration
Theodora KonstantellouHS 5
Praying for Salvation in a Versatile Medium: Painted Donors’ Inscriptions in the Middle Byzantine Churches of Cyprus
Maria ParaniHS 5
The Interplay of Majuscule and Minuscule in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Inscriptions and the Role of Materiality
Andreas RhobyHS 5
2.04 RT – Late Medieval Practices of Ownership in Byzantium and Beyond: Byzantine, Armenian, Serbian, and Ottoman Contexts
Ownership or Granted Possession? Rethinking Aristocratic Landholding and Imperial Authority in Late Byzantium (13th–14th c.)
Thanasis SotiriouHS 41
Ownership of Foundations or Founders’ Rights? Ktetorika Dikaia in Late Byzantium
Elif NeyziHS 41
Collective Monastic Donations: A Way to Salvation for the Late Medieval Balkan Commoners
Anna AdashinskayaHS 41
‘The Property is Mine’: Re-considering Mehmed II’s Absolutism as a Disruption of Medieval Legal Conventions on Ownership
Ali Daniş NeyziHS 41
2.05 RT – Les livres comme témoins de la circulation des savoirs dans les lieux d’interface linguistique
Un Nuovo Testamento greco-armeno (e italiano): il Par. gr. 27
Francesco D’AiutoHS 7
A Bilingual Gospel of Luke: From Greek to Arabic in the Paris BNF, suppl. gr. 911
Christian HøgelHS 7
Un manuscrit médical bilingue (grec-arabe) méconnu: le Paris, BnF, gr. 2293
Thibault MiguetHS 7
A Group of Thirteenth-Century Greek-Arabic Lectionaries from Mt. Sinai
Adrian C. PirteaHS 7
Paratextes visuels : diagrammes, dessins et peintures dans des recueils arméniens
Ioanna RaptiHS 7
Thematic Sessions
2.06 TS – From Sacred Bodies to Healing Objects: Saints, Relics, and Icons East of Byzantium
Tracing the Cult of St Eudoxios in the Eastern Mediterranean between the 10th and 11th Century
Lewis ReadHS 1
Manuscripts as Healing Objects and even ‘Sacred Bodies’ in Armenia
Manea Erna ShirinianHS 1
Relics and Diplomacy between Byzantium and the East Syrian Church: Traces of a Lost Connection in Syriac and Arabic Sources
Giovanni GomieroHS 1
The Relocations of Sancta Camisa and the Iconography of “The Virgin of Mercy” in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Emma ChookaszianHS 1
2.07 TS – Byzance et l’Inde – Un continuum d’échanges politiques, commerciaux et culturels (284–1204)
Les épices indiennes et la culture alimentaire en Méditerranée (4e-10e s.)
Béatrice CaseauHS 32
Procopius on “India” in the Persian Wars 1.19.23-26 and 1.20.9-12: Ethnography and Ekphrasis as Narrative Strategy and Shorthand
Elodie TurquoisHS 32
Représentation symbolique et géographique des routes de l’Inde chez Cosmas Indicopleustès
Alice Cosme-ThomasHS 32
Peacock or Yak? The Toupha of Cosmas Indicopleustes between Image and Use
Andrea Torno GinnasiHS 32
Palingénésie ou punarbhava ? De la métempsychose chez Nonnos de Panopolis
Delphine LauritzenHS 32
The India of Barlaam and Ioasaph: “Curiouser and Curiouser”
Sergio BassoHS 32
2.08 TS – Byzantine Thrace and Beyond: Communication, Administrative, Commercial and Social Networks
Administrative Networks in Thrace: The Evidence of Seals
Andreas GkoutzioukostasSR 6
Military Mobility and Communication in Thrace through the Evidence of Seals
Alexandra-Kyriaki Wassiliou-Seibt, Dimitrios SidiropoulosSR 6
Coin Circulation in Byzantine Thrace: New Findings from Bulgaria
Zhenya ZhekovaSR 6
Remarks on the Topography and Toponymy of Southwestern Thrace
Peter SoustalSR 6
The Harbour Networks of Thrace. From the Hinterland to the Coast and Beyond
Alkiviadis GinalisSR 6
Commercial Networks Between Thrace and the Aegean: The Evidence from the amphorae
Natalia Poulou, Michail GkanatsasSR 6
2.09 TS – Cultural Cross–References in Late Byzantine Literature
Eros Beyond Byzantium: Cultural and Philosophical Cross-References in Hysmine and Hysminias
Daniela ToshevaHS 3
No Goat – No Milk: Echoes of Classical Greek Literature in John Tzetzes’ ἐκ τῶν τραγίσκων ούκ αμέλγεται γάλα
Maciej HelbigHS 3
Plethon and the Byzantine Voice in Η Γυφτοπούλα (The Gypsy Girl)
Marija Chicheva-AleksikjHS 3
Practical Wisdom and Cosmic Order: Plethon’s Reinterpretation of Phronesis in a Cross-Cultural Horizon
Jasmina PopovskaHS 3
Maximus the Confessor and the Hesychast Tradition: Greek and Serbian Trajectories of the Essence–Energies Distinction
Vladimir CvetkovićHS 3
What Has Constantinople To Do With Athens? Maximus Confessor’s Creative Appropriation of Hellenic Philosophy
Daniel HeideHS 3
10:15 am – 11:45 am Session II
Free Communications
2.25 FC – Topography and Urbanism
Between Peaks and Paths: Topography as Context in the Architectural and Archaeological Survey of Late Antique Choma
Ayşe Merve Çilingir, Bülent ArıkanHS 6
Il Kastron di Stilo e le strategie urbane nella Calabria bizantina (IX–XI sec.)
Francesco CuteriHS 6
Difendere i limes imperiali: alcune strategie e architetture militari bizantine tra la Siria settentrionale e la Sicilia (VI–IX secolo), con Arena Antonina
Elie Essa Kas HannaHS 6
Architecture and Urbanism in Early Byzantine Delphi
Nikolaos Emmanouil MichailHS 6
McFadden’s Worms: A Post-Disaster Archaeology of Early Byzantine Kourion Utilizing Legacy Data
Ian RandallHS 6
2.26 FC – Modern Byzantiums: Reimagining Byzantine Heritage in the Long Nineteenth Century, Part I
‘Goût oriental, style byzantin pur’. Debating ‘neo-Greek’ Architecture in Germany and France
Dominik MüllerHS 21
Claiming the Heritage of ‘Kyivan’ Rus’: Neo-Byzantine Style in Ukraine under the Russian Imperial Rule
Mariana BodnarukHS 21
Byzantine Echoes in a Habsburg Port: Neo-Byzantine Architecture in Trieste
Francesco LovinoHS 21
2.27 FC – The Council of Chalcedon and its Long Term Impacts
The Reception of the Henotikon in the Armenian Church: A Failed Attempt at Christological Unity
Sirun GrigoryanSR 6
A Miaphysite Network in Constantinople? The Case of Zʿura in the 530s
Changxu HuSR 6
The Caliphate and the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire at the Crossroad of Chalcedon: A Historical Assessment
Andrew RoushdySR 6
Reframing Byzantinization: Nerses of Lambron and the Reception of Byzantine Rite in Cilician Armenia
Arman ShokhikyanSR 6
2.28 FC – Human, Nature and the Reception of Ancient Knowledge
Crossing Lines: Homeric Allusion and Coded Invective in Procopius’ Book II of Wars
David KennedyHS 2
The Question of Natural Knowledge in Theophylaktos Simokatta (d. after 640) Quaestiones Physicae (Translation, Commentary and Context)
Damian LiviuHS 2
The Mutability of Αll Τhings Ηuman and Monastic Life in Romanos Melodus’ Kontakion On Life in the Monastery
Theocharis PapavissarionHS 2
2.29 FC – The Reception of Byzantium in Modern Academia I
Byzantium in the Antipodes: the Flourishing of Byzantine Cultural Memory in the Greek–Australian Diaspora
Olympia NelsonHS 30
Contextualising the Paul Lemerle Collection at Rikkyo Library in Postwar Japanese Byzantine Studies
Minoru OzawaHS 30
Georgios Zaviras (1744–1804) and the Orthodox Polemical Theology in Hungary
Borbála SzebehleczkyHS 30
2.30 FC – Asceticism and Monasticism
Rethinking Monastic Identity: A New Perspective on Binbirkilise–Değle
Gözde Demir MerziHS 7
Signs in Silver: Prestigious Patronage in the Circle of Apa Abraham of Hermonthis
Luke HesterHS 7
The Solitary Exercise in Cenobitic Life Αccording to Saint Theodore the Studite
Spyridon PanagopoulosHS 7
Too Elusive to Grasp: Assessing the Debate Over the Historicity of the Letter Collection of Isidore of Pelusium
Dimitrios ZaganasHS 7
Round Tables
2.16 RT – Byzantium and the Muslim World Beyond Conflict: Tracing Aspects of Exchange in Science with a Focus on Technology, Crafts, and Expertise
Agents of Cultural Transfers in Byzantium: Unravelling the Asian Influence
Rustam ShukurovBIG-HS
Navigating Nature: Maritime Expertise and Environmental Adaptation in Byzantium and the Islamic Eastern Mediterranean
Maria LeontsiniBIG-HS
Old Concepts, New Applications: Water, Fire, and Relevant Technologies Producing Dual-Use Items in Byzantium and the Neighbouring Areas
Nike Ekaterini KoutrakouBIG-HS
Cross-cultural Transfers of Automata and Mechanical Artillery Knowledge between Byzantines and Arabs
Stavros LazarisBIG-HS
Trading More than Blows: The Flow of Military Technology Between the Middle Byzantine State and the Islamic Orient
Christos MakrypouliasBIG-HS
Audio Technology in Secular Byzantine-Muslim Environments in Texts and Illustrated Manuscripts of the 10th–12th Centuries
Stavroula SolomouBIG-HS
2.17 RT – Viva voce. The Agency of Envoys in the Medieval Mediterranean
Planned Plots and Altered Alignments in Byzantine Efforts to Restore Adelchis (775–788)
Jeffrey BerlandHS 31
Health and Medical Issues in the Context of Oral Diplomatic Communication in Byzantium (6th–12th Centuries)
Nicolas DrocourtHS 31
The Art of Diplomacy in a Mediterranean Kingdom: Sicily and Beyond
Giuseppe MandalàHS 31
2.18 RT – Sexes et Genres, Byzance au–delà de Byzance – Sex and Gender, Byzantium Beyond Byzantium
Eunuques, femmes et pouvoir entre Byzance et la Bulgarie au Xe siècle
Georges SidérisHS 33
Beauty or Sex : The New Paradigm of Beauty in the Saljuq World
Anna CaiozzoHS 33
Women at the Court of the Norman Kings of Sicily (12th Century)
Annick Peters-CustotHS 33
2.19 RT – Logic in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium
Logical Discourse and Transcendence Practices in the Teaching of Gregory Palamas
Ivan ChristovHS 41
The Short and Long Recensions of John of Damascus’s Dialectica and Their Reception in Arabic Christianity
Habib IbrahimHS 41
Armenian Sources in the Byzantine Polemics of 4th–5th Centuries: the Letter of Patriarch Proclus to Sahak Partev Catholicos
Hayk HakobyanHS 41
The Particularity of Human Nature in 9th c. Byzantine Christology
Smilen MarkovHS 41
Armenian, Arabic and Syrian Anti-Manichaean Polemics in the Context of Logical Education Beyond Byzantium
Oksana GoncharkoHS 41
2.20 RT – Boundless Byzantium: Post–Conquest Material Culture after the End of Byzantine Rule
Continuities and Discontinuities in the Material Culture Along the Islamic-Byzantine Frontier (7th–13th c.)
A. Asa EgerHS 5
Cappadocia under the Islamic Crescent: Continuity and Change
Pagona PapadopoulouHS 5
Ottoman Greece and the Complicated Notion of the Post-Byzantine
Maria GeorgopoulouHS 5
The Maritime and Commercial Afterlives of Anaia: Relocating the Harbor (?) and Shipyard on the Byzantine/Aydinid Cusp
Suna Çağaptay, Hasan Sercan Sağlam HS 5
Thematic Sessions
2.21 TS – Religious Rhetoric of Power in Byzantium and Beyond
Jeux de pouvoir et rhétorique du pouvoir dans la Vie du patriarche Eutychios
Vincent DérocheHS 32
Monuments in Dialogue: Hagia Sophia and the Bronze Horseman of Justinian in the Fourteenth Century
Elena N. BoeckHS 32
Embodiments of the Law: The Illuminated Chrysobulls of Andronikos II and Moses’s Vision on Mount Sinai
Andrei DumitrescuHS 32
Devotion, Miracles, and Power: The Religious Rhetoric of Resistance against the Ottomans
Florin LeonteHS 32
Stairway to Heaven: An interpolation into the Chronicle of 1570
Radu G. PăunHS 32
2.22 TS – Byzantium Beyond Byzantium in Time and Space Through its Liturgical and Hymnographic Texts: New Perspectives of Research
The 17th Century Trebnik at a Crossroads of Cultures and Theologies
Aleksandr AndreevHS 1
The Priest Ioannis Morezinos and His Hymnographic Work
Dimitrios SkrekasHS 1
Gregory Tsamblak between Byzantium and Eastern Slavs
Adelina Angusheva-TihanovHS 1
New Services and Saints in Liturgical Books in some Slavic Monastic Collections
Victoria LegkikhHS 1
Continuity and Change in the Rite for Purification of Mothers on the Fortieth Day after the Delivery: Byzantine and Slavonic Euchologia (Manuscripts and Printed Books in the 15th-17th Centuries)
Margaret DimitrovaHS 1
New Perspectives of Research in Post-Byzantine Greek and Slavonic Liturgical and Hymnographic Texts
Enrique Santos MarinasHS 1
2.23 TS – Byzantine Intellectuals in Search of Ways to Save Byzantium
Byzantine Intellectuals (as Politicians and Diplomats) and Their Attempt to Save Byzantium (c. 1350–1450)
Ivayla PopovaHS 16
The Byzantine Intellectual Demetrios Rhaoul Kabakes at the Court of Sophia Palaiologina and His Contribution to the Development of the Theory «Moscow – Third Rome»
Oleg G. UlyanovHS 16
Saved by Philosophy? 15th-Century Disputes about the Usefulness of Philosophy for the Salvation of Byzantium
Georgios SteirisHS 16
Macedonians and the Roman Idea of Translatio Tradition in Byzantium (13th–15th Centuries)
Mitko PanovHS 16
The Anti-Latin Controversy of the 1270–1280s and the Scholarly Philosophical Tradition: The Example of the Treatise of George Moschambar Capita antirrhetica contra Beccum
Oleg NogovitsinHS 16
2.24 TS – Culture and Art on the Territory of the Ohrid Archbishopric
Mortuary Practices and the Transformation of Sacred Space in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Macedonia
Ordanche PetrovHS 3
The Architecture and the Wall Painting of the Katholikon of the Treskavec Monastery in the Second Half of the 13th and First Half of the 14th Century
Aleksandar VasileskiHS 3
Art and Culture on the Territory of the Bishopric of Pelagonia
Robert MihajlovskiHS 3
Medieval Single-Nave Churches in the Strumica Episcopy from the 11th to the 14th Century
Dushko CvetanovHS 3
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Session III
Free Communications
2.35 FC – Texts and Contexts of Theological Literature and Religion in Byzantium
Byzantine Biblical Exegesis and the Limits of Imagination in the Context of Determinacy and Indeterminacy of Machine Learning
Václav JežekSR 6
From Polemic to Taxonomy: Late Heresiology and the Classification of the “Other”—Heresy Directories and Panoplia as a Sub-Genre
Hisatsugu KusabuSR 6
Aspects of Purgatory in Byzantine Vernacular Literature (12th–15th cent.)
Vasileios NtaisSR 6
Dimensions of Time in Symeon the New Theologian’s Works
Ana Maria RăducanSR 6
Shifting Narrative Voice in Niketas Stethatos’ Life of Saint Symeon the New Theologian
Peter SchadlerSR 6
2.36 FC – Monumental Painting
2.37 FC – Unusual Elements in Byzantine Art and Architecture: New Methodological Perspectives
Still as Death, Alive in Art: Unusual Funerary Practices in Byzantine Art
Ljubomir MilanovićHS 3
St. Nicholas in Kuršumlija: Anomalous or Misinterpreted
Marina MihaljevićHS 3
Visual Hybridity and Cultural Negotiation: Aspects of the Architectural Sculpture of Dečani Monastery
Ida SinkevićHS 3
Eclectic Tastes and Pioneering Design in Byzantine Architecture: The Case of Paregoretissa in Arta
Sotiris VoyadjisHS 3
Appropriations and Transformations in Venetian Architectural Decoration
Galina TirnanićHS 3
2.38 FC – Cross–Cultural Influence on the Move: Pathways of Byzantine Images and Texts Across Time and Space
Political Figures on the Mosaics from Constantinople to Sicily: A Comparative Study
Zhihuan ZhouHS 5
Cross-Cultural Networks and Trans-Mediterranean Mobilities: Traveling the Adriatic with a Cretan Icon Painting Workshop
Margarita VoulgaropoulouHS 5
Oracles in Transit: Byzantine Mediations and Renaissance Re-imaginings of the Chaldean Tradition between East and West
Chiara Ombretta TommasiHS 5
The Afterlife of Some Late Byzantine Anti-Islamic Polemics: Copyists, Readers and Book-Collectors
Luisa AndriolloHS 5
The Afterlife of Some Late Byzantine Anti-Islamic Polemics: Copyists, Readers and Book-Collectors
Luisa AndriolloHS 5
2.39 FC – Procopius Beyond Now!
Procopius’ Coded Invective of Justinian via his Characterisation of Generals
David KennedyHS 21
Procopius’ and Paul of Aegina on Combat Wounds
Christopher Lillington-MartinHS 21
Traces of Belisarius and His Army: Preliminary Results of Fieldwork on Dara Battlefield
Süha KonukHS 21
A New Coat of Paint. Procopius on Mauri and Scriptural Imagery
Jakob RiemenschneiderHS 21
2.40 FC – Building Meaning on Multiplicity: Creating and Interpreting Ambiguity and Ambivalence in the Byzantine World
Undermining Masculine Self-Representation through Narrative Irony in Rhodanthe & Dosikles (c. 1130–1140)
Mary MaschioHS 31
Εἶδος ἄξιον τυραννίδος : A “Dog Whistle” for Cultivated Readers in Palaiologan Byzantium?
Giulia D’AlbenzioHS 31
“In the Name of Father, Son and Holy Sea”: The Ambiguous Relationship between Amalfitans and Byzantines
Fermude GülsevinçHS 31
Canonical Legal Collections in the Syriac World: Ambiguous Co-Existence in Absorbed Traditions
Carlo Emilio BiuzziHS 31
Byzantine Art on Gotland? The Ambiguity of Modern Historiographical Labels Applied to Peripheral Contexts
Elena De ZordiHS 31
2.41 FC – From the Greek to the Cyrillic Alphabet: New Perspectives and Innovative Approaches to Script Analysis
Towards a History of the Cyrillic Script in the South Slavic Territories
Marco ScarpaSR 2
Revisiting Cyrillic Script: Its Origins and Relationship with the Greek Alphabet
Vasya VelinovaSR 2
Graphic Models in the Formation of the Cyrillic Script: A Comparative Approach
Cheti TrainiSR 2
Digital Tools for the Analysis and Description of Handwriting
Maxim GoynovSR 2
From Manuscript Evidence to Analytical Models: Interpreting Letterforms with the CyPaT Toolkit
Marta RiparanteSR 2
2.42 FC – John Xiphilinos the Younger and His Menologion: The Lost Byzantine Collection of Saints’ Lives Preserved only in Old Georgian
2.43 FC – Emperors and Power in the Period of the Macedonian Dynasty and Beyond
Organiser la succession impériale byzantine au XIe siècle : entre fin de dynastie et nouvelle solution successorale
Numa BuchsHS 2
Emperor Stephanos (944–945): The Succession Crisis of Romanos I Reconsidered
Nikolaos KostourakisHS 2
Nikephoros Phokas and Emperor Romanos — But Not the Ones You Think: Some Remarks on Army Reforms in Tenth-Century Byzantium
Christos MakrypouliasHS 2
The Knife Behind the Throne: Basil I and the Silent Hands of Power
Elias PinakouliasHS 2
2.44 FC – New Approaches to Networks of Byzantium
An Analysis of the Importance of the Route of Via Egnatia between Constantinople and Thessalonica Between the Seventh and Ninth Centuries
Howard ButcherSR 1
Actes de Vatopédi. № 43. Network Analysis: Experience of Application
Yury VinSR 1
Geospatial Approaches to Intervisibility and Communication within the Byzantine Fire Beacon System
Annalise WhalenSR 1
Between the Walls: Reconstructing Constantinople’s Lost Street Network
Pelin Yoncacı Arslan, Orçun Sena SaracoğluSR 1
Thematic Sessions
2.31 TS – Epigraphic Diversities: Byzantine Inscriptions and Cross–Cultural Perspectives
An Epigraphic Survey of the Pala d’Oro at the Basilica of San Marco in Venice
Maria Aimé VillanoBIG-HS
Multilingualism on Mount Athos: Greek and Slavic Inscriptions in the Sacred Space of a Monastic Community
Nicholas MelvaniBIG-HS
‘Signatures’ of Medieval Painters on Georgian Wall Paintings: Their Function and Spatial Context
Ketevan MikeladzeBIG-HS
Bilingualism in Art: Issues and Insights from the Bulgarian Material (13th–16th Century)
Lilyana YordanovaBIG-HS
2.32 TS – Reading Hermogenes in Byzantium and Beyond
Defining the Discipline: Rhetorical Prolegomena from Late Antiquity to the End of Byzantium
Baukje van den BergHS 32
The Great Invisible: John of Sardis among the Hermogenian Scholars, Then and Now
Daria ReshHS 32
The Rhetorical Curriculum and Stasis Theory in Middle Byzantium and Beyond: John Doxapatres on Hermogenes
Byron MacDougallHS 32
Reading Aristotle through Hermogenes: Stephanos Skylitzes and the Byzantine Classroom
Ugo ValoriHS 32
The Byzantine Reception of Hermogenes: Maximos Planoudes and the Legacy of Neoplatonic Exegesis
Elisabetta BariliHS 32
Antonio Bonfini’s Earliest Latin Translation of the Corpus Hermogenianum
Manfred KrausHS 32
Toward a Conceptual Reception of Byzantine Rhetorical Hermeneutic
Aglae PizzoneHS 32
2.33 TS – Roman Past and Roman Law in Byzantine Law and Beyond
Byzantine Law, Islam and the First Millennium: Prolegomena to a ius commune orientale
Zachary ChitwoodHS 1
A Byzantine Delegated Justice: Ancient Procedures and Medieval Practices
Romain GoudjilHS 1
The Many Lives of a Legal Text: Catalogues of Actions from Roman to Byzantine Law
José-Domingo Rodríguez MartínHS 1
The Resolution of Private Disputes by Arbitration. Byzantine Law and Post-Byzantine Legal Practice
Marios Th. TantalosHS 1
2.34 TS – Between Field Research and Digital Terrain Models: New Results on the Historical Geography of the Late Antique and Medieval Eastern Mediterranean
Spatial Organization and Topographical Perception in the Lembos Cartulary
Alexander Beihammer , Despoina AriantziHS 6
Geo-Bio-Archaeology of the Byzantine Harbours in Thrace: From the Hebros (Maritsa) to the Istros (Danube)
Anca DanHS 6
Rethinking the Historical Geography of the Byzantine Empire
Mihailo St. PopovićHS 6
Material Evidence of Cultural Interaction in the Riverscape of Hermos/Gediz (Western Asia Minor) during the Late Middle Ages
Myrto VeikouHS 6
The Island of Tenos and its Position in the Aegean Area as Expressed through the Study of Early-Byzantine Pottery from Chora
Anastasia G. YangakiHS 6
The Byzantine Insular-Coastal Koine in the Early Middle Ages
Luca ZavagnoHS 6
New Observations and Assessments on the Historical Geography of Isauria
Mustafa H. SayarHS 6
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Plenary Session: Reading Byzantine Literature Across the Centuries
How We Read, How We Share: Scholarly Lineages and New Audiences for the Late Byzantine Romance
Markéta KulhánkováAudimax
Byzantine Literature in the Ottoman Empire (ca. 1450–1650)
Georgi ParpulovAudimax
Turning the Page: Reading Byzantine Literature in Early Modern Europe
Nathanael AschenbrennerAudimax
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Session IV
Free Communications
2.49 FC – Byzantine Chôra and Beyond – Chorological Intersections
Chora Beyond Metaphysics: Derrida’s Concept and His Opponents
Cezary WąsBIG-HS
Spacing the Sacred: Brick as Generative Medium in Late Byzantine Architecture
Jasmina ĆirićBIG-HS
Le présent dans la performance liturgique: éléments de comparaison entre les procédés rhétoriques byzantins et latins
Maria Gorea-AutexierBIG-HS
Chorological Intersections: Chiasmus in Chorology – Encounter in The Interval
Nicoletta IsarBIG-HS
2.50 FC – Language, Script and Lexicography in Byzantium and Beyond
The Byzantine Background of New Ancient Greek Literature in the Early Modern Low Countries
Reinhart CeulemansHS 2
Towards an Edition of Basil of Neopatrai’s Commentary on the Minor Prophets
Niels De RidderHS 2
Byzantium or Not Byzantium? Greek Language in the 16th Century Reformed Exegesis
Floriane GoyHS 2
On ποιέω ἀγάπην and Its Intersubjective Function in Byzantine Greek
Lucía Madrigal AceroHS 2
The Third Level: A Reappraisal of the Byzantine Diglossia
Juan Signes CodoñerHS 2
2.51 FC – Visual and Textual Harmonies in the Medieval Caucasus
The Armenian Iconography of the Wedding at Cana in the Context of Byzantine and Western Traditions
Siranush BeglaryanHS 3
Echoes of Classical Antiquity: The Reminiscences of the Carved Gems in the Iconographic Program of Cilician Armenian Miniatures
Armine GabrielyanHS 3
A Group of Georgian Painted Sanctuary Barriers: The Deesis and Appearance of the Iconostasis in the Middle and Post-Byzantine Period
Salome MeladzeHS 3
Textual and Visual Environment in the Middle Ages: Bird Species and Images in Armenian Church Decoration
Armine PetrosyanHS 3
2.52 FC – Funerary Archaeology
Burial Practices and Spaces in Cappadocia: The Burial Complex at Yılanlı Kilise
Sarah MathiesenHS 5
Monks among the Tombs: Adaptation and Visibility in the Late Antique Western Thebes (Upper Egypt)
Aleksandra Pawlikowska-GwiazdaHS 5
The Mass Burial and Chapel West of Jerusalem and the 614 CE Sassanid Conquest of Jerusalem
Ronny ReichHS 5
2.53 FC – Building and Creating Infrastructures in Byzantium
Margins of Empire: Byzantine Fortifications in the Lycian Landscape
Mercan HelvacikaraHS 6
Patrons, Superintendents and Master-Builders? Divergent Realities in the Byzantine Building Industry in Constantinople and the Provinces
Max RitterHS 6
Reclaiming and Preserving the Architectural and Urban Legacy of Byzantine Trebizond/Trabzon (Türkiye)
Selin SurHS 6
Byzantine Fortifications of the Barrier Type (“Long Walls”) During the Reign of Justinian the Great (527–565 CE)
Oleh VusHS 6
2.54 FC – Warfare Ideology
De l’Angélophanie à l’Hagiophanie : anges et saints militaires dans le culte proto-byzantin (IVe–VIIe siècle)
Geoffroy FeugierHS 31
“We Encourage You to Attack, Whether by Land or by Sea”: Alliances, Conflicts, and Myths During Late Antiquity
Valentina GrassoHS 31
Uniting the Sword and the Pen: Negotiating Military Authority through Scriptural Mastery from Aksum to Byzantium
John LadouceurHS 31
Pratiche di diplomazia e filosofia della guerra nella tradizione dei trattati militari bizantini. La mètis des Byzantins
Simona PucaHS 31
2.55 FC – Byzantine Literature for the City
Who are You Going to Call? Philokalos! Interpreting Haunting and Enchantment in the Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai
Nedim Michael Gery BuyukyukselHS 21
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos and Byzantine Mediterranean Policy
Anna KantikaHS 21
Asteios’ to God: Middle Byzantine Conceptions of asteiotēs Between Ethics and Aesthetics
Valeria Flavia LovatoHS 21
Biblical Catenae as a Model for the Creation of Constantine VII’s Collection of Historical Excerpts? Some Preliminary Remarks
Sebastiano PanteghiniHS 21
2.56 FC – Interpreting, Reshaping, Reinventing: Byzantine Readers and Their Texts
2.57 FC – Byzantine Medicine
The Byzantine Reception of Ancient Veterinary Authors: The Case of Apsyrtos and Hierocles
Emmanuel BeaujardHS 1
Selected Molluscs as a Food and a Medicine in Early Byzantine Medical Texts
Patryk GrancowHS 1
Anorexia and Bulimia in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantine Period in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Christos TsagkarisHS 1
Physiology and Psychology of Ageing in 4th–5th Century Monastic Communities
Anna UsachevaHS 1
Metrodora Female Doctor, On Women’s (Μητροδώρα ἰατρῖνα, Γυναικείων)
Elias ValiakosHS 1
2.58 FC – Theologies and Debates before and after 1453
Artificial Respiration: Trauma and the Ineffable in Cardinal Bessarion’s Exhortations Against the Turks
Agustín Rafael AvilaSR 1
Shaping Political Theology in Northeastern Rus’: The Role of the Slavic Translations of Philotheus Kokkinos’ Occasional Military Prayers and Canons (14th–16th Centuries)
Egor GvozdevSR 1
Between Castile and Byzantium at the Council of Basel (1434–1439): A Study in Political Culture
Pablo Méndez GallardoSR 1
George Amiroutzes and the Reconfiguration of Byzantine Theological Discourse at the Ottoman Court
Hafize ToparslanSR 1
2.59 FC – Slavonic Adaptations of Byzantine Sources
Was the Primary Version of George the Monk’s Chronicle Preserved Only in the Church Slavonic Translation? Some Remarks Concerning the So-Called “Letovnik”
Zofia BrzozowskaSR 3
Late Antique and Byzantine Education According to the Slavonic Translations of Hagiographical Works
Preslava GeorgievaSR 3
“Fragments on Cosmography”: the Slavonic Reception of Byzantine Cosmographic Literature
Violina HristovaSR 3
La notion de ὑπερούσιος du Corpus Areopagiticum dans la perception slave
Olena SyrtsovaSR 3
Der Psalterkommentar des Theodoret von Kyros in den kirchenslawischen Psalterkatenen (12.–14. Jh.)
Vadim WittkowskySR 3
Thematic Sessions
2.46 TS – The Tradition of Byzantine Music in Past and Present: New Approaches to the Research of Byzantine Compositions and Challenges for Its Future Study
Tradition, Innovation, Renewal, and the Orthodoxy of the Psaltic Art
Alexander LingasHS 32
Performing the Hymns of Romanos the Melodist in Byzantium and Beyond
Andrew MellasHS 32
Prosodia Imago Musicae: Punctuation, Accents, and the Earliest Neumes
Peter JeffreyHS 32
Themata and Melismata in Old Stichera and Heirmoi: On a Systematic Approach of Their Rhythmic Interpretation
Ioannis ArvanitisHS 32
The Compositional System of the Short Sticherarikon of Petros Lampadarios: Analysis, Comparisons, and Impact on Modern Liturgical Practice
Konstantinos FotopoulosHS 32
Exploring Orality and Composition in the Psaltic Art: An Advanced Transcription Tool
Evangelia SpyrakouHS 32
Musical Manuscripts of the “Danielaioi” Monastic Brotherhood on Mount Athos (1880–1950)
Konstantinos BousdekisHS 32
2.47 TS – Albania: A Crossroads of Byzantine Influence and Beyond
The Albanian Territory on the Cultural Map of Byzantium: The Manuscripts of the Macedonian Renaissance
Andi Rembeci, Sokol ÇungaHS 7
Greek, Roman and Byzantine Architecture of Epidamnos, Dyrrachion/Dyrrachium, Durrës
Lida MirajHS 7
Protege Domine: l’abate benedettino Innocenzo e la Comunione degli Apostoli a Rubik (1272)
Andrea Di GiuseppeHS 7
Transformation Processes of Settlements from the End of the 6th Century to the Middle of the 7th Century
Skender Muçaj, Suela XhyheriHS 7
Church Decoration in Albania in the first half of the 16th Century as a Sign of Revival and Advancement of Orthodox Communities: Symeon, Bishop of Dryinoupolis (ca. 1497[?]–1530), and Onouphrios Argitis, Protopapas of Neokastron (ca. 1535–1555) as Case Studies
Ioannis VitaliotisHS 7
Church Decoration in Albania in the first half of the 16th Century as a Sign of Revival and Advancement of Orthodox Communities: Symeon, Bishop of Dryinoupolis (ca. 1497[?]–1530), and Onouphrios Argitis, Protopapas of Neokastron (ca. 1535–1555) as Case Studies
Ioannis VitaliotisHS 7
2.48 TS – Byzantium and Rome (4th–7th c.): Places and Men, Rite and Art
Cults on the Move, Mobility of Monks: Some Reflections on Late Antique and Early Medieval Monasteries between Constantinople and Rome
Lucrezia SperaHS 41
Some New Archaeological Evidence in Light of the Written Sources of Constantinople and Its Hinterland: The Case of Khalkedon
Asnu Bilban YalcınHS 41
Building for the Martyrs: The Architectural ‘Policy’ of Pope Theodore (642–649) and His Immediate Successors
Alessandro TaddeiHS 41
Rome Through the Looking Glass: Images and Places (6th–8th Century)
Giulia Anna Bianca BordiHS 41
Wednesday 26 Aug
Special Events
Without Registration
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
Under the Banner of the Seals: History and Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean (from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages)
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This special showcase provides an insight into the society and culture of the eastern Mediterranean region through clay seals from Egypt (from the holdings of the Papyrus Collection/Austrian National Library) and Byzantine lead seals (private collection of A.-K. Wassiliou-Seibt).
Post-Byzantine Icons from the Metropolis of Austria (Exhibition)
Church of the Holy Trinity, Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Vienna
This exhibition shows icons from the holdings of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria. The icons were acquired in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Some of them were donated to the Metropolis by important patrons of the time and bear beautiful witness to Greek culture in the imperial city of Vienna at that time. The exhibition is free to all congress participants.
Coins of Crisis. Power and Money in Late Byzantium and Beyond
The political fragmentation and cultural diversity of the Eastern Mediterranean after the Fourth Crusade in 1204 was also reflected in a plurality of currencies. In this exhibition, coins from Late Byzantium and neighbouring polities are not only presented as means of payment, but equally as media of power and artefacts of socioeconomic entanglements – reflecting the innovative research of the young collector of these specimens, Samuel Ernest Logan Cowell.
Ephesos – A Metropolis of the Ancient World and Modern Archaeological Project
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
For over 130 years, the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW has investigated Ephesos, a major UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye. Excavations reveal 9,000 years of settlement history. An international team studies social, economic, and environmental aspects of ancient life. The poster session presents this project, focusing on Byzantine material culture, diet, vegetation, agriculture, and animal husbandry.
The Stimulant Sea: Sugar, Coffee, & the Acquisition of Taste
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
This exhibition explores the intertwined and commodified histories of sugar and coffee within a specific place and time: the Medieval and Early Modern Red Sea, envisaged as a cultural connector between the Mediterranean world and Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Ocean. The exhibition explores four interrelated themes: first, tracing the trade networks and knowledge transfers that shaped the origins of sugar and coffee as we know them today; second, examining their early medicinal uses; third, considering the social rituals through which sugar and coffee became part of everyday consumption; and fourth, revealing the labor systems that enabled their production and global distribution.
This poster exhibition was part of a display in the Dumbarton Oaks Museum accompanying the 2025 Symposium, Africa and Byzantium, and sought to connect history-based scholarship with the contemporary world. As a public history initiative, it was intended for a wide audience, including visitors with a limited knowledge of the eastern Mediterranean and Byzantine worlds.
Book Exhibition
Main Ceremonial Hall, University of Vienna
Meet international academic publishers and their latest publications dealing with the Byzantine world.
Concert: Choir of the Metropolis of Austria
Church of the Holy Trinity, Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Vienna
Byzantine hymns, performed by a renowned Greek choir, in the Metropolitan Church of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria, Exarchate of Hungary and Central Europe, built between 1782 and 1787 and redesigned from 1856 by Theophil Hansen.
Registration Required
Guided tour to St. Stephen’s Cathedral (1/2)
Barbara Schedl, Franz ZehetnerSt. Stephen’s Cathedral
St. Stephen’s Cathedral currently stands like a monument on a large square in the center of the Austrian capital. The tall pyramid-shaped tower and the gigantic roof made of colored glazed tiles are impressive. The entire design of the church embodies the highest quality art of international standing. The tour of the cathedral focuses on special highlights such as a visit to the Attic and St. Bartholomew’s Chapel with the “Herzogsscheiben,” a tour of Frederick’s tomb, and the “Fürstenportal” with the Depiction of the Fall of St. Paul.
City Walk: The City of the Golden Apple. Ottoman Views of Vienna between Sieges, Trade & Spies
Johannes Preiser-KapellerMain entrance of the main building of the University of Vienna
With the Ottoman conquest of Hungary in 1526, Vienna became a main target of further plans of the Sultans for expansion. Two major sieges in 1529 and 1683 failed, but had a strong impact on the development of the city and its historical memory. Vienna, however, was also the object of description and admiration of Ottoman travellers, ambassadors – and spies. Furthermore, the city attracted Ottoman subjects of various religious denominations as merchants and migrants. The tour explores these Ottoman aspects of Vienna in the urban landscape, also with the help of historical images and texts.
Lunch Discussion: Teaching Byzantine Languages and Literatures
John Kee, Krystina Kubina, Cosimo Paravano , Baukje van den BergUniversity of Vienna
Join us for an informal lunch discussion on teaching the languages and literatures of the Byzantine world. While scholarship on literary culture has progressed dramatically, teachers and lecturers are still left almost wholly to their own devices in their pedagogy and classroom practice. We invite anyone interested in teaching to share ideas and experiences, find inspiration for the new academic year, and potentially develop new cooperation on this vital but neglected topic.
Manuscript Presentation: Highlights of the Greek Manuscript Collection
NNAugustinerlesesaal, Austrian National Library, Josefsplatz
Building Byzantium’s Future in the Humanities
Byzantium is playing an increasingly important role in the humanities. However, the field faces major challenges. Artificial intelligence, political uses of the past, armed conflicts, and declining funding are transforming scholarship. The panel discusses how Byzantine Studies can remain relevant and continue to develop in the changing conditions of the 21st century.
Dumbarton Oaks and CEU Evening Reception
Arkadenhof, Main building of the University of Vienna
Dumbarton Oaks and the Department of Historical Studies at Central European University cordially invite you to connect and reconnect over refreshments and appetizers during the 2026 International Congress of Byzantine Studies in Vienna. During the reception, there will be a presentation of publications and academic activities. We look forward to seeing you there!
8:30 am – 10:00 am Session I
Free Communications
3.10 FC – Manuscripts Lost and Found
Greek Illuminated Manuscripts from the Collection of the Prussian State Library in Berlin at the Jagiellonian University Library in Cracow
Piotr Ł. GrotowskiBIG-HS
Recovering Palimpsest Manuscripts: Methods, Best Practices, and Lessons from Two Decades of Experience
Damianos KasotakisBIG-HS
Die Sammlung griechischer Handschriften des Heiligen Klosters Kastamonitou: ein interdisziplinärer Ansatz
Ioannis MytaftsisBIG-HS
The “Doubtful” Meaning of the Declaration of Will. Elements of Diachronicity in the Methods of Interpretation of Byzantine Commentators
Lydia PaparrigaBIG-HS
A Discovery Made in Mount Athos in 2024: Fragments from a Mid-14th Byzantine Manuscript Containing the Lost Treatise of Galen “De moribus” or Περὶ ἠθικῶν
Kyrill PavlikianovBIG-HS
3.11 FC – Islands and Ports
A Group of Fortifications of the Transitional Period (7th–9th century) on Samos. The Case of Mount Ampelos
Georgia DelliSR 1
The Miliaresion in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: The Evidence from the Islands (8th–11th Centuries)
Sofia EfthymoglouSR 1
The Reflection of the recuperatio imperii in the Roman and Byzantine Port of Malaca
Mª Carmen Íñiguez SánchezSR 1
3.12 FC – New Perspectives on the History of the Palaeologan Period (1258–1453)
Patriarch Athanasios I’s Interference in Secular Affairs
Phoebe-Irene GeorgiadiHS 5
Palaiologan Networking Strategies Within the Late Medieval World System
Sophia Mergiali-SahasHS 5
Sons Against Fathers: The Failed Revolt of Andronikos IV (1373) and its Intimate Intricacies
Hüsamettin ŞimşirHS 5
Prosopographical Notes on the Katholikoi Kritai (ton Rhomaion)
Marios TantalosHS 5
The Vital Role of the Clergy in Safeguarding and Promoting Legal Science During the Palaiologan Era
Fr. Christos TsekourasHS 5
Authoritative Violence as a Policy: Imperial Reactions to Anti-Unionists in the Palaeologan era (1258–1453). Some Preliminary Remarks
Nafsika VassilopoulouHS 5
3.13 FC – Aspects of Philosophy in the Byzantine Millennium
Der Hierophant als eine grundlegende philosophische Konzeption in den Werken des Michael Psellos
Georgios DiamantopoulosHS 2
Reading Plato, Proclus and/or the Neoplatonic Commentaries in the Middle Byzantine Period: Patmos Eileton 897 and Michael Psellus
Mariella Menchelli PaoliniHS 2
Challenging Mainstream Reception: Theodore Prodromos on Aristotle’s Theory of Colors
Dunja MilenkovićHS 2
3.14 FC – Challenges of Editing Byzantine Texts I
Towards a New Edition of the Chronographia Attributed to Malalas
Olivier GenglerHS 7
The Critical Edition of Leontius of Jerusalem’s Contra Nestorianos
Marius PortaruHS 7
Sulla tradizione testuale della Parafrasi anonima dei Carmina Arcana di Gregorio Nazianzeno: per uno status quaestionis
Antonio Stefano SembianteHS 7
Towards Generating a Stemma Codicorum of Menander Rhetor’s Treatises
Alexandra VoudouriHS 7
Round Tables
3.01 RT – Herodotus in Byzantium: Transmission, Readership, Imitation
The Reception of Herodotus in Byzantine Christian Chronicles
Raffaella CantoreHS 21
Sites of Memory, Strategies of Power: Herodotus and the Byzantine Memoryscape
Scott KennedyHS 21
Herodotus Through Excerpts: Authorial Practices and Readers’ Tastes
Ottavia MazzonHS 21
Herodotus Beyond Byzantium: The Plethonian Recension of Herodotus between Mistra and the Italian Renaissance
Anthony EllisHS 21
3.02 RT – Rethinking the Byzantine State
The Private-Public Question and Byzantine State Formation, 6th–10th Century
Youval RotmanHS 1
Legal Thinking on Citizenship in the Middle and Late Byzantine Periods
Claudia RappHS 1
Rethinking the Role of the State: The Transformation of Byzantium, 11th–14th c.
Kostis SmyrlisHS 1
3.03 RT – New Approaches to Medieval Greek Grammar. Bridging Language Teaching, Manuscripts, People, and Cultures
Teaching Classical Greek through the Lexica: Reshaping Atticist Lexicography in Byzantium
Olga TribulatoHS 33
Grammar, Literature, and Hermeneutics in Byzantium: from the Commentaries on Dionysios Thrax to Eustathios
Baukje van den BergHS 33
Byzantine Construction Grammar: The Learnability and Acquisition of Medieval Greek Syntax, and the Prefabricated Style of Byzantine Literature
Andrea CuomoHS 33
Interconnected Codicological Data and the Teaching of Greek in Late Byzantium
Grigory VorobyevHS 33
3.04 RT – Letters in Late Antiquity and Beyond. Collections and Conceptions
Making a Connection: Letters of Synesius of Cyrene to Hypatia of Alexandria
Bronwen NeilHS 41
A Letter Collection is an Archive: The Case of the Letters of Nikephoros Ouranos
Mark MastersonHS 41
Diplomacy or Dissidence? The Emperor Heraclius in the Letters of Maximus the Confessor
Ryan StricklerHS 41
Creating Collections of Communication – The Greek Epistolary Manuscripts from 800 to 1800
Michael GrünbartHS 41
3.05 RT – Medieval Sicily as a Multilingual and Multicultural Centre
Philosophy, Power, and Poetry: The Sicilian School and the Multicultural Legacy of Swabian Sicily
Alessia CarraiHS 6
Of Mice and Men: Representation of asceticism in the Eugenian Recension of Stephanites and Ichnelates
Alessandra GuidoHS 6
Latin Poetry from the Medieval Mezzogiorno and the “Translation” of Greek and Arabic Language and Culture
Bianca FacchiniHS 6
“The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb”: Poetics, Power and Identity in the Works of Eugenios of Palermo and the Anonymous of Malta
Alessandro De BlasiHS 6
Thematic Sessions
3.06 TS – Re–Imagining Byzantium in Late Ottoman and Modern Istanbul: Impact on Byzantine Studies
Re-Imagining Byzantium from the Late Ottoman Era to the Present: Architectural Historiography, Historical Perception, and Cultural Reflections
Şule Kılıç Yıldız, Şahin KılıçHS 32
Constantinople and the Trajectories of Imagined Byzantium in the 1880s
Elena N. BoeckHS 32
Imagination and Knowledge: Dynamics of Displaying Byzantium in Istanbul
Brigitte PitarakisHS 32
Curating Byzantinists other than Byzantines: Is There A Need For Exhibiting The Story of Byzantine Studies?
Koray DurakHS 32
Encounters in Absence: Curating Byzantium Beyond the Dazzling Authentic
Emir Alışık, Gülru TanmanHS 32
Everyone Loves Vikings: Four Years with Nordic Tales, Byzantine Paths
Olof HeiloHS 32
3.07 TS – Byzantium and its Neighbours: Dialectics of Conflict and Cooperation
Reasons for the Arrest of Venetians in Byzantium in 1171: A Critical Review of Existing Opinions and a Hypothesis
Ziyao ZhuHS 31
Military Interactions between Byzantium and Its Eastern Neighbors during the Komnenian Dynasty
Bingxun ZhaoHS 31
The Theory of Translatio Imperii in Twelfth-Century Byzantine Historiography
Guoqing PangHS 31
Wandering Saints and the Distant Empire: The Governance Dilemma of Tenth-Century Byzantine Southern Italy as Seen through St. Neilos the Younger
Yurun DuHS 31
Hybrid Identities on Coinage: Monetary Expressions of Power and Cultural Encounter in Frankish Greece
Simeng SunHS 31
3.08 TS – Paganism in the Empire Beyond Theodosian Legislation
‘Pagan’ Entertainment after the Theodosian Legislation
Georgios DeligiannakisSR 6
The Emperor’s Fortune Prevails: An Aspect of Charismatic Sovereignty between Paganism and Christianity
Salvatore CosentinoSR 6
Alla ricerca delle implicazioni politiche nel Corpus Areopagitico
Paolo CesarettiSR 6
Pagan Practices Described in Byzantine Canonists of the 12th Century
Béatrice CaseauSR 6
3.09 TS – Feasting the Word: In Search of Oral–Performativity In and Around Byzantium
The Ceremonial Mise-en-scène of the Gospel Book in Medieval Armenia
Gohar GrigoryanHS 3
The Constantinopolitan Stational Liturgy on 1 September as Oral Performance
Robert NelsonHS 3
Musically Performing Holy Week According to the Typikon of the Anastasis
Alexander LingasHS 3
Reading Revelation under a “Lamp of Darkness”: A Copto-Arabic Guide to Ritualizing John’s Vision on the “Night of the Apocalypse”
David BaldiHS 3
(Re)making Martyrs: the Performative Reenactment of Martyrdom in the Menologion of Basil II (Vat. gr. 1613)
Elena GittlemanHS 3
10:15 am – 11:45 am Session II
Free Communications
3.24 FC – Byzantine Studies Today and Tomorrow
From Margins to Networks: Tracing the Disciplinary Formation of Byzantine Studies in Turkey
Şebnem DönbekciHS 33
Addressing the Overlooked Past: Developing a Resource on Byzantine History and Culture for American Middle and High Schools
Gerasimos Merianos, Constantine Hatzidimitriou, Taxiarchis G. KoliasHS 33
Whose Byzantium? Preservation and Projection in the Age of Virtual Production
Sunil PersadHS 33
3.25 FC – Beyond 1204: New Perspectives on Byzantium and its Entanglements in the Wider World of Eurasia in the 13th and Early 14th Century
Imperial Claims Staked in the Numismatic Medium: Nicaea and Epirus between 1204 and 1246
Samuel Ernest Logan CowellHS 31
The Experience of Violence Inside and Outside the Walls of Constantinople between the late 13th and Early 14th Century
Angeliki KolovouHS 31
Mediterranean Armenia and Palaiologan Byzantium: Political and Dynastic Contacts in the 13th–14th Centuries
Samvel GrigoryanHS 31
Between Saljuqs, Mongols, and Byzantium: The Political Career of Shams al-Dīn Iṣfahānī
András BaratiHS 31
Beyond Diplomatic Overture: The Cultural Impact of Byzantine-Mongol Connections in the 13th and 14th Centuries
Francesca FiaschettiHS 31
3.26 FC – Byzantine Romances
Dragon-Slaying and Dragon-Mastering in the Byzantine Vernacular Romance Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe
Rui Carlos FonsecaHS 5
The Palaiologan Romances Libistros and Rhodamne, Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe, and Belthandros and Chrysantza as Sources for the Study of the Byzantine Aristocracy
Maksymilian MikułaHS 5
Reimagining Achilles: The Interplay of Heroism and Romance in Byzantine Literature
Maria SandaliHS 5
Narrating Love. The Amorous Value System in Palaiologan Romance Literature
Annegret Weil HelmboldHS 5
Narrating Love. The Amorous Value System in Palaiologan Romance Literature
Annegret Weil HelmboldHS 5
3.27 FC – Nostalgia Wanted: Exploring the Longing for the Past in Byzantine Literature and Society
Feeling of Nostalgia in Byzantine Historiography: Terms and Topics
Bojana PavlovićHS 7
Nostalgia in the Writings of Late Byzantine Intellectuals – A Sentimental Lament for the Past or Political Instrument?
Maja NikolićHS 7
The Men of Old: Nostalgic Reflections in the Writings of Eustathios of Thessalonike
Jovana ŠijakovićHS 7
“We Had a Life, and That Life Was True”: The Use of Nostalgia as a Rhetorical Tool in the Texts of Gennadios Scholarios
Zoran JovanovićHS 7
Nostalgic Voices from the Underworld in Late Byzantine and Early Modern Greek Catabatic Narratives
Zuzana DzurillováHS 7
3.28 FC – Ideas and Debates Cetween East and West in the Early Medieval Mediterranean
Between Unity and Schism: Pope Pelagius I and the Three Chapters Controversy in Italy (556–561 CE)
Ada KökSR 2
Polemical Strategies of Pope Gregory the Great in the Complex Inter-Church Discussions
Aleksei MigalnikovSR 2
Commemoration and Dissent: Canon 15 of the First and Second Council (861) in Byzantine History
Andrei PsarevSR 2
An Antiochene Interpretation of Creation from Constantinople to the Latin West: The Legacy of Junillus Africanus’s Instituta II.2 in the Eighth Century
Jiachun XuSR 2
Round Tables
3.15 RT – Les érudits européens et Byzance au XVIIe–XVIIIe siècles
Littérature antihérétique et perspectives philologiques parmi les humanistes français au XVIème siècle
Santiago Francisco PeñaHS 21
Byzance en Provence: réseaux savants et ambitions éditoriales (1633–1637)
Anne-Marie ChenyHS 21
Une princesse byzantine à la cour du roi Louis: La «Byzantine du Louvre» et la réception d’Anne Comnène au XVIIe siècle
Teresa ShawcrossHS 21
Byzantium, a Mission for the Jesuits? Between Erudition and Proselytism, 1622–1773
Olivier DelouisHS 21
3.16 RT – Reconfigurer l’espace par l’art chrétien sous la pax ottomanica
The Byzantines and the Ottomans: Daily Life Interactions and Perceptions (14th–16th Centuries)
Siren ÇelikHS 1
Ceramics as Markers of Cultural Osmosis and of Cultural Memory in Christian Orthodox Churches During the Ottoman Period
Anastasia G. YangakiHS 1
Greek Liturgical Illuminated Manuscripts in Southeastern Europe (17th–18th Centuries)
Ovidiu OlarHS 1
Large Monasteries and Pilgrimage Centres as Places of Reception for Russian Religious Artefacts in the Pax Ottomanica
Yuliana BoychevaHS 1
3.17 RT – Epigraphic Diversities: Inscriptions from Comparative and Cross–Cultural Perspectives
Whose Monument is This? Determining Agency in Bilingual Dedications from the Port of Berenike
Rodney AstBIG-HS
Between Licentia Epigraphica, Linguistic “Intrusions,” and the Stonecutter’s Inexpertise: What Bilingual Inscriptions Reveal about Stonecutters’ Language and Epigraphic Practice in Late Antique Rome
Julia BorczyńskaBIG-HS
Trilingual and Bilingual Inscriptions of Sasanian Iran: Exploring a Nascent Dynasty’s Choice of Languages and Scripts
Olivia RambleBIG-HS
Shared Hands, Different Tongues? Multilingual Epigraphy, Workshop Practice and Craft Traditions in the Early Byzantine Eastern Mediterranean
Andrés ReaBIG-HS
Protection and Curses in the So-Called Visigothic Slates (6th–7th Centuries)
Isabel VelázquezBIG-HS
Multilingual Magical Texts in Early Byzantine Epigraphy
Michael Zellmann-RohrerBIG-HS
3.18 RT – Arabo–Greek Translations in Byzantium and Beyond
Beyond Translation: How Much Did the Late Byzantines Know About Arabic Philosophy?
Samet BudakHS 41
From Translation to Assimilation: The Case of Arabo-Byzantine Science
Luca FarinaHS 41
Arabo-Greek Translations in view of the Graeco-Arabic Translations: Discourse on Problems involved and on Method
Dimitri GutasHS 41
Why Greek? Reassessing the Eugenian Stephanites and Ichnelates in Sicily’s Multilingual Context
Alessandra GuidoHS 41
3.19 RT – Threaded Worlds: Current Approaches to Late Antique and Early Byzantine Textiles
Thematic Sessions
3.20 TS – Mapping Homiletic Landscapes in Late Byzantium: Advances and New Perspectives on Byzantine Homiletical Discourse
Preaching, Polemic, and Procession: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Late Byzantine Homilies
Tikhon Alexander PinoSR 6
The Same Wine in New Wineskins: The Making of Joseph Bryennios’ Constantinopolitan Homiliary
Cristian I. DumitruSR 6
Rhetoric and Reality: An Unpublished Homily by Neilos II of Rhodes (Niketas Myrsiniotes)
Marco FanelliSR 6
Homiletic Approaches and the Discourse of Resistance in Late Byzantium
Florin LeonteSR 6
3.21 TS – Byzantine Coin Finds Database, A Powerful Research Tool?
Byzantine Coin Finds in the Adriatic and Italy: Do Geographical and Chronological Referencing Offer New Insights?
Bruno Callegher, Alessia RovelliHS 2
Monetarisation of Central Balkans from the 6th to the 12th Century
Vujadin IvaniševićHS 2
Circulation of Byzantine Coins between Danube and Stara Planina Mountain in 13th and 14th Centuries
Stoyan MihaylovHS 2
Numismatic Circulation in the Mediterranean Islands under Byzantine Rule
Pagona PapadopoulouHS 2
3.22 TS – Contextualising Dionysius Areopagita’s Letters
The Epistles III-IV of the Corpus Dionysiacum and Their Christological Reception in Greek, Syriac, and Latin Traditions
Alberto NigraSR 1
Preliminary Notes on George Pachymeres’ Paraphrase on the Pseudo-Dionysian Letters
Margherita MateraSR 1
A Letter on the Dormition Preserved in Armenian in the Corpus Dionysiacum
Caroline MacéSR 1
Epistula VIII ad Demophilum monachum in the Arabic Tradition
Michael MuthreichSR 1
3.23 TS – Byzantium after Byzantium in Albania: Architectural and Artistic Continuity
Paleographic and Codicological Observations on the Post-Byzantine Manuscripts of the Central State Archives of Tirana
Sokol Çunga, Andi RembeciHS 3
A General Overview of the Surviving Painting in the Church of Saint Mary at Barmash, Kolonjë (1616): Preliminary Observations and Comparisons
Ahilino PalushiHS 3
The First Phases of Mural Painting in the Monasteries of St. Mary of Driano, Prophet Elijah, and St. Cyricus and Julitta in Dropull. A Comparative Analysis of Artistic Execution Processes and the Materials Employed
Edlira ÇaushiHS 3
The Establishment of the Albanian State and Byzantine Music: Political Situation, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Ecclesiastical Music
Meri KumbeHS 3
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Session III
Free Communications
3.33 FC – Ephesos I. Archaeological Insights into Urban Life (7th–10th c. CE)
Urban Transformations: Architectural and Stratigraphic Evidence from Ephesos in the 7th to 10th Centuries CE
Helmut SchwaigerHS 2
Snapshots of the Past: Material Culture and Transformation in Byzantine Ephesos
Alice WaldnerHS 2
Trade and Connectivity in Early Byzantine Asia Minor: Material Evidence from Different Ephesian Contexts
Horacio González CesterosHS 2
3.34 FC – Sculpture and Architectural Decoration in the Medieval Caucasus
La Liturgie céleste et le salut: le décor sculpté des tambours des églises médiévales arméniennes
Taguhi AvetisyanHS 3
Architectural Decoration of Christian Churches of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the 10th–11th Centuries: Variants of Reconstruction of the Decorative System
Ekaterina EndoltsevaHS 3
The Porch as an Architectural Space and Symbol: Medieval Georgian Churches (10th–11th Centuries)
Nato GengiuriHS 3
Rediscovering Saints Sergius and Bacchus – Newly Identified Reliefs on the Vale Church (10th c.)
Nino KvirikashviliHS 3
Eschatological Themes in Medieval Georgian Relief Sculpture
Ketevan OchkhikidzeHS 3
3.35 FC – Inscribing in Byzantium and Beyond II
The Accentuation Systems in the Quotations Found in Byzantine Inscriptions
Alexandra EvdokimovaHS 5
Ceramoplastic Decoration in the Byzantine Fortifications of Thessaloniki: Epigraphs, Monograms, Symbols, and Ornaments
Melpomeni PerdikopoulouHS 5
Texts on the Wall: Multilingual Inscriptions in the Sacred Space of Deir Mar Musa
Maria S. ThomasHS 5
Patronage and Art in Thirteenth Century Ohrid: Dedicatory Inscription in the Virgin Peribleptos Church Revisited
Ivan ZarovHS 5
3.36 FC – Anaia Reframed: Peeling Back the Layers of Religious, Commercial and Urban Narratives on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Excavations
“Crime and Punishment” at Anaia: The Codex Theod. 2.8.18 Inscription Revisited
Suna ÇağaptaySR 7
The Chronology of the Byzantine Pottery of Anaia: Production, Circulation and Consumption
Filiz İnananSR 7
Anaia’s Harbor and Shipyard: A Model of Continuity from Byzantine into Aydinid Period
Hasan Sercan SağlamSR 7
No Emperor on the Beach: Absence and Presence of the Imperial Power in the Twelfth-Century Western Asia Minor
Roman ShliakhtinSR 7
3.37 FC – Crown and Nimbus: The Byzantine Sovereigns at the Threshold of the Sacred
Sanctity and Sovereignty: Aelia Flavia Flaccilla and the construction of a Christian Roman Polity
Mattia C. ChiriattiHS 21
Justinian and Theodora in the Mosaics of San Vitale Basilica: Liturgical Sanctity and Political Program
Emanuela FogliadiniHS 21
A Champion of Orthodoxy: Narrative Strategies and the Use of Language in the Life of Empress Theodora (BHG 1731)
Laura FrancoHS 21
One Empire to Rule Them All: Emperors and Patriarchs of Nicaea in Epirote Social Imagery, 1204–1224
Aleksandar JovanovićHS 21
After Klokotnitsa: Sanctity of Despots and Despotissai in Epirus During the Centuries Following the Twilight of the Imperial Prospect
Marco FasolioHS 21
Constantine XI Palaeologus: The Last Emperor, Saint and Martyr
Giorgio VespignaniHS 21
3.38 FC – Liturgy and Hymnography
Melkite Euchologia as Sources for Liturgical Byzantinization
Achraf BrahimHS 31
Was There a Reform of the Greek Liturgical Lectionary After Iconoclasm?
Sysse G. EngbergHS 31
Fasting, Bread and Communion as a Way to Eternity in the Hymnography to Byzantine East Slavic Saints
Victoria LegkikhHS 31
Witnessing the Transition of the Georgian Church to the Constantinopolitan Rite through the Lens of the Jerusalem Community: Manuscript Tradition in Medieval Georgian Monastic Communities
Sandro TskhvedadzeHS 31
3.39 FC – Lived Religion and the Environment
Urban Development of Early Byzantine Jerusalem as an Effective Means of Shaping Christian Collective Memory: The Archaeological Perspective
Ira BarashHS 33
Il martire sulla croce di Cristo: la Scrittura nell’innografia bizantina dedicata a San Vito
Luca BelloHS 33
An Ecocritical Approach: Containment, Marmar, and Margarita—Bringing the Sea into the Basilica Eufrasiana in Poreč, Istria
Emilia CottignoliHS 33
Continuity, Discontinuity, and the Making of Sacralized Space in Byzantine Urbanism
Verena FuggerHS 33
Customs of Birth and Death and the Worship of the Elements of Nature During Early and Middle Byzantine Times. An Interdisciplinary Research
Eugenia MavrommatiHS 33
When the Earth Shook: Disaster, Decision, and Division in the Late Roman World
Ceren Pilevneli ÇubukHS 33
3.40 FC – Crossing Textual Borders: Rewriting as Cultural Adaptation
Rewriting as Storytelling: Narratological Approaches to the Annunciation in Late Antique Liturgical Poetry
Osman Yüksel ÖzdemirHS 41
Translating the Dialogues of Gregory the Great: Linguistic and Cultural Mediation between East and West in the 8th Century
Maria Rosa Giuseppina De LucaHS 41
The Rewriting of Cyril of Scythopolis’ Life of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (6th Century) in the Context of Serbian Hagiography: the Case of Teodosije the Hilandarian’s Life of Saint Sava of Serbia (End of the 13th Century – First Half of the 14th Century)
Tiziana Di FeliceHS 41
Translation as a Form of Rewriting: Theological Terminology and Sources in Manuel Kalekas’ Greek Translation of St. Anselm’s Cur Deus homo
Marthe NemegeerHS 41
Rewriting Poetry into Vernacular Narrative Prose: Observing Changes in Literary Form, Narrative Mode, and Imagery through the Lens of Language in the Andros-Thessaloniki Version of Digenis Akritis (17th c.)
Michele DidoliHS 41
3.41 FC – The Significance of Studying Byzantine Scholia
Thomistic Scholia on Aristotle’s De anima in the MSS. Berol. gr. fol. 67 and Scor. T.II.21
Athanasios KerefidesSR 1
Looking through the Old Scholia. Basilica cum scholiis as a Tool for Interpreting Justinian Sources
Kamil SorkaSR 1
The Scholia as Performance Prompts: A Proposal for Cross-Disciplinary Partnership
Andrew Walker WhiteSR 1
3.42 FC – War, Trade and Diplomacy in the Byzantine Balkans and Beyond
Byzantine Crisis Management Policy in the Balkans (7th-12th Centuries): Some Preliminary Remarks
Dragan GjalevskiSR 6
Avar ‘Surprises’ of 618 and 623 and their Reception in Byzantine Sources
Anastasia SirotenkoSR 6
The Avar-Bulgar Clashes of 630s and the Rise of the So-Called Old Great Bulgaria: A Steppe Conflict and its Impact on the Byzantine World
Nikolay HrissimovSR 6
Trade, Trade Restrictions, and the Slavic Siege of Thessaloniki c. 676-677: Reassessing the Evidence from Book II,4 of the Miracula Sancti Demetrii
Panos SophoulisSR 6
Puzzling Numbers in Leo Choirosphaktes’ Epistolography: Exaggerated, Correct or (Un)reliable?
Yanko HristovSR 6
The Golden Horde and Bulgaria against Byzantium: New Dating and New Interpretation of the Liberation Campaign of Sultan Izzeddin Kaykavus II
Lachezar KrastevSR 6
Thematic Sessions
3.29 TS – Evagrius Ponticus and Ascetic Miscellanea in Byzantium’s Neighbours
The Embroidering of Works by Evagrius Pontus in Medieval Ascetic Collections
Anissava MiltenovaHS 1
The Slavonic Reception of Evagrius Ponticus’ On Prayer within the Apophthegmatic Collections
Karine Åkerman SarkisianHS 1
Evagriana Arabica: A Preliminary Exploration of the Arabic Reception of Evagrius through Greek and Syriac
Emanuele ZimbardiHS 1
Evagrius Ponticus’ De octo spiritibus malitiae in the Old-Recension South Slavic Triodion Panegyrika
Tzvetomira DanovaHS 1
3.30 TS – Reassessing the Skylitzes Matritensis: New Insights Into the Reception of Byzantium in Sicily
Artistic Transfer and Hybridization in the Skyltizes Matritensis
Manuel Antonio Castiñeiras GonzálezHS 32
Gender Issues and Female Imperial Images in Skylitzes Matritensis
Verónica AbenzaHS 32
Minor Details, Major Insights: Flora in the Skylitzes Matritensis
Kallirroe Linardou HS 32
Syracuse in the Madrid Skylitzes: Perception, Transmission, and Historical Frames
Giulia ArcidiaconoHS 32
The Afterlife of Skylitzes Matritensis in 16th-century Italy
Inmaculada Pérez MartínHS 32
The Meaning of Materials: Identification of Pigments and Inks in Skylitzes Matritensis
Stefanos KroustallisHS 32
3.31 TS – Byzantium and the Art of Wall Mosaics: Inquiries into the Lost, Within and Beyond the Empire’s Borders
Introduction to the Thematic Session
Simone Piazza, Giulia Anna Bianca BordiBIG-HS
Lost Mosaics of the Byzantine and Omayyad Levant: Between Production and Recycling
Basema HamarnehBIG-HS
À la recherche du décor initial de l’église du Tombeau-de-la-Vierge à Géthsemani. Témoignages et dérivés
Athanasios G. SemoglouBIG-HS
When Were the Mosaics of Hosios Loukas’s Katholikon Dome Destroyed?
Alessandro TaddeiBIG-HS
Reconsidering the Lost Mosaic of the Apostle’s Communion of the Old Metropolis of Serres
Giulia Anna Bianca BordiBIG-HS
The Lost Mosaics of the Blachernai Palace in the 12th Century: A Review of the Field and a New Look at the Written Testimonies
Elena De ZordiBIG-HS
Sulle tracce del perduto mosaico della cupola di San Saturnino di Cagliari. Fonti seicentesche e dati materiali
Nicoletta UsaiBIG-HS
3.32 TS – Byzantium and Rome (8th–11th c.): Churches, Liturgy, Saints
Chants for Marian Feasts Between East and West: Mapping Reception
Harald BuchingerHS 6
Testi bizantini presenti nella liturgia ambrosiana: un breve sondaggio
Marco NavoniHS 6
Scambi e contatti latino-greci nell’agiografia di martiri e santi milanesi (secoli VII-IX)
Cesare PasiniHS 6
Greek Epigraphy of Medieval Rome: New Research
Francesco D’Aiuto, Francesca PotenzaHS 6
La Basilica romana di S. Maria in Aquiro: spunti per una riflessione, tra topografia e toponomastica della Roma «bizantina»
Alessandro VellaHS 6
San Basilio in scala mortuorum: A ‘Greek’ Monastery in the Monumental Center of Rome?
Hendrik DeyHS 6
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Plenary Session: Byzantine Diversities
With Astonishing Candor: Abbot Eutropius and his Attraction to a Young Boy
Christian LaesAudimax
Quel futur pour les études du genre à Byzance ? Le cas de la masculinité
Charis MessisAudimax
A Syriac Perspective: Medieval communities and the Empire
Dorothea WelteckeAudimax
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Session IV
Free Communications
3.47 FC – Ephesus in the Byzantine Period II: Religious and Cultic Aspects
Relics in Context: Material and Literary Traces of Martyr Veneration in Ephesus
Davide BianchiBIG-HS
Material Evidence with Religious Connotations from Ephesus in the Early and Middle Byzantine Period
Andrea PülzBIG-HS
Places of Charity in Early Byzantine Ephesus: A Re-Evaluation of the Sources
Florian OppitzBIG-HS
The Grotto of St. Paul in Ephesus: Final Outcomes of Archaeological Research
Renate J. PillingerBIG-HS
3.48 FC – Inscribing in Byzantium and Beyond III
Walls That Remember: Graffiti and Commemorative Practice in Post-Byzantine Moldavian Churches
Anna AdashinskayaHS 2
Greek Language and Its Place in the Varied Environment of Murfatlar: Seven Decades of Epigraphic Research (1957–2025)
Pantelis CharalampakisHS 2
Inside Looking Out: The Controversial Commissioners; Inscription in King Marko’s Monastery near Skopje
Elizabeta DimitrovaHS 2
Collective Patronage in Post-Byzantine Mani. The Evidence From Church Inscriptions (17th–18th Centuries)
Stavroula ManolakouHS 2
3.49 FC – Envisioning Byzantium Across Space and Time
Byzantine Churches Converted into Mosques as Described in the Notes of Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky
Yulia BuzykinaHS 3
Sources for Leonardo da Vinci’s Horse and Rider: From Constantinople to Milan
Susan GrundyHS 3
Methodology “as a Distorting Mirror”: Byzantine Architecture between Tradition and Context
Dimitra SikalidouHS 3
Dolly Zoom of the Byzantine Icon: Reverse Perspective as Painting the Fear of God
Darko TodorovićHS 3
Byzantine Art and Armenian Silver Liturgical Objects of the 17th–19th Centuries
Mariam VardanyanHS 3
3.50 FC – Byzantine Sigillography
3.51 FC – Art on the Eastern and Western Borders of Byzantium: The Problem of Influences
Aisled Tetraconch: A Reconsideration of the Architectural Form in the East and in the West (5th and 6th Centuries)
Anzhelika VernerHS 5
Stone Carving in the Early Christian Architecture of the Northern Balkans and on the Adriatic coast: Metropolitan and Regional Trends
Ksenia ObraztsovaHS 5
The Iconography of Traditio Legis in the Armenian Art of the 7th Century
Zaruhi HakobyanHS 5
The Armenian Elite in the Service of Byzantium: On the Attire of the Donator of the Adrianopolis Gospel (1007)
Inga DudukchyanHS 5
Architecture of the Northern Balkans in the 9th–10th Centuries and its Connection with the Adriatic Coast
Svetlana MaltsevaHS 5
The 11th-Century Architectural Decoration of San Marco in Venice: Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Traditions in the Northern Adriatic
Anna ZakharovaHS 5
3.52 FC – The Followers of the Apostles in Byzantium
Secondary Early Christian Figures in Late Antique Historians
Madalina TocaHS 21
‘One Among the Apostles’: A Syriac Mary Magdalene from Twelfth-Century Jerusalem
Maria S. ThomasHS 21
Apostolic Daughter, Physician and Prophetess: The Early Christian Martyr Hermione in the Armenian Tradition
Andy HilkensHS 21
3.53 FC – Challenging the Norm: Maternal Experiences and Female Transgressions in Byzantium and Beyond
Motherhood and Mothering Experiences in the Byzantine World
Despoina AriantziHS 31
Spawning Pseudoprophets: Jezebel as a Mother in Late Antiquity
Briana GrenertHS 31
Not to Be a Mother: The Language of Fertility Control in Byzantium
Larisa Ficulle SantiniHS 31
Birthing Byzantines: Material Culture of Motherhood in the Middle Byzantine Period
Caitlin MimsHS 31
Visualizing Female Deviance: Condemned Women in Monumental Painting of Medieval Serbia
Marina MandrikovaHS 31
Sinful Communications: Female Gossipers, Eavesdroppers and Slanderers Punished in Hell in Rural Churches of Venetian Crete
Angeliki LymberopoulouHS 31
3.54 FC – Mediators of Communication
Exploring the Socio-Pragmatics of Early Byzantine Request Letters on Papyrus
Klaas BenteinSR 1
Spreading Out Greek Characters. Fakhr-i Mudabbir (1157–1236) on the Rūm-Rūs and their Writing
Andriy DanylenkoSR 1
The Role of Letter Carriers in the Epistolary Exchanges of the Cappadocian Fathers
Andra JugănaruSR 1
Dialogues des Cosmopolites. Petitions to the Emperor in Early Byzantium: Clergy, Officials, Financiers
David RockwellSR 1
3.55 FC – Byzantine Perspectives on Individuality in Non–Philosophical Contexts
Horses in the Hippiatrika as Individualised Patients in the Medical Encounter
Sophia XenophontosHS 33
Zur Personifikation des Jordans in postikonoklastischen Taufdarstellungen
Sarah PlankHS 33
Ioannes Sikeliotes on Rhetoric, Harshness, and the Cosmic Order
Cosimo ParavanoHS 33
Individuality and Law: General Rules Applied to Individual Cases
Christophe ErismannHS 33
3.56 FC – The Reception of Byzantium in Modern Academia II
Between Ancient and ‘Modern’: The Developing Image of Byzantium in the Writings of Karl Benedikt Hase (1780–1864)
William BartonHS 41
Turning a Historiographical Lens on Byzantine Studies: Textual Analysis of 50 Years of Conference Abstracts
Alice Lynn McMichaelHS 41
The Memory of Byzantium in Modern Anatolia: Churches, Legends, and Local Traditions in Akdağmadeni
Pınar Serdar DinçerHS 41
Echoes of Byzantium: Tracing Historical Greek Registers in Karl Benedikt Hase’s Diary
Lev ShadrinHS 41
3.57 FC – Black Sea: From Byzantine Pontos to Latin Gazaria, 13th–15th Centuries
The Babel of Languages: Interpreters, Notaries, Administrators in the Genoese Black Sea (14th–15th Century)
Enrico BassoSR 6
Crimea and the Northern Black Sea in Medieval Georgian Written Sources
Erekle JordaniaSR 6
Cultural Exchange in Venetian Gazaria: Merchants, Missionaries, and Migrants in the 14th-Century Black Sea
Lorenzo PubbliciSR 6
Genoese Castles of the Southern Coast of Crimea (Late 14th–15th Centuries)
Sergei BocharovSR 6
Thematic Sessions
3.44 TS – New Discoveries on the History of Byzantium in Viennese Collections
Text and Context of Ephesos Museum III 1072 (Antikensammlung, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien)/Cast Gallery H110 (The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)
Ida TothHS 32
The Autocephaly of the Russian Church According to Byzantine Sources of the 10th Century from the Collection of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
Oleg G. UlyanovHS 32
Memory of Byzantium, Mehmed II Fatih and His Entourage: The Evidence of Künhü’l-Aḫbār According to the Viennese Manuscript
Dmitry KorobeynikovHS 32
Byzantine-Rite Liturgical Books Printed by Cyrillic Letters at the Sancta Barbara Chapel (Newly Discovered Archival Sources)
Sándor FöldváriHS 32
3.45 TS – Byzantium and Artsakh
Some Comments on a Miniature in Mashtots’ Matenadaran Manuscript No. 316
Manea Erna ShirinianHS 1
Aux confins de Byzance : la sculpture médiévale de l’Artsakh et du Syunik
Anna Leyloyan-YekmalyanHS 1
Women as Key Patrons of Spiritual Monuments: Insights from Empress Theodora and Princess Arzu Khatun
Yvette TajaryanHS 1
Gandzasar Monastery: Byzantine Influence and Cultural Exchange
Lusine SargsyanHS 1
3.46 TS – L’hagiographie de combat : le discours de l’altérité religieuse dans les vies des saints
The Vocabulary of Anti-Islamic Hatred in Byzantine Hagiography
Luigi D’AmeliaHS 6
Echoes of Controversies Related to the Union of Lyons in the Hagiography of Mount Athos
Smilja DušanićHS 6
Ethopoiia and Emotions in the Service of the Depiction of Evil Characters in the Lives of Ignatios and Euthymios
Martin HinterbergerHS 6
Construire la figure de l’autre dans le cadre de la polémique religieuse : le cas de l’hagiographie italo-grecque
Anna LampadaridiHS 6
Le combat pour la paix : l’Éloge du patriarche Antoine Kauléas (BHG 139)
Sophie MétivierHS 6
L’hagiographie et la polémique anti-islamique dans l’Europe du Sud-Est au début du XVIe siècle : le Martyre de saint Georges de Kratovo
Aleksandar SavićHS 6
Thursday 27 Aug
Special Events
Without Registration
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
Under the Banner of the Seals: History and Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean (from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages)
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This special showcase provides an insight into the society and culture of the eastern Mediterranean region through clay seals from Egypt (from the holdings of the Papyrus Collection/Austrian National Library) and Byzantine lead seals (private collection of A.-K. Wassiliou-Seibt).
Post-Byzantine Icons from the Metropolis of Austria (Exhibition)
Church of the Holy Trinity, Fleischmarkt 13, 1010 Vienna
This exhibition shows icons from the holdings of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Austria. The icons were acquired in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Some of them were donated to the Metropolis by important patrons of the time and bear beautiful witness to Greek culture in the imperial city of Vienna at that time. The exhibition is free to all congress participants.
Coins of Crisis. Power and Money in Late Byzantium and Beyond
The political fragmentation and cultural diversity of the Eastern Mediterranean after the Fourth Crusade in 1204 was also reflected in a plurality of currencies. In this exhibition, coins from Late Byzantium and neighbouring polities are not only presented as means of payment, but equally as media of power and artefacts of socioeconomic entanglements – reflecting the innovative research of the young collector of these specimens, Samuel Ernest Logan Cowell.
Ephesos – A Metropolis of the Ancient World and Modern Archaeological Project
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
For over 130 years, the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW has investigated Ephesos, a major UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye. Excavations reveal 9,000 years of settlement history. An international team studies social, economic, and environmental aspects of ancient life. The poster session presents this project, focusing on Byzantine material culture, diet, vegetation, agriculture, and animal husbandry.
The Stimulant Sea: Sugar, Coffee, & the Acquisition of Taste
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
This exhibition explores the intertwined and commodified histories of sugar and coffee within a specific place and time: the Medieval and Early Modern Red Sea, envisaged as a cultural connector between the Mediterranean world and Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Ocean. The exhibition explores four interrelated themes: first, tracing the trade networks and knowledge transfers that shaped the origins of sugar and coffee as we know them today; second, examining their early medicinal uses; third, considering the social rituals through which sugar and coffee became part of everyday consumption; and fourth, revealing the labor systems that enabled their production and global distribution.
This poster exhibition was part of a display in the Dumbarton Oaks Museum accompanying the 2025 Symposium, Africa and Byzantium, and sought to connect history-based scholarship with the contemporary world. As a public history initiative, it was intended for a wide audience, including visitors with a limited knowledge of the eastern Mediterranean and Byzantine worlds.
Book Exhibition
Main Ceremonial Hall, University of Vienna
Meet international academic publishers and their latest publications dealing with the Byzantine world.
Costumes of Authority: Dress to Impress
Royal and ecclesiastical costumes from medieval Nubia reveal how clothing signaled rank, power, and Byzantine influence. The project Costumes of Authority (University of Warsaw) investigates these visual codes and Church–State relations in Makuria. Live presentations of reconstructed costumes offer a vivid glimpse into Nubia’s language of authority.
Registration Required
Guided tour to St. Stephen’s Cathedral (2/2)
Barbara Schedl, Franz ZehetnerSt Stephen’s Cathedral
St. Stephen’s Cathedral currently stands like a monument on a large square in the center of the Austrian capital. The tall pyramid-shaped tower and the gigantic roof made of colored glazed tiles are impressive. The entire design of the church embodies the highest quality art of international standing. The tour of the cathedral focuses on special highlights such as a visit to the Attic and St. Bartholomew’s Chapel with the “Herzogsscheiben,” a tour of Frederick’s tomb, and the “Fürstenportal” with the Depiction of the Fall of St. Paul.
City Walk: Floods, Fires and Plagues. A journey into the environmental history of medieval & early modern Vienna
Johannes Preiser-KapellerMain entrance of the main building of the University of Vienna
Like all pre-modern urban centres, Vienna was affected by various natural calamities, from the Late Antique Little Ice Age to the Late Medieval Little Ice Age, from the First Plague Pandemic (the “Justinianic Plague”) to the Second one of the “Black Death”. Recurring floods of the Danube and other rivers modified the urban landscape in often dramatic ways, while storms, fires and even earthquakes destroyed lives and buildings. Based on the newest findings of archaeology and environmental history, the tour explores the ecological dynamics of Vienna from Roman times to the early 19th century.
Guided Tour: Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages (3/3)
Krystina Kubina, Giulia RossettoPapyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This tour is guided by the exhibition’s curators
Guided Tour: Ephesos Museum (2/2)
Georg PlattnerEphesos Museum, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Ephesus (Türkiye) was one of most important cities in the ancient world. Hit by severe earthquakes and the deterioration of its harbours, the city remained an important centre in late antiquity and the Byzantine period. Austrian excavations in Ephesus started in 1895. Findings from the first years were brought to Vienna as a gift from the Sultan to the Austrian Emperor and are on display in the Ephesus Museum of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Georg Plattner, director of the collection, will give an overview of old and new projects.
Manuscript Presentation: The Vienna Greek Palimpsests
Jana GruskováAugustinerlesesaal, Austrian National Library, Josefsplatz
The Austrian National Library possesses a significant number of Greek palimpsests. Since 2003, systematic research has been undertaken, leading to “discoveries” of Ancient Greek and Byzantine texts. Selected palimpsests of great importance will be presented, including unique witnesses. State-of-the-art digital technology allows us to see scripts that have been lost for centuries
Byzantine Chant Workshop
Experience Byzantine chant firsthand and explore it in an interactive workshop. No prior experience is required. A more detailed description will be available soon on our website.
Film Screening: Menandros & Thais (Original Version with English Subtitles) followed by a Discussion with Director and Author Ondřej Cikán
Ondřej CikánBurgkino
A beautiful bride. A broken hero. A surreal odyssey. Thaïs is kidnapped by pirates during her wedding to Menandros. In his search for her, the bridegroom transforms into a bloodthirsty monster, his horse grows wings, a witch promises him to another woman, King Xerxes has him castrated, and yet in the end everything turns out happily. Truly happily?
Further information can be found at www.menandros.cz
8:30 am – 10:00 am Session I
Free Communications
4.10 FC – “Why Did You Plunder this Country?”: Understanding Captivity between Rome and Iran in the 6th c.
The Targets of Deportation Policy of Iranian King Husraw I Anōšag-rūwān
Katarzyna MaksymiukSR 6
Memories of a “Better Antioch”: A King of Kings and His Christian Captives
Scott McDonoughSR 6
Captives Between Empires: Arabs in the Sasanian-Byzantine Wars of the Sixth and Seventh Centuries
Khodadad RezakhaniSR 6
Classification, Evaluation, and Exchange of Captives in Sixth-Century Rome and Iran
Ekaterina NechaevaSR 6
“Sometimes it was the Romans who pillaged and burned the lands of the Persians; at other times Roman territory suffered”: Syriac Perspectives on Captives of the Late Sixth Century
Michael David EthingtonSR 6
From the Danube to the Euphrates: Theophylact Simocatta on Conflict Resolution and Prisoner Exchange in the Age of Maurice
Sean StrongSR 6
4.11 FC – Modern Byzantiums: Reimagining Byzantine Heritage in the Long Nineteenth Century, Part II
No Future? Byzantinism and the Politics of Medieval Symbols in Serbia and Russia
Alexandra VukovichHS 5
Reframing Byzantium through Language: K.B. Hase and the Rehabilitation of Byzantine Literature in Early 19th-Century France
Chiara TelescaHS 5
Byzantine, Sasanian, Sogdian or Japanese? Pearl Roundel Silk between East and West
Yuka KadoiHS 5
4.12 FC – The Performance of Politics
Personifications of Abstract Ideas and Elite Identity in the Late Antique Eastern Mediterranean
Prolet DechevaHS 2
Author, Form and Function of the Dialogus de scientia politica and the Reception of Cicero’s Notions of Justice in the Early Byzantine Empire
Nikolas HächlerHS 2
Gnomic Mirrors of Princes and Dynastic Politics in the Byzantine Republic
Marion KruseHS 2
4.13 FC – The Theotokos in Texts and Images of the Late and Post–Byzantine Periods: Continuities and Transformations
The “Makaristaria” on the Dormition of the Theotokos and the Question of the Prosomoia
Eirini AfentoulidouHS 41
Envisioning Marian Hymns: The Painted Kanon of the Virgin’s Dormition at the Ljeviška Church in Prizren
Andrei DumitrescuHS 41
Nikephoros Xanthopoulos and his commentary on the Marian troparion inc. Τὴν τιμιωτέραν τῶν Χερουβίμ
Maria-Lucia GoianăHS 41
“In Thee Rejoices” and “It Is Truly Meet”: Two Marian Hymns and Their Iconography
Georgi ParpulovHS 41
On the Post-Byzantine Tradition of the Akathistos Hymn. The 17th-Century Romanian Translations
Emanuela TimotinHS 41
4.14 FC – Research on Music and its Contexts
La vie de Stépanos Siunétsi comme précieuse source historique des relations musicales arméno-byzantines de VIIe–VIIIe siècles
Anna ArevshatyanSR 1
La réforme liturgique de Syméon de Thessalonique. Les offices asmatiques propres à Thessalonique décrits dans son Typikon néo-asmatique
Sébastien-Élie GarnierSR 1
The Sticherarion Tradition and the Contribution of Ioannis Koukouzelis (NLG 884). An Ongoing Research Project
Vasileios SalterisSR 1
Hymnody and Theology Beyond Byzantium: Examples from the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ
Gregory TuckerSR 1
The Musicological Studies of Jean-Baptiste Thibaut and His Bulgarian Period (1898–1903)
Stefka VenkovaSR 1
Between East and West: Nikon’s Reforms and the Liturgical Chant of Seventeenth-century Russia
Anastasia ShmytovaSR 1
Round Tables
4.01 RT – Byzantine Heritage in South–Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages
Byzantine Chronological Systems in Serbian Medieval Chanceries
Nebojša PorčićHS 1
On Some Linguistic and Diplomatic Features of the Greek Documents Issued by Stefan Uroš IV Dušan
Dejan DželebdžićHS 1
A Goose Keeper Among Warriors: The Militarization of the Cult of Saint Tryphon in 13th-Century Nicaea and Its Possible Reflections in Eastern Christian Art
Miloš ŽivkovićHS 1
Inheriting Stories: On the Slavonic and Romanian Translations of the Palaea Historica
Mihail-George HâncuHS 1
Marian Protection and Female Devotion: The Akathistos Tradition in Post-Byzantine Moldavia
Oana IacubovschiHS 1
4.02 RT – Byzantium Beyond Byzantium: Intercultural Dialogue with Georgia
Some Specificities of the Iconographic Programmes of Georgian Wall Paintings
Ekaterine GedevanishviliBIG-HS
Gelati Monastery: Art, Politics and Dynastic Legacy under the Bagrationis
Irakli TezelashviliBIG-HS
Royal and Ecclesastical Thrones: Staging Authorities in Medieval Georgian Churches
Natalia ChitishviliBIG-HS
Migration of Texts: Liturgical Representations in Byzantium and Georgia
Manuela Studer-KarlenBIG-HS
4.03 RT – Translating People: Humans, Characters, and Authority
“She Hated all Romans”: Reception and Translation of Foreign Women into Characters in Late Byzantine Historical Accounts
Petra MelicharHS 33
“For They Suddenly Attacked Me Like Wolves”: The Topos of Abduction in Late Byzantine Romance
Zuzana DzurillováHS 33
4.04 RT – Entering and Experiencing Enclosed Spaces in (Post–) Byzantium: Open Questions in Dark Zones
Holy Enclosures: Healing Shrines from Antiquity to 14th-Century Byzantium
Alexander AlexakisSR 7
This Must Be the Place: Monastic Place-Making in Byzantine Cappadocia
Elizabeth ZanghiSR 7
Brushstrokes of Faith: Post-Byzantine Wall Painting in Meteora and Kalabaka (16th–18th c.)
Fanie LytariSR 7
Haunted Enclosures: The Aftermath of the Church of Panaghia in Antalya, Türkiye
Pınar AykaçSR 7
4.05 RT – Urban Families and Households in Byzantium (7th–13th Centuries)
Introduction to the RT “Urban Families and Households in Byzantium”
Stephanos Efthymiadis, Fotis VasileiouHS 7
Urban Housing and the Byzantine Family: Domestic Structures and Social Dynamics
Isabella BaldiniHS 7
“Did You Come to Murder My Child?”: Early Byzantine Family in the Light of the Greek Miracle Collections
Julia DoroszewskaHS 7
“Dishonorable” Women: Concubines (παλλακαί) in Middle and Late Byzantium
Nathian LeidholmHS 7
Domestic Servants and Maids Inside and Outside the Byzantine Household Microcosm
Maria LeontsiniHS 7
The Status of Women in Middle Byzantine Legal Culture
Evangelos StavropoulosHS 7
Structuring the Family: Domestic Architecture, Familial Ties and Archaeology in the Middle Byzantine Town
Nikos TsivikisHS 7
Thematic Sessions
4.06 TS – Learning and Education in Byzantium and Beyond
Teaching the Critical Edition of Classical Texts in the Early Palaeologan Period: The Case of George of Cyprus
Costas ConstantinidesHS 32
How Did Children Learn to Write in Byzantium? An Appraisal of the Minuscule in Terms of Graphic Learning
Inmaculada Pérez MartínHS 32
Photius’ Teaching Activities and His “Circle”: Between School, Private Academy and Political Committee
Filippo RonconiHS 32
The Teaching of Medicine and Other Aspects of Medical Culture in Twelfth-Century Byzantium
Ilias NesserisHS 32
4.07 TS – Byzantium Beyond Stereotypes: Science and Innovation
4.08 TS – Byzantinoarmenika: Aspects of the Relations Between Byzantines and Armenians
“Plein de science en arménien, et plus encore en grec”: Scholars and Texts between Byzantium and Armenia
Noemi GravanteHS 3
Hellenistic Philosophy in the Armenian Tradition: a First Survey on Armenian Testimonies of Zeno of Citium and Other Stoic Philosophers
Emanuele ZimbardiHS 3
Descriptions of Divine Encounters in the Poetic Works of Symeon the New Theologian and Grigor Narekatsi
Marina BazzaniHS 3
Byzantine Networks of Military Communications: Military Communications and Bulletins in and from the Caucasus, and Their Dissemination in Byzantium (c. 850–1204)
Georgios ChatzelisHS 3
Toros II’s Generalship and Its Impact on Armenian–Byzantine Relations
Konstantinos TakirtakoglouHS 3
Catholicos Gregory VII as Continuator of the Ecumenical Work of St. Nerses the Gracious
Gevorg KazarianHS 3
The Family of Senachereim in the Late Byzantine Period (13th–15th c.): The Presence of its Members in the Administration and Society
Elisabeth ChatziantoniouHS 3
4.09 TS – Military Considerations of the Byzantine–Ottoman Confrontation During the 14th Century
The Ottoman Expansion and the Greek Lands in the Mid-14th Century: Consequences and Transformations
Efstratia SyngellouHS 6
The Byzantine Strategy Shift to Sea-Power and Amphibious Warfare from the 1340s
Konstantinos MoustakasHS 6
The Army as a Composite: Key Constituents of the Ottoman Military Forces during the 14th Century
Mariya KiprovskaHS 6
10:15 am – 11:45 am Session II
Free Communications
4.23 FC – Preservation and Dissemination of Byzantine Musical Culture by the Sinai Monastery: the Library and its Collections of Musical Manuscripts
Sinai Musical Manuscripts and Byzantine Notation: A Centuries-Long Evolutionary Story
Flora KritikouSR 2
Kalophony of St John Koukouzeles in the Mathemataria of St Catherine’s Monastery on Mt Sinai
Maria AlexandruSR 2
Byzantine Musical Theoretical Treatises in the Sinai Collection: Unique Evidence and Thematic Diversity
Thomas ApostolopoulosSR 2
Greek Chanting Manuscripts of Cretan Renaissance at Sinai Monastery
Emmanuel GiannopoulosSR 2
4.24 FC – Epiros: The Other Western Rome
The Reorientation of Imperial and Intellectual Networks After 1204: Michael Choniates as a Case Study
John KeeHS 21
Political and Ecclesiastical Relations Between Epiros and Bulgaria, 1207–1241
Francesco Dall’AglioHS 21
Coinage Circulation in the Empire of Epiros–Thessaloniki (1204–1261)
Ilia Curto PelleHS 21
Theodore Komnenos Doukas as Moses the Demagogue: Renewing a Multi-Ethnic Byzantine Balkans
Nathan WebsdaleHS 21
4.25 FC – Ecclesiastical Dress: Fashion, Symbolism, and Meaning
The Role of Iconic Clothing in Representations of the Bishop in Late Antiquity
Katherine MarsengillHS 2
In-Between: Witnessing Liturgical Vestments inside Late Antique Cathedrals
Vladimir IvanoviciHS 2
Imported Textiles as Liturgical Furnishings in Late Antique and Medieval Egypt
Elizabeth Dospěl Williams HS 2
Clothing the Bishop: Materiality, Ritual, and Meaning in the Funerary Dress of Ravenna’s Archbishops
Maria Cristina Carile, Elisa Tosi BrandiHS 2
Silk and Sackcloth: The Liturgical Sakkos and Christ’s Garment of Mockery
Warren WoodfinHS 2
4.26 FC – The Mobility of Texts and Images in the Christian and Islamic East
The Armenian Translation of John Chrysostom’s Commentary on Isaiah (CPG 4416): Restoring the Missing Text
Emilio BonfiglioSR 7
“Change It Just a Little Bit”: Subtle Christianization in Medieval Armenian Translations from Greek
Lorenzo ColomboSR 7
The Fatimid Court’s Ceremonial Textiles: Ṭirāz in its Mediterranean Context
Seyed Salam FathiSR 7
Melissende New Helena: A Neglected Typos and its Use in Crusader Jerusalem
Vera IvanovitsSR 7
4.27 FC – Rules for the Church
Regulating Marriage in the Komnenian Era and Beyond: Two Canonical Texts Under Patriarch Nikolaos IV Mouzalon (1147–1151) and Their Transmission
Kyriakos CostaSR 6
Reception of Byzantium under Habsburg Rule: The Role of Canon Law
Thomas Németh, David Heith-StadeSR 6
Το λόγιο κείμενο του Νομοκάνονα (‘Νομίμου”) του νοταρίου Θηβών Μανουήλ Μαλαξού (16ος αι.): μία πρώτη προσέγγιση
Anastasia Nikolaou, Lydia Paparriga, Dimitrios TzelepisSR 6
Prostitutes and Brothels under the Aegis of Clerics in Byzantium. A Denounced Anomaly?
Edward TrofimovSR 6
4.28 FC – Gender and Sexuality I
Θηλυκή αλλά μη γυναικεία αγιότητα: ο αντίλαλος της «Βροντής: Νού Τελείου» κατά την πρώιμη βυζαντινή περίοδο
Konstantinos IoannouHS 1
La femme mère et martyre dans le cadre familial. Construction hagiographique et aspects littéraires de la figure maternelle dans les Passions épiques dans l’antiquité tardive
Maria KanavaHS 1
Transmission of Legal Provisions on Eunuchs from Rome to Byzantium
Yuki KontaniHS 1
Fabrics and Dress in Late Antiquity: The Role of Female Personifications on Female Attire
Nikoleta KourkoutaHS 1
Posters
Clerics and Building in Early Byzantine Inscriptions: A Digital Humanities Approach
Canan Arıkan-CabaArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The poster presents a study that combines historical interpretation with digital humanities methods to investigate the role of Christian clerics (bishops, priests, deacons) as benefactors in early Byzantine society (4th–8th century CE). It draws on a corpus of 500 Greek inscriptions documenting clerical building activities across the Eastern Roman Empire. The corpus was created using a hybrid methodology, combining manual collection with computational filtering of open-access digital epigraphic databases through Python scripts. The data is then structured using an entity-relationship (ER) model, incorporating spatial, textual, material and personal entities. Clerical building inscriptions inherited and transformed the Roman tradition of honorific public inscriptions. Their language emphasizes religious devotion and ecclesiastical hierarchy, employing laudatory epithets (e.g., “most holy,” “God-loving”) and dedicatory or votive formulas adapted to a Christian context. Special attention is given to the positioning of these inscriptions within ecclesiastical spaces, which served as sites for public display, contrasting with their earlier pagan or Jewish uses, where the burial space and worship space were often separate. In this study, the church is not only seen as a sacred space but also as an urban microcosm, where the living and the dead, as well as religious and civic memory, converge. Preliminary results indicate clear patterns linking clerical rank with specific textual formulas, and show that these inscriptions often blurred the lines between votive, funerary, and building commemoration—contributing to the Christianization of public landscapes and fulfilling multiple roles. The study further challenges the routine classification of these texts as merely “dedicatory inscriptions,” demonstrating that many lack traditional dedicatory formulas and instead reflect a broader range of functions and motivations.
The Byzantine Church of Çeltikdere: A Perspective on Middle Byzantine Ecclesiastical Architecture
Mercan HelvacikaraArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Located in the village of Çeltikdere in the Seben district of modern-day Bolu (Turkey), this Byzantine church represents a rarely preserved example of Middle Byzantine rural ecclesiastical architecture. In the Byzantine period, the region belonged to the province of Bithynia; the city of Bolu, then known as Claudiopolis, was a significant inland settlement located approximately 250 km east of Constantinople (Istanbul). Although currently abandoned, the building retains core features characteristic of provincial sacred architecture. The church follows the cross-in-square plan, a standard type in Middle Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture, and is constructed with alternating courses of stone and brick. This poster presents the findings of a documentation project conducted using 3D laser scanning (an advanced recording technology), focusing on the building’s spatial organization, construction techniques, material characteristics, and state of preservation. In addition to architectural analysis, the study considers the site’s historical layers, including its conversion into a mosque in the early 20th century. This transformation sheds light on broader patterns of continuity and change in the rural landscapes of post-Byzantine Anatolia. Issues such as neglect, environmental impact, and structural deterioration are also briefly addressed within the scope of current conservation challenges. By documenting and interpreting this overlooked monument, the study contributes to broader discussions on the diversity of Byzantine architecture beyond urban centers, and highlights how rural sacred spaces functioned as carriers of religious and cultural identity over the centuries. In line with the ICBS 2026 theme, “Byzantium beyond Byzantium”, this poster demonstrates how peripheral architectural heritage can offer meaningful insights into the spatial, liturgical, and material practices of the Byzantine world.
The Early Byzantine Churches of Sinop: City, Faith, and Space
Ozan HettoArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Sinop, located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, has long been recognized as one of northern Anatolia’s most significant port cities. Its strategic position attracted numerous civilizations and led to its conquest and transformation by communities adhering to diverse belief systems. One of the most prominent aspects of Sinop’s multicultural structure is Christianity. The presence of Christianity in the city dates back to the 1st century AD, when a significant Christian population is attested. Additionally, several notable religious figures from this period are also known to have resided in the city. Archaeological excavations conducted in Sinop have unveiled the remnants of numerous Byzantine-period churches. Among these, the structure known today as Balatlar Church is particularly noteworthy. Originally a Roman bath complex, this edifice was transformed into a church during the early Byzantine period through various architectural modifications, thereby providing substantial contributions to our understanding of the early Byzantine religious architecture in Sinop. The floor mosaics, wall paintings, and other interior decorative elements of the structure offer significant insights into its ecclesiastical function. Furthermore, other important ecclesiastical remains include the so-called “Anonymous Church,” uncovered during the excavations at the former Pancar Depot; Çiftlik Church, located in Çiftlik Village and notable for its well-preserved mosaics; the Gelincik Church, whose floor mosaics are currently exhibited in the Sinop Archaeological Museum; and a church structure discovered outside the city walls in the Pazaryeri area. These sites collectively represent a critical corpus of early Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture in Sinop. This study aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of both the historically documented churches that have not survived to the present day and the early Byzantine churches recently revealed through ongoing excavations.
The Documentation and Assessment of Byzantine Wall Painting Layers Uncovered During the Restoration and Conservation Process at Sinop Balatlar Church
Sedef HettoArkadenhof, University of Vienna
This study focuses on the 13th-century Byzantine wall paintings uncovered beneath Ottoman-period pictorial layers during preventive conservation and conservation activities carried out at the Balatlar Church, located in the city center of Sinop, between 2016 and 2025. Archaeological excavations initiated in 2010 revealed that the structure, originally a Roman bath complex, was converted into a church during the early Byzantine period. Over time, various sections of the building were adapted into churches and chapels during different phases of the Byzantine era. The wall paintings addressed in this study were discovered in the Apodyterium of the Roman bath, which features a single nave and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. During the third architectural phase at Balatlar, an apse was added to the eastern wall, transforming the space into a church in the 13th century. The church remained functional until the population exchange in 1924 and was decorated with a pictorial program illustrating themes from the Old and New Testaments. A now-lost bilingual (Greek and Ottoman Turkish) inscription indicates that the vault and wall paintings were restored between 1640 and 1641, adhering closely to the original Byzantine compositions. Preventive conservation and documentation efforts launched in 2016 evolved into active conservation interventions by 2023. Stratigraphic analyses conducted on the eastern wall during this process documented distinct painting layers from both the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Particularly significant was the discovery that original Byzantine pigments beneath the Koimesis scene above the entrance served as an underdrawing for later Ottoman paintings. This study aims to assess the building phases of the Balatlar Church and to evaluate the newly uncovered 13th-century Byzantine wall paintings within their architectural and art-historical context. Restoration and conservation interventions will be detailed, and the stratigraphy of the wall paintings will be systematically presented.
The Monastic Cemetery of Deir el-Bakhît (Western Thebes): Development and Spatial Organization
Tina HobelArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The monastery of Paulos (Deir el-Bakhît) on Dra’ Abu el-Naga is the largest known monastic complex at Western Thebes, Upper Egypt. Inhabited by a coenobitic community from the late 6th to the early 10th century CE, its cemetery provides unique insights into Christian burial practices during a period of transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Islamic period. The appearance, structure and development of the monastic cemetery are now being analysed as part of a PhD project at the University of Vienna. Based on the evaluation of the grave architecture and the stratigraphic sequence, this poster examines how the spatial use of the cemetery changed and to what extent this was linked to social differentiation within the community.
A City Beyond Borders: Prusias ad Mare (Kios) in the Byzantine Period
Umut KardașlarArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Kios is a port city located at the intersection of the Byzantine capital Constantinople to the north, the Latin Empire capital İznik to the east, and the Ottoman capital Bursa to the south. Known by various names since the 7th century BC, it was called Κίος until 202 BC. On the Tabula Peutingeriana map, it appears as Prusias and Cio. After its conquest by the Kingdom of Bithynia, it was renamed Prusias ad Mare to distinguish it from Bursa of Olympos. During the First Crusade and the Siege of Nicaea, it was referred to as Civitot by the Latins. Venetian and Genoese merchants marked Kios Harbor in red on their Portolan Maps, using names such as Pal(l)olime, Paleo Limen, and Paleolime. This study examines the etymological and terminological changes in the city’s name, generally known as Kios, across different cultures and periods. Information about the locations of Byzantine structures in Kios is limited and scholarly opinions vary. Nevertheless, Kios functioned as a bishopric center from the Council of Nicaea in 325 until the 7th century and continued as an archbishopric until the late 14th century. In 1275, a Venetian merchant ship en route to Kios was robbed at Leontarion, a shipping station. Following this, Patriarch Gregorios II sent a complaint letter to Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos regarding the horeiarios who exploited the people of Kios, Trigleia, and Elegmoi. Although some suggestions exist about the location of Leontarion, known as the Constantinople transfer granary, no definitive remains have been identified. This study suggests placing Leontarion at the newly identified site on the northern slope of Mount Arganthonios. The coastal ruins between Gemlik and Kumla most likely belong to the Leontarion granary, which was connected to Kios. Several seals from the 11th century highlight the power of the Kios horeiarios.
Byzantine Elements in Early Seljuk Pottery: Interaction in Glazed Ceramic Techniques
Kaan KendircilerArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The production of Middle Byzantine glazed wares began in 7th-8th century Constantinople, and these early glazed wares were sold in the capital’s markets and exported to the provinces of the empire. From the 7th century onwards, the lead-based glazing technique spread gradually and was probably established in a few provincial pottery centres of the empire by the end of the 9th or beginning of the 10th century. While some workshops produced characteristic, ornate sgraffito wares in the early second millennium for local or regional consumption, others began to export their products through regional trade networks from the 12th century onwards, meeting the consumption needs of both their own regional markets and distant markets on the Aegean and Asia Minor coasts. On the other hand, nomadic Turkoman groups, who raided the Byzantine Empire from the mid-10th century until the first quarter of the 11th century, continued their attacks as the Great Seljuks over time. With the Battle of Manzikert between the Byzantine Empire and the Great Seljuks, strategic points changed hands and with the Battle of Myriokephalon, the Seljuk presence in Asia Minor became a political entity. During this process, nomadic Turkoman groups and principalities affiliated with the Seljuks, who adopted a settled lifestyle, interacted with Byzantine art and culture. This process can be interpreted as the interaction between Byzantine, Turkish, Iranian, Arab and Islamic cultures. This study aims to examine the effect of the Byzantine-Seljuk interaction on underglaze ceramic techniques through the comparison of samples. The observation that there was no significant change in production techniques in the lands under Seljuk rule, and that only the elements in the decorative theme deviated from the usual schemes, constitutes the basic basis of this question.
Barrel-Vaulted Tomb Chambers and Burial Cells in the Early Byzantine Period at Sinop Balatlar Church
Gülgün KöroğluArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The isthmus linking the Boztepe peninsula to the Anatolian mainland has served as the site of Sinop’s historic city center, located at the northernmost extremity of the peninsula. The most significant Late Roman monument in Sinop is the Imperial Bath, which was converted into a church in the early 5th century CE. At the site now known as Balatlar Church, archaeological excavations since 2010 have revealed, to the southwest of the former caldarium, nine adjacent barrel-vaulted burial cells dating from the second half of the 6th century through the mid-7th century CE. Additionally, the floors of two adjacent Roman-period rooms to the northwest were truncated to make space for two more barrel-vaulted tombs. These burial cells, aligned on an east-west axis, feature flat eastern façades with rectangular openings, once sealed with spolia marble and stone slabs from the 5th century. Access to the tombs was provided by projecting stone steps incorporated into the eastern wall. Although the tombs were looted in antiquity, the preservation of the deceased’s clothing and personal belongings provides insight into the original funerary practices. Recovered objects include a gold-wire hairnet, textile fragments, bronze belt buckles, fibulae, rings, coins, and fragments of terracotta and glass lamps. Within the Balatlar excavation area, simple earth graves of the same period (late 6th to mid-7th century CE) have also been uncovered. These pit graves, covered with stone slabs, contain multiple burials. Similar bronze belt fittings and gold-wire textile fragments found in the barrel-vaulted tombs have also been recovered from these simpler graves. This study will compare and evaluate the architecture, wall paintings, and grave goods of barrel-vaulted tomb chambers across Byzantine territories, with particular attention to the similarities and differences demonstrated by the Sinop examples.
Exploring the Land of the Levantines: History and Archaeology of Medieval Chios
Ioanna KoukouniArkadenhof, University of Vienna
In 2024, in the context of the “Balkan Heritage Field School: Experience Archaeology and Conservation”, we launched a pilot programme on the Greek island of Chios entitled: “Exploring the Land of the Levantines: History and Archaeology of Medieval Chios”. Chios is a Greek island at the extreme end of the Aegean Sea. Throughout a span of 1500 years it became part of the Byzantine Empire and a Genoese company of privateers, the Maona dei Giustiniani, the “first State-Company in history”. It was also one of the last Christian bulwarks to have fallen to the Ottomans. The 2024 programme was pioneering in many respects: for the first time, it opened to the academic community a much neglected area, which, however, is a palimpsest of historical topography. Students were introduced to landscape archaeology, historical topography, and monumental architecture from the Byzantine to the post-Byzantine periods. They explored the chiot countryside, medieval trails, rural churches, fortifications, and the evolution of settlement patterns. The expedition in 2025 focuses on the medieval settlement of Volissos and its citadel, as well as several medieval-to-late-medieval rural churches in the northwest part of Chios. The goal will be to familiarize students with the available elements of architectural heritage at a building, ensemble and landscape level, to assess the different building techniques, establish the most common pathologies, analyze their causes and elaborate a strategy for preservation in the short, mid and long term. The Field School’s learning adventure is under the auspices of the Municipality of Chios.
BALNEa: Baths’ Architecture in Late Antique Sicily: Natural Resources and Economic Sustainability (MSCA-PF)
Claudia LamannaArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026-2029 project “BALNEa” aims to investigate the decline of Roman public baths (balnea, in Latin), which played a crucial role in fostering sociability by being accessible to all social classes and becoming integral components of the urban landscape. While their decline during Late Antiquity is often attributed to cultural shifts tied to the rise of Christianity, this research aims to uncover environmental and economic factors that contributed to this phenomenon. The study will focus primarily on the spatial volume of bathhouse rooms, the energy consumption required for their heating, and the production cycle for procuring fuel materials within specific ecological settings. Sicily has been selected as the case study due to its contextual similarity with other Mediterranean regions and the significant number of unearthed thermal complexes, offering a suitable sample within the timeframe of the MSCA-PF. Methodologically, the project will initially rely on the available scientific literature on the topic. Subsequently, drawing upon the research fellow’s background as an architect, it will explore the technical and stylistic aspects of energy-efficient practices in ancient building design, utilizing tools such as surveying, 3D reconstruction, and simulation technologies. Archaeological remains will be analyzed through the creation of digital models aimed at reconstructing their structural characteristics and operational performance systems. “BALNEa” will be hosted by the University of Bologna. To acquire expertise in advanced survey and 3D reconstruction methodologies, the research fellow will conduct the Outgoing phase at the University of South Florida’s Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx). Additionally, a Secondment will be carried out at the University of Catania’s Energy Sustainability & Environmental Control Laboratory to assess energy efficiency and economic sustainability in ancient architectural contexts.
Exploring Formulaic Tradition Across Disciplinary Boundaries: Byzantine Book Epigrams and Beyond
Paulien Lemay, Kyriaki GiannikouArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Byzantine book epigrams – metrical paratexts found in the margins of manuscripts – form a highly interconnected corpus (Ricceri et al. 2023). Beyond the socio-historical connections apparent through metadata (e.g. provenance), these poems are linked through a network of formulaic expressions. Yet tracing these connections is complex: formulae are not simply repeated but creatively adapted. From lexical substitutions to the reproduction of patterns in more abstract forms, formulaicity in book epigrams has drawn the attention of linguists and Natural Language Processing researchers (Giannikou et al. 2024). In this paper, we explore how the formulaic material of Byzantine metrical texts extends beyond the manuscript tradition into other material contexts, such as stone inscriptions and frescos. To examine the formulaic tradition beyond – and in comparison to – manuscripts, we focus on the corpus curated by A. Rhoby (Rhoby 2009-2014). Our study combines philological analysis with computational linguistics. First, we use convolutional neural networks for textual pattern mapping and combine the results with FAISS, a system for textual comparison. We then undertake a linguistic analysis of the similarities and differences revealed, to assess the extent to which the formulaic material across media coalesces, and to evaluate whether this approach can be extended to the broader Byzantine epigrammatic tradition. Ultimately, our paper presents our methodological approach and the resulting insights, demonstrating how computational models, combined with philologically informed linguistic research, enable scalable comparative approaches into textual reuse and adaptation across the diverse writing media of Byzantine culture.
Rural Communities and Households: A Case Study from Southern Greece
Effie AthanassopoulosArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The foundation of Byzantine society rested on agriculture and rural life. While most of the population lived in villages and farming communities, these rural areas are less well documented than the empire’s cities. The scarcity of surviving written sources, such as tax registers and census records, limits our ability to reconstruct the details of daily rural existence. However, archaeological research, especially the rise of landscape archaeology over the past fifty years, has significantly broadened our understanding of village life and the material culture of rural households. Through archaeological surveys and excavations, we have gained new insights into the living spaces, and everyday objects that shaped rural Byzantine society. The case study in this presentation is the Nemea Valley Archaeological Project, an archaeological survey of the region of Nemea, in the NE Peloponnese, combined with archaeological data recovered from the excavations at the sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea. A series of trash middens from the excavations of the stadium and the early-Christian basilica contained large quantities of ceramics and coins dating to the 12th and 13th centuries. These represent domestic refuse and include well-preserved glazed and coarse wares. These vessels were used for daily tasks; they include containers for transport, storage, food preparation, cooking and serving of food and wine. These deposits inform us about the archaeology of households and help us understand functions and activities that rural households performed. This research enables us to analyze rural communities within their broader environmental and socio-economic contexts, while also revealing how households and settlements were integrated into the broader political and economic frameworks of Byzantium.
Contenitori da trasporto e da dispensa nell’Italia meridionale bizantina: l’evidenza della Calabria ionica
Marco Leo ImperialeArkadenhof, University of Vienna
La Calabria costituisce un punto di osservazione privilegiato circa l’evoluzione di manifestazioni di cultura materiale e caratteri strutturali nel lungo periodo della dominazione bizantina, quasi del tutto ininterrotta fino all’XI secolo. Il ruolo della regione, almeno formalmente subordinato in termini gerarchici al Tema di Sicilia fino ai primi decenni del X secolo, assume a partire da questo periodo una decisiva centralità quale settore limitaneo e centro di coordinamento generale prima della fondazione del Catepanato d’Italia. Questo sicuro salto di qualità sul piano amministrativo e strategico è visibile anche nei cambiamenti visibili nella cultura materiale, variazioni che assecondano processi evolutivi in atto da tempo in altre regioni bizantine d’Italia, ma che appaiono adattivi nella regione calabrese. Si tratta, in definitiva, della concretizzazione materiale di quella che più in generale E. Zinzi aveva definito una “volontà politica di assetto” osservabile anche dal punto di vista dell’adozione di manufatti, in quanto espressione di un’adesione a morfologie ben riconoscibili e di per sé indicative di una comune sintassi culturale. A questo proposito, la definizione di quadri regionali o sub-regionali sempre più accurati in relazione alle diverse classi di materiali (vd. per il Salento e la Sicilia), ha consentito talora di fornire i giusti termini di confronto anche per la Calabria, già variamente documentata per l’età bizantina e sempre meglio caratterizzabile attraverso nuove acquisizioni o mediante la rilettura di contesti ora più dettagliatamente aggiornabili. Nel nostro caso, ciò vale per la seppur puntuale distribuzione e articolazione di contenitori da trasporto e da dispensa per lo più dipinti complessivamente indicativi di una chiara marca bizantina entro una polarità occidentale che certamente fa del mar Ionio il tessuto connettivo di una generale integrazione economica e culturale.
The Mount Athos Studies Lab of the Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens
Nikolaos LivanosArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The Mount Athos Studies Lab is a research unit dedicated to the systematic and interdisciplinary study of the unparalleled archival and manuscript heritage of Mount Athos. With access to a vast corpus of sources—ranging from some 1,500 Byzantine documents, hundreds of thousands of Ottoman-period records in multiple languages, and approximately 15,000 manuscript codices—the Lab aims to consolidate and further develop the long-standing scholarly engagement of the National Hellenic Research Foundation with Athonite material. Building on decades of experience in cataloguing, editing, and interpreting archival and manuscript sources, the Lab aspires to become a hub of scholarly excellence, facilitating collaborative research across disciplines, supporting new critical editions and catalogues, and producing major reference works. It seeks to advance the study of all aspects of Mount Athos studies through structured partnerships and outreach. The Lab will also serve as a platform for academic events—workshops, roundtables, lectures, and summer schools—while contributing to the development of a dedicated Athonite section in the Foundation’s library and laying the groundwork for a peer-reviewed digital journal on Mount Athos Studies.
The Double Church Complex of al-Jumayil – Exploring the Peripheral Regions of the Byzantine Empire
Michaela Loeffler-LeutgebArkadenhof, University of Vienna
By using interdisciplinary approaches to examine remnants of anthropogenic landscape management, agricultural practices, economic exchange, and local production, the FWF project “Rethinking Periphery in Late Antique Arabia” seeks to understand the function of peripheral rural settlements in the Byzantine East. This initiative highlights the importance of rural communities within larger socioeconomic and religious networks, whereas scholarly attention has historically focused on urban areas. Excavations at the site of al-Jumayil (Jordan), carried out over four field seasons (2021-2024) by the Department of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna, revealed the remains of a single-nave double church complex. Though the architectural type is known in the region, the site shows notable variations in the internal structure, construction phases, and later modifications. Architectural features such as construction joints, wall cracks, and changes in flooring phases document the transformation of a single church into a double-church complex, likely accompanied by the relocation of the local necropolis, parts of which now lie beneath the southern nave. Internal modifications — benches, niches, and partition walls — alongside reused architectural elements (spolia) such as chancel screens and epitaphs, reflect a prolonged use of the complex well into the Early Islamic period. The presence of later structural changes, dated to the Fatimid Era, indicates a gradual shift in function and the continuity of Christian architectural spaces within a new dominant religious Islamic context. Through the analysis of stratigraphy, material culture, and architectural evolution, the site of al-Jumayil offers unique insights into the resilience and adaptation of peripheral Christian communities during a time of profound political and religious transformation. As such, it serves as a key case study for understanding the dynamics of rural life, local agency, and inter-regional connectivity in the Late Antique and Early Islamic periods—central aims of the project “Rethinking Periphery in Late Antique Arabia”.
Karaites and Cumans in the Late Byzantine Tile Production Workshop in Chersonesos (Crimea)
Dmytro MoisieievArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Provinces of Byzantine Empire in the Northern part of Black Sea region in Late Byzantine times experienced disintegrating processes in the empire, as well as cultural interaction with different nations of Eastern Europe. An illustrative example is the history of the tile workshop in Chersonesos. The artisans of this workshop were Karaites. They left different drawings of menorahs and inscriptions with Jewish semantic on produced roof tiles, used writing Greek in everyday life and Greek and biblical Hebrew names as anthroponyms. In addition, they had deep interactions with Cumans. Some of relief marks on the roof tiles have images of riders in Cuman armor. Warriors have long braids and faces like mythological character “Nomad forefather” that is well known on masks of Cuman helmets and on Cuman sculptures. The nearest sculpture to the city was found on the Cuman sanctuary on the lower Belbek river area (Chersonesos region). Furthermore, some Cumans in the Nomad part of the Crimea in the Late Byzantine times were Karaites too by evidences of writing sources. On the other hand, the Chersonesos workshop showed deep interactions with Byzantium by trade conjuncture and tile production technologies. This evinced in changes of the design of roof tile connections. Before the first half of the 13th century tiles the design of connections of Crimean tiles was reconcilable with imported byzantine tiles. Not later than 1220 Crimean tile production centers started to use a new design of connections incompatible to the import tiles (by radiocarbon analysis from excavations of Chersonesos). It is no doubt that this was the consequence of the crisis in trade after 1204. After the rebuilding of the Empire in the 1261, the Chersonesos workshop was the only in Crimea that returned to the old design of tile connections.
Lost Emperors and Found Data: OpenAtlas in Byzantine Research
Nina RichardsArkadenhof, University of Vienna
OpenAtlas is an open-source database application designed for managing and analyzing historical and prosopographical data as well as archaeological information. The software facilitates prosopographical research by linking biographical information across different sources and time periods. Furthermore, the integration of GIS functionalities allows researchers to map historical locations and analyze spatial relationships within the Byzantine world. A key advantage of OpenAtlas is also its adaptability to diverse research projects. Built on CIDOC CRM, a widely accepted ontology for cultural heritage, OpenAtlas provides a structured and flexible environment for researchers working with complex historical datasets. Datasets and study results can be presented on a presentation page, which is based on the information stored in the database, according to the latest state of research. This is accessible to interested scientists as well as the general public. Easy access to the data is provided by an interface known as API (Application Programming Interface). The poster will present the application of OpenAtlas in Byzantine Studies, demonstrating its utility in organizing and visualizing interconnected historical entities such as people, places, events, and artifacts. By offering a relational database structure, OpenAtlas enables scholars to conduct network analyses, trace historical connections, and integrate various types of source material, including textual and archaeological evidence.
A Royal Reception Room: The Blachernai Palace Triklinos and the Cappella Palatina Compared
Frouke SchrijverArkadenhof, University of Vienna
One of the most interesting and well-preserved medieval royal reception halls is the Cappella Palatina of the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo. Its lay-out and multicultural decoration, of which influences have been sought in Byzantium and the Muslim world, have been the object of much interest and study. In the discussion of possible architectural parallels, scholars have pointed to various halls in the no longer extant Great Palace in Constantinople (Tronzo, Ćurčić). Another contemporary Byzantine reception hall, the main triklinos of the little-studied Blachernai palace, like the Great Palace, only known through texts, has escaped scholarly attention. This poster aims to draw a parallel between the two halls, the Blachernai triklinos and the Cappella Palatina, which will shed new light on both palaces and their inspirations, as well as underline the commonalities between royal court cultures in the medieval East Mediterranean.
The Ancient Greek Heritage in Byzantine Music Theory
Christian TroelsgårdArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Under the auspices of the Levi Foundation, Venice, the study group “Psaltike” has conducted a three-year project (2023-2025) under the theme “Ancient Greek Musical Theory and Byzantine Chant in the Middle Ages and Beyond: Possible Points of Intersection?” The aim of the project has not only been to re-consider old evidence on the reception and re-cycling of ancient musical theoretical texts and concepts in Byzantine theory and practice, but also to widen the discussion by bringing in new evidence, namely Byzantine scholia on ancient theoretical texts on music, new insights into the use of diagrams, possible intersections with ancient grammar and rhetoric. The poster will present the results of the project in the briefest possible way and illustrate its potential through visual examples of diagram traditions, scholia, poetry etc. linking ancient music theory and Byzantine chant phenomena. The study group consists of Maria Alexandru (University of Thessaloniki), Sandra Martani (University of Pavia), Giuseppe Sanfratello (University of Catania), Silvia Tessari (University of Padua, scientific co-ordinator), Christian Troelsgård (University of Copenhagen, scientific co-ordinator), Nina-Maria Wanek (University of Vienna), Gerda Wolfram (University of Vienna).
Echoes of Byzantium: Byzantine Influence in Flemish art in the Period between the First and the Fourth Crusades
Marieke VerbiestArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The period between the first and the fourth Crusades (1096-1204) saw significant interactions between Byzantine religious and art objects and the emerging artistic landscape of Flanders. Byzantine art, characterized by its religious iconography, intricate mosaics, and elaborate use of gold, served as a pivotal influence on Flemish artists and craftsmen. Crusaders, encountering the opulence of Byzantine culture, returned with a wealth of artistic knowledge and artifacts, which permeated the artistic practices in Flanders. Art objects and especially those used in the veneration of relics, often sent over from Byzantium themselves, began to reflect Byzantine stylistic elements, as seen in their use of rich color palettes and styles that echoed the luminosity of Byzantine icons. Furthermore, the emphasis on iconography and narrative in Flemish painting absorbed Byzantine techniques, adapting them into local formats that resonated with regional spiritual and cultural contexts. In my presentation I will focus on the relationship between Byzantine and Flemish art and how, especially after the conquest of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, the appointment of count Baldwin IX of Flanders as the first Latin Emperor in Constantinople and the arrival of many Byzantine artistic objects and relics influenced the creation of art in Flanders. Through my research I want to show how Byzantine art left an undeniable mark on the development of Flemish art during these three centuries.
Social Networks of Late 12th-century Byzantium
Olga VlachouArkadenhof, University of Vienna
This poster presents the research project I am pursuing for my doctoral dissertation, which aims to reconstruct and analyze the social networks of 12th-century Byzantium, from the reign of Manuel I Komnenos to the Latin capture of Constantinople (1143–1204). By examining extant letters from contemporary authors, my dissertation seeks to map these networks and conduct a prosopographical study of their members. Drawing on the methodologies developed by Margaret Mullett, Michael Grünbart, and Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, I intend to undertake the first large-scale Social Network Analysis (SNA) study that examines multiple Byzantine epistolographic corpora. My methodology consists of two phases: data collection and data analysis. The first phase involves creating a comprehensive database from the letters, including information on individuals, offices, dates, locations, and other relevant details, complemented by additional sources such as orations, documents, and seals. In the second phase, I apply SNA tools, mostly Python and Gephi, to uncover patterns, visualize networks, and conduct statistical analyses. The analysis will proceed on three levels. First, I will examine egocentric networks, focusing on the organic dyad of the author-recipient. Next, I will identify subgroups within the networks, such as triads, cliques, and communities, and explore their composition and characteristics. Finally, I will compare the structural features of these communities to understand broader social dynamics, such as power relations, patronage networks, and intellectual exchanges, with the goal of forming an extensive network incorporating all the different actors. In this way, my dissertation aims to provide a deeper understanding of the social, political, and intellectual networks that defined Byzantine society in the late twelfth century by shedding new light on both individual relationships and broader dynamics among the social elites of the time.
Presentation of the Project “Retrieving a Forgotten Byzantine Hagiography Collection from Old Georgian: John Xiphilinos’ Saints’ Lives” (AZ 06/F/23), funded by Gerda Henkel Stiftung (2024–2025)
Marijana VukovicArkadenhof, University of Vienna
This poster is dedicated to our two-year research project (January 2024–December 2025), funded by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung and conducted at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense. The project centers on a previously unexplored collection of saints’ lives (Menologion) from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, originally written in Greek by John Xiphilinos the Younger, a Byzantine intellectual of the era. This unique collection is preserved solely in Old Georgian manuscripts. The principal outcome of the project is the publication of a volume containing thirteen saints’ lives, recovered from Old Georgian manuscripts and translated into English, making them accessible to a wider audience. The selected saints featured in the volume include Saint George, Panteleimon, Theodore Stratelates, Cyril of Alexandria, Cosmas and Damian, Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, Adrianos and Natalia, Eusignios, Eupraxia, Orentius and his six brothers, Emilianus, Florus and Laurus, as well as Dadus, Maximus, and Quintilian. The Studia Byzantina Uppsaliensia will publish the volume, and we are pleased to present this work as a central achievement of the project. In addition to the volume, we have filmed a six-episode documentary in collaboration with Stephan Zengerle from the Gerda Henkel Stiftung, titled “Xiphilinos the Younger – Byzantine Intellectual and Biographer of Saints”. The documentary is planned to be released in 2025, offering a deeper insight into our project’s aims and outcomes. Our poster will feature snippets from the documentary filmed in Georgia and Denmark, alongside other research findings, disseminated through several academic articles. Altogether, the book volume, documentary, and forthcoming publications represent the key outputs of this poster presentation.
New Perspectives on the Art of Byzantine Constantinople: Recent Italian Studies
Livia BevilacquaArkadenhof, University of Vienna
This poster is the outcome of a student-led project carried out by the advanced bachelor’s and master’s students of the Byzantine Art History courses at the University of Roma Tre (Rome, Italy). Their study examines and reports on the most recent Italian publications devoted to the artistic production in and from Constantinople (4th–15th centuries), published approximately between the dates of the 24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies (Venice and Padua 2022) and the 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies (Vienna 2026). Academic books, edited volumes, and substantial articles will be considered, commenting upon the main critical problems they address, and the new research perspectives they open up. Part of the project is dedicated to the exhibitions, that have been organized in Italy in recent years to present the art of Constantinople to a broader audience, as well as to the catalogues and guidebooks that have accompanied these exhibitions. Attention will also be paid to the popularization of Constantinople and its artistic heritage in the new media. What aspects of the art and architecture of the New Rome are covered in the most recent Italian scholarship, and what approach is adopted? Does the new research succeed in having a positive impact on the various forms of popularization, or could these efforts be further expanded, and if so, how? The poster will present the reflections on these and other crucial questions that the selected readings have stimulated in the students, at a time when there is a radical rethinking of the way in which the art history of the medieval Mediterranean is explored and narrated.
The New Critical Edition of the Etymologicum Gudianum
Eva Wöckener-Gade, Alessandro Musino, Martina DinelliArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Of all Byzantine lexica with a focus on etymologies, the Etymologicum Gudianum has enjoyed the widest circulation: this lexicon, which originated in 11th-century Southern Italy, is transmitted in approximately 40 manuscripts, mainly from Southern Italy and Crete; it has also been used extensively by the Etymologicum Magnum. Therefore, the Etymologicum Gudianum is of crucial importance to the dissemination of knowledge pertaining to the Greek language in Byzantine times. Starting in 2020, the project ‘Etymologika’ of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg has been working on a new edition of the Etymologicum Gudianum, which will mainly be based on the original manuscript of the lexicon, the codex Vaticanus Barberinianus graecus 70, a working copy with several textual layers added in subsequent steps. This new edition will update the partial one by E.L. De Stefani (1909–1920, breaking off after the entry ζειαί) and substitute the outdated and deficient editio princeps by F.W. Sturz (1818). The first printed volume, covering the sections ζ and η, with the Greek text and a facing English translation, a critical apparatus, an apparatus fontium, similium et testimoniorum, and explanatory notes, is due to be published in 2026. Simultaneously, a digital edition (ETYM.ON) targeting a wider readership and providing additional resources such as manuscript images and a more extensive commentary is being created; the first sections from the letters β–δ and ζ–θ can already be consulted online. The poster will present the features of both the printed and the digital edition and discuss the methods applied in the editorial process. It will especially focus on a comparison with the editio princeps, highlighting how the progress of research on the Etymologicum Gudianum is reflected in the new edition.
Byzantine Rock-Cut Churches of Kayseri (Turkey): New Discoveries in Cappadocia
Ali YamaçArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Since 2014, the OBRUK Cave Research Group has been engaged in the “Underground Structures Inventory Project” in Kayseri, a province within the historical region of Cappadocia. This project, conducted in collaboration with the ÇEKÜL Foundation and the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, involves the research, survey, mapping, and documentation of all underground and rock-cut structures located in Kayseri. Over the past 11 years, a total of 51 rock-cut churches have been documented and surveyed as part of this project. Only two of these churches have been scientifically studied and published before. The majority of these rock-cut churches are located in the east of Kayseri, in the Koramaz Valley. They are mostly characterized by their single-nave configuration, modest dimensions, and absence of frescoes. However, a few of these churches feature larger dimensions and partial frescoes. The uniform architectural design of the majority of these churches, combined with the lack of frescoes, presents significant challenges in establishing precise chronological parameters for their construction. Furthermore, the limited scholarly research on the rock-cut churches in this region hinders comprehensive comparisons. While the two previously examined churches are believed to date back to the 10th and 13th centuries, these dates cannot be reliably used as reference points for other churches in the area. Most of these small churches were likely “private churches”. Despite attempts by Byzantine emperors to ban such churches and place all of them under the direct control of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, private churches were constructed during almost every period. This presentation will introduce these newly discovered and previously unknown Byzantine rock-cut churches, accompanied by their surveys and images. Furthermore, an examination of the architectural distinctions among these churches will be conducted.
Highland Communities. A Population History of the Hyblaean Plateau from Antiquity to the Middle Ages
Salvatore CosentinoArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Visualising Authority: The Representation of Protospatharioi in Middle and Late Byzantine Manuscripts
Gavriil -Ioannis BoutziopoulosArkadenhof, University of Vienna
This poster focuses on the different ways in which dignitaries who held the honorific title of protospatharios were depicted in Byzantine manuscripts. It forms part of my ongoing doctoral research and will be presented publicly for the first time. The study investigates the visual representations of protospatharioi in illuminated manuscripts, with particular attention to the social, symbolic, and ceremonial implications of their depiction. While textual sources such as the works of Constantine VII and the Taktika dated between 9th and 10th centuries, allow us to imagine how protospatharioi may have appeared or functioned, it is the manuscript miniatures that provide a unique opportunity to understand how they were intended to be seen within the courtly and ceremonial framework of the Byzantine Empire. The study compiles and analyses a selection of illustrated manuscripts from the 9th to 13th centuries that include figures identified or interpreted as protospatharioi: Par. Gr. 510, Reg. Gr. 1B, MS 887/116, Koutloumousiou 60, and Vat. Gr. 1852. I adopt a comparative approach in this analysis that draws on iconographical, historiographical, and ceremonial sources. These visual materials reveal important details concerning court attire, insignia, and ceremonial weaponry, with notable differences between eunuchs and bearded dignitaries. They also shed light on the distinctions between Constantinopolitan and provincial elites. Rather than presenting a standardised court image, these depictions reflect varied approaches to representing protospatharioi, shaped by both chronological and regional contexts. The poster also addresses the broader question of why certain individuals or titles were depicted in manuscript form. What did it mean to be visually fixed in this medium? Drawing on semiological analysis, the study argues that the commodification of titles and their visual representation underscores the symbolic and political significance of honorifics in Byzantine society.
The Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernihiv: A Monument of Provincial Byzantine Architecture
Olena ChernenkoArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernihiv (Ukraine) was commissioned by Prince Mstislav. In 1036, the prince was buried there while it was still unfinished and the construction of the cathedral was completed in a few decades. The walls of the cathedral are built using the “opus mixtum” technique from blocks of stone and plinths. Foundation lines were laid of the pit from blocks of stone on cement mortar using beams as ties. At the base of the cathedral apses, the foundation strips transform into a solid stone platform. Historically, two opinions exist on the origin of the masters who built the cathedral. It was associated with the “Caucasian-Asia Minor school” of Byzantine architecture or attributed to the capital’s Constantinople school. The studies of 2012–2014 allow us to consider this from a new perspective. The construction of foundations and the stone platform under the apse of the cathedral is an atypical technique for Rus architecture. The only known analogy is the church in Tmutarakan (the Rus Black Sea enclave). They resemble provincial Byzantine architecture “Caucasian-Asia Minor school”. The masonry of the upper sections of the Chernihiv Cathedral changes significantly compared to lower sections, and is more akin to the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. This suggests that the cathedral in Chernihiv could have been completed by craftsmen who were involved in the construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.
Byzantine Wall Paintings in the Town of Gesi and Its Surroundings in Kayseri
Nilay ÇorağanArkadenhof, University of Vienna
Today known as “Bağyurdu,” Gesi is located 19 km northeast of Kayseri. During the reign of Leo VI (late 9th–early 10th centuries), the area was designated as a small military frontier district (kleisoura) called “Kharsianon,” linked to the Cappadocian theme. At that time, it also served as a temporary residence for bishops. On the western slopes of the Koramaz Mountains, which form part of the northeastern range of Mount Erciyes, numerous valleys developed, including Ağırnas, Derevenk, Üskübü, Küçük Bürüngüz, Subaşı, Kayabağ-Değirmendere, Boğazdız, Güzelköy-Belasi, Gümüşpınarı, Ötedere, Derindere, and Yeşilyurt. These valleys host significant Byzantine rock-cut settlements. It is suggested that ancient Byzantine roads extended from Mount Erciyes to the south of present-day Kayseri, reaching Gesi. Thus, these settlements are notable for both their civil and religious architecture, as well as their wall paintings. The wall paintings in the region’s rock-cut churches occupy a distinct and unique position within the monumental tradition of Byzantine painting in Cappadocia, considering their style, iconography, and program. Among the churches in Bağpınar village, Church B 20 is particularly important for its extensive mural decoration. Single figures of saints, martyrs, and bishops, alongside biblical and Old Testament scenes, are mainly located within the vaults. The Gospel scenes portray episodes from Christ’s childhood, adulthood, and Passion, especially focusing on festal cycles. A partially preserved 10th-century inscription on the north cross arm is valuable for naming the donor (ktetor). Similarly, churches D 10 and D 16 in Değirmendere Valley contain significant mural programs. Their linear and two-dimensional style reflects the regional painting style of the 10th century. This study introduces previously undocumented Byzantine wall paintings identified during our surface surveys in Gesi and its surrounding area.
The Phenomenon of Holy Foolishness “After Byzantium”
Nadia GaevskayaArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The topic of this poster presentation is the religious phenomenon known as foolishness in the name of Christ. I explore the problems of visual representation of this phenomenon, including communication, perpetuation of memory, as well as unique features of religious practices and behavior, focusing on medieval Russia from the 11th to the 16th centuries. The conducted research allows us to draw conclusions about the transfer of marginal forms of ascetic behavior from Byzantium to Russia, about the mechanisms of reducing such marginality during the transfer, the identification of the value of these marginal elements, and the axiological significance of the holy fools’ behavior. Traditional depictions of fools and their clothes have been preserved in Russian iconography: (1) Andrew the Fool-for-Christ, depicted as a Byzantine saint (10th c.) 2) St. Basil the Blessed, who is represented completely naked (16th c., Moscow) (3) Procopius of Ustyug , depicted as a layman, merchant and navigator, in clothes worn by ordinary people, but with some unusual attributes (14th c., Vologda); (4) Abraham of Smolensk, depicted in monastic attire (13th century, Smolensk). As I argue, the genesis of yurodstvo is related to the problem of the marginal in culture and consists of three stages. At the first stage, the spread of the marginal phenomenon to the periphery led to a decrease in marginal tension and stigmatization in the central regions of Byzantium. At the second stage, marginal tensions also decrease in the border regions and areas influenced by Byzantine culture as a result of public recognition of this marginal phenomenon. At the third stage, these marginal characteristics acquire religious value and become mainstream religious symbols.
Byzantine Empresses on Coins: Power, Presentation, and Propaganda
Pavla Gkantzios DrápelováArkadenhof, University of Vienna
This paper explores the relatively rare yet symbolically significant phenomenon of depicting empresses on Byzantine coins. Despite the empire’s remarkable longevity and a succession of nearly eighty emperors, only about seventeen imperial women are known to have appeared on coinage, from the sixth to the fourteenth century. This scarcity invites a closer examination of the circumstances and motivations behind their visual representation. The paper offers a diachronic overview of these numismatic depictions, analyzing when and why empresses were portrayed and what messages their inclusion conveyed. By identifying recurring iconographic features and evolving patterns across different periods, the study aims to distinguish between images reflecting genuine female political agency and those serving primarily the purposes of imperial propaganda—particularly the male emperor’s agenda. In many cases, the empress was visually integrated into the emperor’s image not as an autonomous figure, but as a complementary presence reinforcing dynastic legitimacy and continuity, often linked to her role as the mother of an heir. Were these women depicted as active co-rulers, as symbols of dynastic succession, or merely as instruments of imperial ideology? Through a close reading of coin imagery within its historical and political contexts, the paper assesses how the figure of the empress functioned within the broader visual language of imperial authority. The analysis also considers how these portrayals responded to contemporary challenges, such as succession crises, legitimacy disputes, or the need to assert dynastic stability. Ultimately, the study raises broader questions about the intersection of gender, power, and representation in Byzantine political culture, using coinage as a uniquely durable and state-controlled medium of imperial expression.
The Vienna Basilica Palimpsests
Jana GruskováArkadenhof, University of Vienna
The poster presents the Project “The Vienna Basilica Palimpsests” (FWF PAT9022724) that is being carried out at the ÖAW by Jana Grusková (Vienna/Bratislava) and Bernard H. Stolte (Groningen). One of the initiatives of Justinian (527–565) was the codification of Roman law – in Latin. This created problems for the Greek-speaking population of the empire and inevitably led to Greek translations, summaries and commentaries. In the 9th century, a renewed interest in the past also included the Justinianic legislation. The circulation of legal texts in separate collections and different versions had made it difficult to find the laws relevant for a given problem. The solution was sought in one consolidated form of the entire legislation: the Basilica, ‘imperial laws’. They were promulgated around the year 900 by Leo VI the Wise (886–912). It is the most extensive and comprehensive legislative text from the Byzantine Empire. It is also an important witness for Justinian’s legislation on which it goes back. Of the Basilica only a few manuscripts have survived, and sixteen of their sixty books are lost. The discovery of two new manuscripts of considerable age in two Greek palimpsests of the Austrian National Library in Vienna in 2003 opened new perspectives. These two witnesses are older than most of the other extant manuscripts of the Basilica and in part hand down texts so far unknown. A preliminary decipherment (J. Grusková) and a legal analysis (B. Stolte) have revealed that these witnesses are of great importance for filling numerous lacunae as well as our understanding of the formation, the transmission and the text of the Basilica and its use. The project aims at a complete decipherment of these two witnesses and their comprehensive exploration. State-of-the-art advances in digital recovery of palimpsests are being applied to render visible the erased scripts.
Round Tables
4.15 RT – Looking Beyond the Pot: Technological and Societal Changes in Late–6th to 13th–Century Ceramic Productions in the Aegean
The Lives and Afterlives of Ceramic Vessels: Multifunctionality and Reutilization of Cooking Wares in Thasos During Late Antiquity
Elli-Evangelia BiaBIG-HS
The Medieval Mundane: Lifeways of Medieval Households at Corinth
Rossana ValenteBIG-HS
State, Church and New Fashions. Transformation of the Ephesian Pottery Repertoires in the 7th and 8th Centuries
Horacio González CesterosBIG-HS
Completing the Puzzle: the Glazing Technique During the Early Byzantine Period
Georgia GiannakiBIG-HS
Scientific Research on Medieval and Post-Medieval Glazed Ceramics in the Mediterranean Region
Adamantia PanagopoulouBIG-HS
4.16 RT – Documentary lingua franca in the Byzantine World “and Beyond”: Private Disputes from the 6th to the 15th Century
Conflict Resolution in Greek and Coptic in the Aftermath of the Arab Conquest: a Case Study from Edfu
Lajos BerkesHS 31
Contesting Usurpation in Medieval Sicily: the Dispute Between the Communities of San Marco and Naso and Alkerios of Ficarra (ca. 1142)
Francesca PotenzaHS 31
Evidence of Private Legal Disputes From the Archive of Saint John the Theologian on Patmos
Maria GerolymatouHS 31
L’Empire de la loi : les conflits entre particuliers à la fin de la période paléologue
Raúl Estangüi GómezHS 31
4.17 RT – Byzantine Literature In and Beyond Byzantium: Canons and Canonicities
A Canon of Byzantine Literature: The Case of the M* Recension of the Synaxarion of Constantinople
Stratis PapaioannouHS 41
Menaia with Synaxaria: Times and Places of the Formation of a ‘canon’ in Byzantine Liturgical-Hymnographical Production (with Special Regard to the So-called recensio R* Delehaye)
Andrea Luzzi, Donatella BuccaHS 41
Byzantine Canonization in Translation: The Greco-Syro-Arabic Translation Movement in 11th-Century Antioch
Joe GlyniasHS 41
What Homer Didn’t Say: Byzantine Stories about the Trojan War and Their Reception in Early Modern Greek Literature
Calliope DourouHS 41
4.18 RT – Iconomachy, Iconoclasm: Reflections on the Last Decades of Scholarly Studies
Iconomachy / Iconoclasm: A Seismic Tremor or a Full-Scale Earthquake?
Leslie BrubakerHS 7
Byzantine Iconoclasm and Islamic Aniconism: A Comparison
Marco Di BrancoHS 7
John the Grammarian, the Question of Individuality and the Possibility of Portraiture
Christophe ErismannHS 7
ʻEn eikoni ē en alētheia?ʼ. The Reception of the Second Iconoclasm in Rome
Francesco MonticiniHS 7
Against the Image. Has There Ever Been an Iconoclastic Theory?
Silvia PedoneHS 7
ʻBreaking with Imagesʼ. Iconoclasm from Byzantium to Kandinskij
Silvia RoncheyHS 7
Thematic Sessions
4.19 TS – Reading the Church Fathers Across the Centuries: The Reception of John Chrysostom and Other Greek Church Fathers from Late Antiquity to the Present
The Reception of John Chrysostom, With a Special Focus on the Homilies on Matthew
Margaret SchatkinHS 5
Introducing “Receptio patristica”, A New Series In Patristic Studies
Paolo SachetHS 5
Refashioning Chrysostom: The Paschal Catechetical Homily and Middle Byzantine Authority (9th–13th Centuries)
Mark HugginsHS 5
The Eastern Christology of the Lutheran Reformers: Early Lutheran Usages of Sts. John Chrysostomos and Cyril of Alexandria in Christological Discourse
Gino Marchetti IIHS 5
4.20 TS – Greek Medicine from Byzantium beyond Byzantium: Fortune of a Compilation and a Translation: The Περὶ διαίτης by Theophanes Chrysobalantes in the Translation by Giorgio Valla
Dietetics and Mental Disorders in Giorgio Valla and His Sources
Sandro PassavantiHS 3
The Mutinensis gr. 61: The Manuscript’s Lineage and Its Connections with Earlier Copies
Thibault MiguetHS 3
Translating Dietetics: Giorgio Valla’s Versions of Theophanes Chrysobalantes’ Perì diaítēs in the De Victus ratione (1498) and the De expetendis et fugiendis rebus opus (1501)
Tamara Martì CasadoHS 3
4.21 TS – Mapping Byzantine Grammatical Knowledge: Multidisciplinary Database–Driven Approaches
Identifying Manuscripts Containing a Given Grammatical Text: Selected Examples of Census
Maria Giovanna SandriHS 6
Some Remarks on a Curious Textbook of the Palaeologan Period: The Parekbolaion of Konstantinos Arabites
Giuseppe UcciardelloHS 6
Unravelling Manuel Moschopoulos’ Schedography: A Byzantine Textbook for Learning Ancient Greek
David Pérez MoroHS 6
Byzantine Grammatical Awareness in the Letters of Manuel Kalekas
Maria Rosa Giuseppina De LucaHS 6
High Register Greek: Users and Readers. The Social Network behind Planoudes’ Letters
Valentina BarrileHS 6
4.22 TS – Systematising the Byzantine Exegetical Tradition: Commentaries, Homiletics, and Dogmatic Thought in Komnenian Byzantium
Theophylact of Ohrid’s Commentary on Luke and Christian Performativity
Barbara CrostiniSR 1
Exegetical Systematization and Compilation Practices in the Xiphilinian Homiliary
Mircea DulușSR 1
Systematising Dogmatic Knowledge in the Komnenian Age: The Twelfth-Century Dogmatic Anthologies of Zigabenos, Kamateros, and Choniates
Marco FanelliSR 1
A Case Study on Niketas Choniates as an Excerptor: Nicholas of Methone’s Anti-Latin Corpus in the Dogmatic Panoply
Carmelo Nicolò BenvenutoSR 1
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Session III
Free Communications
4.31 FC – Isauria in Transition: New Perspectives on a Late Antique Landscape
4.32 FC – Byzantine Numismatics
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: The Afterlives of Ancient Currency in the Byzantine Hoards of the Numismatic Museum at Athens
Stelios Damigos, Theodoros Georgopoulos, Dimitris KloukinasSR 8
Byzantine Coin Hoards in the Eskişehir Eti Archaeology Museum, Turkey
Zeliha Demirel GökalpSR 8
Bulgarian Imitations and Theodore I Lascaris: An Unpublished Group of Byzantine Coins in the Tire Museum
Eleni Lianta, Ceren ÜnalSR 8
Propaganda or Non-Propaganda: Reconsidering the Usage of the Word Rhomaion on the miliaresion of Michael I (r. 811–813)
Evangelos NtovasSR 8
Insights into the Numismatic Iconography of the Macedonian Dynasty
Yannis StoyasSR 8
4.33 FC – Mosaics Within and Beyond Byzantium
A Unique Mosaic Workshop at Shiqmona, Israel: Masterpieces from the Mediterranean Seashore
Lihi HabasHS 2
Mosaicists in 9th-Century Rome: Byzantine or Local Craftsmen?
Athanasios KoukopoulosHS 2
Ascensione marciana. Mosaici e teologia politica tra Venezia e Bisanzio
Domenico SalaminoHS 2
Una Madonna «a minutissimi punti»: le icone a mosaico nelle fonti veneziane (XV-XVIII secolo)
Lucrezia SozzèHS 2
4.34 FC – Medieval Landscapes in Transition – Southeastern Europe and Anatolia
From Pagan City to Christian Center: The Urban Evolution of Perge in Late Antiquity
Sedef KepçeHS 5
The Byzantine Period Around Sacred Ganos Mountain of Tekirdağ in South-Eastern Thrace
Zeynep Koçel ErdemHS 5
The Economic Dimensions of Demographic Developments in Sterea Hellas between the 12th and 16th Centuries
George TerezakisHS 5
Tracing the Origins and Development of Rural Settlement Patterns in Medieval Ras
Uglješa VojvodićHS 5
Mountain Landscapes and the Afterlives of Byzantium: Tracing Rural Continuities in Northeastern Anatolia
Nihan Zorlu BaşelHS 5
4.35 FC – Byzantium and the Lands of the Rus from Cherson to Moscow
External Agents of Legitimation: Constructing Moscow’s Byzantine Lineage from the Outside (Late 15th–16th Centuries)
Anastasiia ErmolaevaHS 21
Il ruolo di Sofia Paleologa alla corte moscovita (1472–1503)
Tatiana MatasovaHS 21
The Role of the Eastern Roman Empire in the Formation of Kyivan Rus’: Historiographical Reflections on Norman Origins and the Byzantine Commonwealth
Viktor MelnykHS 21
4.36 FC – Neoplatonic Philosophy, Interreligious Polemics, and Cross–Cultural Reception in Proto–Byzantine Empire: Reassessing Julian’s Contra Galilaeos
Between Philosophy and Polemics: Reconstructing Julian’s Contra Galilaeos
Michael SchrammSR 6
Julian’s Philosophical Writings and the Contra Galilaeos
Maria Carmen De VitaSR 6
Julian as a Biblical Exegete and an Interpreter of Christian Doctrines
Gábor BuzásiSR 6
The Syriac Tradition of Julian’s Contra Galilaeos: Between Philology, Patristics and Cross-Cultural Reception
Antonio Stefano SembianteSR 6
4.37 FC – Constantine and Beyond: Imperial Ideology
Towards a Dynastic Imperial Title: Heraclius and the Title Change of 629
Jehan HillenHS 31
Ecumenical Authority Beyond Byzantium in the Twelfth Century (and Beyond)
Maximilian LauHS 31
Father Like Son(s): The Presentations of Constantinian Imperial Authority (337-361)
Nicola HolmHS 31
Byzantine Empresses on Coins: Between Power and Propaganda (6th–14th Centuries)
Pavla Gkantzios DrápelováHS 31
4.38 FC – Power and People in Byzantine and Post–Byzantine Greece
The Slavs of Taygetus Between the Frankish Morea and the Restored Byzantine Power in the Peloponnese
Nikola DyulgerovSR 2
Rebuilding Identity: Post-Crisis Space, Sculpture, and Self-Signification in the Cities of Byzantine Greece
Allison GrendaSR 2
Networks of Power. Governance and Administration in the Byzantine Peloponnese, 1348–1460
Anastasia KontogiannopoulouSR 2
Aspects of the Romanization and Christianization of the Slavs of Mt. Taygetos. Re-Evaluating the Testimonies of the Vita s. Niconis (BHG 1366–1367)
Dimitrios VachaviolosSR 2
4.39 FC – At the Margins of Byzantine Society: Slavery, Poverty and Migration
La pauvreté urbaine aux yeux de l’aristocratie byzantine (XIIe-XIVe siècles)
Benoît Cantet-GuéguenHS 41
Romani People in Romania: a Forgotten Byzantine Share of Gypsy History
Andrzej KompaHS 41
A Generation of the Holy Roman Empire’s Courtiers in Byzantium (c. 1136–1158)
Vedran SulovskyHS 41
At the Margins of the Empire: Abundantia, a Female Venetian Merchant in Twelfth-Century Constantinople
Xinyu WangHS 41
From Chattel from Serfdom? Slavery and Unfreedom in 6th- to 8th-Century Byzantine Italy
Kaiyue ZhangHS 41
4.40 FC – The Anthological Habit in Slavonic Translation (Session 1)
Isaac of Nineveh’s Discursi Ascetici in the Slavic Monastic Miscellanies: Preliminary Observations
Ivan P. PetrovHS 6
Beneficial Thoughts from Andrianty: the Earliest Slavonic Selection of Excerpts from John Chrysostom’s De statuis and Its Relationship to the Complete Old Church Slavonic Translation
Aneta DimitrovaHS 6
Die slavische Überlieferung der byzantinischen Sammlung der 16 Homilien Gregors von Nazianz
Alessandro Maria BruniHS 6
The Edifying Story of Barlaam and Joasaph (BHG 224) and its Slavic Translations
Pierre BénicHS 6
Die unbekannten Schriften des Hl. Gregorios Sinaites. Das griechische Original und die slavische Übersetzung nach dem Cod. Athous Zographou 214 (14. Jh.)
Angeliki DelikariHS 6
4.41 FC – Byzantine Hagiography
Two Metaphrases of the Psalm CI in the Late Antiquity and in Byzantium
Federico DomínguezHS 3
The Hagiography of Saint Theodora of Arta by Job Meles as a Source for the Chronicle of Galaxidi
Constantine HatzidimitriouHS 3
St Plato of Ancyra: A Comparison of the Ancient and the Metaphrastic Passio
Elisabeth SchifferHS 3
The 5th-Century Persian Martyr Razhden in Original Georgian Hagiography—Reflection of the Persian Religious Thought and Conviction
Natela VachnadzeHS 3
The 5th-Century Persian Martyr Razhden in Original Georgian Hagiography—Reflection of the Persian Religious Thought and Conviction
Natela VachnadzeHS 3
4.42 FC – Law and Legal Practice II
Byzantine Legal Manuscripts and Practices in Greek-Speaking Southern Italy (10th–11th centuries)
Minqi ChuHS 1
Testamentary Practices That Marked the Last Wills of Clergymen from Bulgaria and from the Bulgarian Lands (13th–15th century)
Elena KostovaHS 1
The Social Presence of Women through the Judicial Decisions of the Codex of the Patriarchate (Vind. hist. gr. 47 and 48)
Maria PontikouHS 1
The Reception and Greek Transliterations of the Borrowed Concepts and Terms of Byzantine Law: The General and Specifics
Yury VinHS 1
Thematic Sessions
4.29 TS – Byzantium and Rome (12th–14th c.): Cultural, Diplomatic and Theological Exchanges
Latin Writing in Middle-Byzantine Manuscripts: Lieu de mémoire
András NémethBIG-HS
Echoes of Thomas Aquinas’ Officium Corporis Christi in the Byzantine Liturgy
Maria Panagia MiolaBIG-HS
Diplomatic Documents and Relations between Constantinople and Rome during the 12th and 13th Centuries
Luca PieralliBIG-HS
Latin Theology “en filigrane”: Polemical Writings of the Twelfth Century in Byzantium
Alessandra BucossiBIG-HS
The Friars Minor and the Efforts toward Church Union in the Time of Patriarch Germanus II
Anna GaspariBIG-HS
4.30 TS – Visions of Salvation and Identity in the Byzantine World (4th–13th c.)
The Ultimate Definition of Frankish imperium – On the Idea of Empire in the Letter of Louis II to Basil I, 871
Clemens GantnerHS 32
Political Prophecy and Imperial Eschatology during the Dynastic Crisis of the Late 12th Century
Stephanos DimitriadisHS 32
‘Let Them Receive What Is Due According to Their Deeds’: Does Morality Shape Salvation?
Piruza HayrapetyanHS 32
Collective Destiny and Individual Salvation: Reconsidering the Dual Horizon of Apocalyptic Imagination
Pablo UbiernaHS 32
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Plenary Session: Romanitas Beyond Byzantium: Diffusion and Impact of Ideas of Rome in a “Post–Roman” World
Byzantium, South Asia and Revenant Romanitas: rejecting the post-Roman worldview
Rebecca DarleyAudimax
All Roads Lead to Ethiopia: Byzantium in the Solomonic Imagination
Verena KrebsAudimax
“Gazing West toward Daqin 大秦”: The Roman-Byzantine Empire in Ancient China’s Tianxia 天下 Order
Qiang LiAudimax
Rom im fernen Norden: Wirkungen einer Kulturverbindung über weite Wege
Roland ScheelAudimax
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Session IV
Free Communications
4.47 FC – New Perspectices on Landscapes and Sites of Byzantine Anatolia
Defensive Structures and Military Geography of the Biga Peninsula in the Byzantine Period: Scamander and Aisepos Valleys
Ayşe Çaylak TürkerBIG-HS
Routes and Urban Dynamics in Byzantine Anatolia: Rethinking Transformation and Continuity
Tülin KayaBIG-HS
Resilience and Transformation: GIS-Based Analysis of Rural Settlements in Eastern Rough Cilicia
Şenel KayaBIG-HS
Fortification Activities of the Komnenoi in Anatolia: A Spatial Analysis of the Theme of Mylasa and Melanoudion
Berkay Yekta ÖzerBIG-HS
4.48 FC – Archaeological Perspectives on Pilgrimage
Christian Pilgrimage Sites Across Time and Space: The Sea of Galilee Region as a Case Study
Barbara AstafurovaHS 2
Reading between the Tesserae: The Tabgha Mosaics’ Stages, Patronage, and Authenticity Re-Examined
Neta Debora Haggai AranyiHS 2
Khirbet Harsis: A Byzantine Roadside Station on the Christian Pilgrimage Route from Jaffa to Jerusalem
Annette Landes-Nagar, Lihi HabasHS 2
The Archaeology of Early Christian Pilgrimage: New Excavations at Nessana, Negev
Yana TchekhanovetsHS 2
Terracotta Tokens, Lead Amulets and a Mould with the Depiction of Symeon Stylites the Younger in the Halûk Perk Museum/İstanbul
Ceren Ünal, Zeynep ÇakmakçıHS 2
4.49 FC – Constantinople: the Great City
Remains to Be Seen: The Relics of Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329–390) & the Frescoes of Matthijs Brill (1550–1583)
Mathijs ClementHS 3
Iconography of the State Power in the Mosaic in the South Vestibule of Hagia Sophia and its Parallel in the Hungarian Kingdom: “The Porta Speciosa”
Sándor FöldváriHS 3
Marble as a Painting: The Use of Marble Imitation in the Church of the Chora Monastery
Ayça KarabacakHS 3
In the Horizon of Chora. Revisiting the Problem of the Relation to the Monumental Wallachian Painting of the 14th Century
Teodor Lucian LechințanHS 3
Sacred Interactions in Byzantine Imperial Processions and the Role of the Mother of God in Byzantine Imperial Iconography
Elisabeta NegrăuHS 3
4.50 FC – Jewellry and Precious Crafts
Perspectives on the Byzantine Tradition in Late Medieval Craftsmanship: An Examination of Jewellery from the Balkans
Vesna Bikić, Milica RadišićHS 5
“Una splendida eredità”: legature bizantine in oro e smalti
Giorgia CotroneoHS 5
Byzantine and Early Islamic Textiles from Egypt: A Changing Iconography in a Transforming Society
Ifigeneia GeorgalaHS 5
Byzantine-Islamic-Norman Silks in Archbishop’s Grave in Denmark
Anne Hedeager KragHS 5
On Lions and Elephants. “Imperial Silks” in Cologne and its Surroundings
Margarita SardakHS 5
Ἱστὸν ἐποιχομένη, καθεζομένη ὑφάναι: On the Origins and Development of the Byzantine Loom
Claudia Daniela Vega MedeirosHS 5
4.51 FC – Private and Public Spaces
A Confusion of Palaces, Baths, and Churches: Reassessing the Architectural Development of Constantinople’s First Region
Alfredo Calahorra BartolomeSR 7
Symbolic and Religious Dimension of Domestic Space in the Byzantine Period
Elie Essa Kas HannaSR 7
Transformation and Change in Late Antique Anatolia: The Reuse of Ancient Structures as Fountains Through the Example of the Library of Celsus in Ephesus
Mehmet Cihangir UzunSR 7
4.52 FC – Cultural and Religious Life in Thessaloniki
The Theological System of Manuel Gabalas in the Context of the Palamite Controversy
Juan Bautista Juan-LópezHS 21
The Legacy of Gregory Palamas in the Context of Theological Discussions and War Conflicts
Ksenia LobovikovaHS 21
Urban Development, Public Works and Forced Expropriations in the Early Byzantine Period: The Case of Sixth-Century Thessalonica
Konstantinos RaptisHS 21
Grave Orientation in Late Roman and Early Byzantine Thessaloniki (3rd-6th Centuries)
Dominik StachowiakHS 21
4.53 FC – Άγιον Όρος: το «θησαυροφυλάκιο» μιας μακραίωνης παράδοσης, της Βυζαντινής Μουσικής
Η συμβολή στην θεωρία της ψαλτικής τέχνης από αγιορείτες διδασκάλους
Ioannis LiakosHS 31
Αγιορείτες Εξηγητές: ένα ευρύ έργο επιτακτικής ανάγκης στα χρόνια μετά την Άλωση της Κωνσταντινούπολης
Angelos SefkasHS 31
«Χαίροις Αγιορειτών μελουργών η πληθύς!»: Ανασυνθέτοντας την προσωπογραφία των Αγιορειτών μελουργών της βυζαντινής και μεταβυζαντινής περιόδου
Savvas PrastitisHS 31
Η καταγραφή δημοτικών τραγουδιών από Αγιορείτες κωδικογράφους
Athanasios XenoudisHS 31
4.54 FC – Conceptualising Byzantium and its Historical Impacts
Il rituale di ascesa romano orientale del sec. XIV. Il clero e l’autocrazia: riflessioni su una nuova economia della teoria del potere
Antonio Pio Di CosmoHS 33
From the Palaiologans to the Habsburgs and Romanovs: the Roots of Mercantilism, 13th–17th Centuries
Alex FeldmanHS 33
The Impact of Byzantine Silks on the ‘Extended Silk Road’ up to the Fifteenth Century
Anna MuthesiusHS 33
Eurasian Late Antiquity or the Silk Roads? Political, Cultural and Economic Conceptual Constructs in Byzantine Studies
Tomasz SińczakHS 33
4.55 FC – Byzantine Models Beyond Byzantium in Southeastern and Eastern Europe
Two Byzantine-Bulgarian Royal Weddings (10th and 13th Centuries). Some Remarks
Georgios CharizanisSR 1
Constantinople of the North: Kyiv and the Legacy of Byzantium – Symbolic and Urban References in the 11th Century
Evelina KachynskaSR 1
Byzantium Away From Byzantium? Byzantine Influence in the Carpathian Basin (Transylvania) Between the 9th and 12th Centuries
Daniela Veronica Marcu-IstrateSR 1
4.56 FC – Epigrammatic Poetry
The Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams, 2009–2026–20??. Assessment and Perspectives
Kristoffel DemoenHS 41
The Afterlife of a Byzantine Twelfth-Century Poem: Theodore Prodromos’s Tetr. 230a in the Church of Panagia Parmeniotissa on Hospitaller Rhodes
Theodora KonstantellouHS 41
Byzantine Book Epigrams and the Italo-Greek Scribe: Self-Representation and Textual Engagement in the ms. Messina, Biblioteca Universitaria, S. Salv. 133
Eleonora LauroHS 41
An Unknown Collection of Poems by Manuel Philes: Codex Metochii Sancti Sepulchri 351. Critical Edition and Commentary
Ilias Taxidis, Ioannis Vassis, Dimitra SamaraHS 41
4.57 FC – Social and Economic History
The Fiscal and Estate Regime in Byzantine North Africa and its Legacy in the Early Islamic Period
Bjarke Bach ChristensenSR 6
‘Desertification’ Processes in Byzantine Shivta in the Seventh Century
Emma Maayan Fanar, Yotam TepperSR 6
Löhne und Preise in den frühbyzantinischen hagiographischen Texten
Ireneusz MilewskiSR 6
Calculating Return on Investments for Dignitaries of the Macedonian Court
Aristotelis NayfaSR 6
Creating Regional Byzantine Wine Traditions in the Southern Levant
Jon SeligmanSR 6
Thematic Sessions
4.44 TS – The θέμα–tisation of Asia Minor: a Reappraisal From Byzantium and Beyond
The Arab Raids and the Strategic Deployment of Byzantine Armies in Anatolia, 640-750
Alexander SarantisHS 32
The Threshold of Empires: Power, Policy, and Conflict in the Borderlands Between the Early Islamic and Byzantine World
Ryan J. LynchHS 32
A Journey to the West. What Lessons Can We Learn from the Western Provinces About the Rise of the Themata?
Vivien PrigentHS 32
Les derniers défenseurs de la frontière orientale de l’Empire sous Alexis Comnène
Jean-Claude CheynetHS 32
4.45 TS – Byzantine Influences in the Eastern Black Sea Littoral
Digital Guide to Pontos and the Eastern Black Sea Littoral during the Byzantine Period (4th–mid-15th centuries): Project Presentation
Erekle Jordania, Marine GiorgadzeHS 1
The Southeastern Black Sea Littoral in the Byzantine Period (According to Literary Sources and Archaeological Evidence)
David Braund, Nino InaishviliHS 1
Apsarus in Byzantine Sources
Emzar Kakhidze, Merab Khalvashi, Nana KhakhutaishviliHS 1
Relations between South-West Georgia and Byzantium Based on Numismatic Materials
Irine Varshalomidze, Nino DzneladzeHS 1
The Early Byzantine Tsikhisdziri Villa (A Specimen of Urban Life in the Southeastern Black Sea Littoral)
Giorgi TavamaishviliHS 1
The Paintings of the Skhalta Church in the Context of Byzantine Art
Maia TchitchileishviliHS 1
4.46 TS – L’Italie méridionale byzantine – Un carrefour interculturel entre Orient et Occident
„Die Bächlein aus der Griechen Quelle“. Akkulturation in Süditalien am Beispiel von Büchern in Klosterbibliotheken
Peter SchreinerHS 6
From Constantinople to Southern Italy – and Retour?
Isabel Grimm-StadelmannHS 6
L’Italie méridionale hellénophone dans les relations entre Rome, Constantinople et la Palestine, autour de l’An mil : les témoignages hagiographiques
Annick Peters-CustotHS 6
Les préparatifs d’un projet de mariage normand-byzantin du XIe siècle et ses actants médiateurs possibles de l’Italie du Sud, décelés à travers les traces d’un manuscrit byzantin bilingue (cod. Athon. Iviron 463)
Emese Egedi-KovácsHS 6
Friday 28 Aug
Special Events
Registration Required
Mekhitarist Monastery of Vienna (Guided Tour 2/2)
Benedetta ContinMechitaristengasse, 1070 Wien
During the guided tour of the Mekhitarist Monastery of Vienna, one of the most important centers of Armenian culture in the world, you will gain insights into its valuable holdings: over 2,600 manuscripts, 150,000 books, the largest collection of Armenian journals, as well as precious and unique art works from every corner of the globe.
Concert: Baroque Arabesque
Baroque Arabesque is a musical journey between two worlds – the structured splendor of the European Baroque and the delicate ornamentation of oriental sound art. The project celebrates the beauty of cultural encounter: artful, emotional, timeless.
AIEB – General Assembly (Representatives of the National Committees)
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Festsaal, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Wien
By invitation only
Without Registration
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
Under the Banner of the Seals: History and Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean (from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages)
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This special showcase provides an insight into the society and culture of the eastern Mediterranean region through clay seals from Egypt (from the holdings of the Papyrus Collection/Austrian National Library) and Byzantine lead seals (private collection of A.-K. Wassiliou-Seibt).
Ephesos – A Metropolis of the Ancient World and Modern Archaeological Project
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
For over 130 years, the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW has investigated Ephesos, a major UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye. Excavations reveal 9,000 years of settlement history. An international team studies social, economic, and environmental aspects of ancient life. The poster session presents this project, focusing on Byzantine material culture, diet, vegetation, agriculture, and animal husbandry.
The Stimulant Sea: Sugar, Coffee, & the Acquisition of Taste
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
This exhibition explores the intertwined and commodified histories of sugar and coffee within a specific place and time: the Medieval and Early Modern Red Sea, envisaged as a cultural connector between the Mediterranean world and Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Ocean. The exhibition explores four interrelated themes: first, tracing the trade networks and knowledge transfers that shaped the origins of sugar and coffee as we know them today; second, examining their early medicinal uses; third, considering the social rituals through which sugar and coffee became part of everyday consumption; and fourth, revealing the labor systems that enabled their production and global distribution.
This poster exhibition was part of a display in the Dumbarton Oaks Museum accompanying the 2025 Symposium, Africa and Byzantium, and sought to connect history-based scholarship with the contemporary world. As a public history initiative, it was intended for a wide audience, including visitors with a limited knowledge of the eastern Mediterranean and Byzantine worlds.
Book Exhibition
Main Ceremonial Hall, University of Vienna
Meet international academic publishers and their latest publications dealing with the Byzantine world.
Opportunities Forum
This event is of special interest of young researchers, but also for everyone planning to submit a project proposal or to apply for fellowships. Representatives of various funding agencies and institutions (national, EU and extra-EU) will present their portfolio of funding opportunities and then take questions from the audience. The Opportunities Forum is co-organized by the Development Commission of the Association Internationale des Études Byzantines (AIEB).
Market of Beautiful Things
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
The Market of Beautiful Things is a place to wander, marvel, and discover: handmade pieces, fine foods, and objects with history and character, held at the University of Vienna, where those who love fine craftsmanship and special finds will feel right at home and meet people who create with passion.
The Emperor’s New Dice. Exploring Byzantium and Beyond on the Game Board
How about helping Emperor Constantine to build his new capital at the Bosporus? Or would you like to organise a school of translators between Greek, Syriac, Persian and Arabic? Explore Byzantium and Beyond from a new perspective with board games on historical topics from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern period.
8:30 am – 10:00 am Session I
Free Communications
5.10 FC – Epistolography
Two Unpublished Letters of Friar Simon the Constantinopolitan
Myrsini AnagnostouHS 2
One Travel – Three Letters: Ep. 157, 158, and 159 by George Oinaiotes
Yulia MantovaHS 2
The Epistolary Collection of Georgios Oinaiotes: A Critical Edition in Progress
Zoltán SzegváriHS 2
To Fashion a Crown of Words: Women and Epistolography in Late Byzantium
Callum HendlemanHS 2
5.11 FC – Geography and Topography
The Tabula Imperii Byzantini (TIB) Pontos: Problems and First Results
Klaus BelkeSR 6
Between Ruins and Cities: Procopius of Cesarea and Cities on the Edge of the Empire
Ivan MilekovićSR 6
Central Places on Byzantium’s Western Fringes: Spatial Organisation and Development of Urban Settlements on the Ionian Coast of Albania in the 9th–12th Century
Nevila MollaSR 6
Το φυσικό περιβάλλον σε περιγραφές πεδίων μαχών του 11ου αι.: στοιχείο γεωγραφικού προσδιορισμού, θεϊκής πρόνοιας, ή ενεργός συμμετέχων;
Errikos PapadopoulosSR 6
Προσθετέα στο ΤΙΒ 11: Θεσσαλονίκη, Περιφέρεια Θεσσαλονίκης, Πιερία
Evangelos PapathanassiouSR 6
(Sacred) Topography of Athens during the Middle Byzantine Period
Margarita SardakSR 6
5.12 FC – Norms, Ideals and Categorisations Within and Beyond Byzantium
5.13 FC – Teaching and Learning
« Mater » siue « Nutrix » legum : Beyrouth et son école de Droit du IIIe au VIe siècle
Frédéric AlpiSR 2
Suggestioni artistiche tra mondo lulliano e mondo bizantino. Per una riflessione sull’utilizzo dello spazio e su altre tematiche comuni
Valentina SchiavonSR 2
Round Tables
5.01 RT – Studying Byzantine Scientific Cultures: Current Developments and a Vision for the Future
An Unedited Letter from Severus Sebokht to Basil of Cyprus on the Conjunction of the Planets (c. 662 AD)
Émilie VilleyHS 21
Two Letters of Severus Sebokht on Easter Computation (665 AD)
Olivier DefauxHS 21
The Astronomical Corpus Attributed to Anania Širakac’i: Approach, Overview and Challenges
Stephanie PambakianHS 21
Teaching and Learning Astral Sciences in Late Byzantine Multiple-Text Manuscripts
Divna ManolovaHS 21
Cosmography in 16th-Century Greek and Slavic Communities
Anne-Laurence CaudanoHS 21
5.02 RT – Entangled Rhetoric in the Byzantine and Syriac Worlds (9th to 13th c.)
The Examples in Syriac Grammatical Tradition: Sources, Families and Evolution
Margherita FarinaHS 1
The Legacy of Twelfth–Century Rhetoric in the Early Palaiologan Era
Eleni KaltsogianniHS 1
Mimēsis in Byzantine Rhetorical Theory after Iconoclasm
Vessela ValiavitcharskaHS 1
Aesthetic and Moral Values: The Social Dimension of Rhetorical Theory in Late Byzantine Literature
Krystina KubinaHS 1
5.03 RT – Dreams of Tsargrad: Constantinople in Russian Imperial Imagination
Sailing, Walking and Riding to Byzantium: Journeys from Eastern Europe
Monica WhiteBIG-HS
De-Ottomanizing Sofia: Russian Byzantinism and the Construction of a New Capital City in the Balkans
Fani GargovaBIG-HS
Tsargrad into Leningrad: Constantinople in the Early Bolshevik Imagination, 1917–1922
Igor TorbakovBIG-HS
Dreams of Constantinople in the Work of Ilia Zdanevich (Iliazd)
Julie HansenBIG-HS
5.04 RT – After Byzantine Antioch: Multilingualism and Greek Manuscript Culture in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean
From Greek to Armenian: Manuscripts, Texts, and Translations Between Norman Sicily and Antioch in the Twelfth Century
Benedetta Contin, Giulia RossettoHS 41
The Liturgies, Lectionaries, and Languages of the Melkites in and around Antioch
Daniel GaladzaHS 41
Antiochene Legacy in Syriac Melkite Liturgical Manuscripts: Case Studies of Menaia and Psalters
Natalia Smelova, Lasse Løvlund ToftHS 41
Bridging Mount Lebanon and Sinai: Syro-Melkite Networks in the Fourteenth Century through the Colophons of Multilingual Manuscripts
Habib IbrahimHS 41
5.05 RT – Byzantium beyond Humans: Non–Human Species as Social and Cultural Actors
Contemplating the Marvels of Creation: The Human-kētos Relationship in Byzantine Culture
Ryan DensonHS 7
On the Flip Side of Cranes: Toward a Byzantine Ornithopoetics
Thomas ArentzenHS 7
The Sea Yields to the Relic’s Agency: An Ecocritical Approach to Seaborne Relic Importations into Byzantine Constantinople
Max RitterHS 7
The Cultural Significance of Hunting and Consuming Game: Animals and Their Environment as Symbols of Imperial and Noble Power
Kalliope MavrommatiHS 7
Thematic Sessions
5.06 TS – Performing Emotions and Emotions in Performance
Grammatical Texts: Subtexts for Byzantine Emotional Performance
Andrew Walker WhiteHS 32
Dialectic Shame: The Elusive Status of a Transformative Emotion
Aglae PizzoneHS 32
A Marvellous Story: Wonderful Performances and the Performance of Wonder in Early Byzantine Saints’ Lives
Julie Van PeltHS 32
5.07 TS – Religious Diversities in the Long Sixth Century: Perspectives from Inscribed Objects
Martyr Inscriptions in North Africa: A Retrospective Introspection
Alice van den BoschHS 6
The Graffiti from the “Great Church” in Sergioupolis-Resafa
Rachael Helen BanesHS 6
A Byzantine Cross Amulet in Sixth-century Gaul: From Authority to Periphery
Becca GroseHS 6
The Haemorrhoissa in Egypt: Localised Embodied Religion on a Haematite Amulet
Shannon McMillianHS 6
A Hematite Amulet from Egypt: Faith, Healing, and Lived Religion?
Grace StaffordHS 6
5.08 TS – Archaeology of the 8th–Century Episcopates
The Archaeology of the Gortynian Episcopate in the 8th Century
Isabella BaldiniHS 3
The Archaeology of the Episcopates in the Southern Levant in the 8th Century
Basema HamarnehHS 3
Ravenna in the 8th Century: Archaeology of an Episcopate in Transition
Giulia Marsili, Claudia LamannaHS 3
The Archaeology of the 8th-Century Episcopates in Central Crete
Vasiliki SithiakakiHS 3
An Iconoclast Bishopric? An Archaeological Re-Examination of the 8th-Century Amorium Episcopate
Nikos TsivikisHS 3
5.09 TS – Writing Greek Orthodox Theology after the Fall: Texts, Byzantine Tradition, and Religious Dynamics
The Use of Byzantine Theology by a Post-Byzantine Greek Orthodox Cleric in Early 17th-Century Venice
Stavros GrimanisHS 5
Considerations on the Golden Age of Creto-Venetian Religious Thought (1563–1669). Was it at the Origin of Modern Orthodox Theology?
Vassa KontoumaHS 5
Cultural Mediation and Theological Adaptation: The Rise of a New “Devotion Theology” in Early Modern Orthodoxy
Illia KovalenkoHS 5
The Patriarch Macarius III ibn al-Zaʿīm and the Liturgical Commentary of Ioannes Nathanael
Samuel NobleHS 5
A Forgotten Theologian? Georgios Koressios and the Greek Orthodox Theological Writing in the 17th Century
Octavian-Adrian NegoițăHS 5
10:15 am – 11:45 am Session II
Free Communications
5.23 FC – Perceptions and Adaptations of Byzantium from the Late 18th to the 20th Century
Constantinople Reimagined: Tracing Byzantium’s Afterlife in Republican Istanbul’s Built Environment
Mine EsmerHS 33
Perception of Byzantine History During the WWI Through the Lens of a Late Ottoman Intellectual: An Analysis of Celal Nuri’s Rum ve Bizans Through Morality
Osman KocabalHS 33
Robert Byron, Patrick Leigh Fermor, and the Modernist Discovery of Byzantium
Anthony ParaskevaHS 33
Byzantium and the Philokalia: Cultural Continuities and Discontinuities
James SkedrosHS 33
The Trebizond Expeditions of Academician F.I. Uspensky: An Overview of Research
Anna TsypkinaHS 33
Echoes of Byzantium – Vodoča and the Persistence of Sacred Landscapes in the Post-Imperial Balkans
Irena Teodora VesevskaHS 33
5.24 FC – The Afterlife of Byzantine Texts in Other Cultures
A Byzantine Genre Reimagined: Book Epigrams in the Early Modern Low Countries
Liese DictusHS 1
Translations of the Poetry of Jovan Kiriot the Geometer into the Serbian Language and Their Reception
Milan GromovićHS 1
Anthroponymic Transformations in the Arabic, Georgian, and Greek Versions of “The Story of Barlaam and Ioasaph”
Irma MakaradzeHS 1
Codex Mosquensis Synodalis Graecus 458 et l’édition roumaine des discours parénétiques de l’empereur Manuel Paléologue
Simona NicolaeHS 1
A Not-Received Reception? Gregory of Nazianzus and Pedro Calderón de La Barca
Riccardo StiglianoHS 1
5.25 FC – Byzantium and the West
George of Trebizond and Alchemy: A New Facet of his Persona Revealed through His Alchemical Notebook (Leid. Voss. gr. Q° 47)
Flavio BevacquaHS 2
Byzantine Fra Angelico? Fra Giovanni da Fiesole as an Interpreter of the Byzantine Revival in the 15th Century
Gerardo De SimoneHS 2
L’Opusculum contra Francos : un pamphlet antilatin du XIᵉ siècle
Thibaut MartinHS 2
Translatio Antiquitatis. Byzantine Émigré Scholars in Renaissance Italy in the Late 14th and the Early 15th century – the Case of Manuel Chrysoloras
Ivayla PopovaHS 2
5.26 FC – Rethinking Later Byzantine Frontiers
Southern Italy after the Norman Conquest: A Byzantine Frontier
Marven CorrielusHS 7
Limits of Persecution: Byzantine Oikonomia and Paulicians as Imperial Subjects
Doğuş BayazıtHS 7
Urban Transformation in Thirteenth-Century Anatolia in Hybrid and Ambiguous Late Byzantine Frontier
Furkan ÇağlanHS 7
The Unmaking of Byzantine-Seljuk Asia Minor (1256-1303): The Rebellions of Cimri (1277) and Alexios Philanthropenos (1295)
Efe AntalyaliHS 7
5.27 FC – Byzantium, the Balkans and the Ottomans in the 14th and 15th Centuries
Shifting Frontiers and Changing Communities: Space-Making in the Lower Evros River Valley During the Byzantine–Ottoman Transition
Öykü Bahar Balcı GüngörHS 5
Balkan Diplomacy on the End of 14th Century: New Aspects of the Internal and External Conflicts of Byzantium and Balkan States
Simeon HinkovskiHS 5
Architecture of Resistance and Subordination: The Outskirts of Old Serbia in the Late 14th–15th Century
Ariadna VoronovaHS 5
Round Tables
5.14 RT – Solitude and Aloneness in Byzantium
5.15 RT – Byzantium and the Silk Road
The Transmutation of Perceived Impressions on Sassanid Persia in the Works of the Early Byzantine Historians in the Context of the “Misconception of Serica”
Xiaojia LiHS 31
The Western Section of the Silk Road According to the Stathmoi Parthicoi (“The Parthian Stations”) of Isidore of Charax
Stefanos KordosisHS 31
Chinese Influences in Byzantine Swords: The Case of the Middle Byzantine Period Mosaic of Saint Sergius from Daphne Monastery
Errikos ManiotisHS 31
Byzantine Silks and the Extended Silk Roads (4th–15th c.): ‘Globalised’ Long Distance Trade, Diplomacy, and Cross-Cultural Exchange
Anna MuthesiusHS 31
5.16 RT – Central Europe Under the Wings of the Double–Headed Eagle: Miraculous Images of the Virgin Mary in Churches and Monasteries beyond Byzantium
Miraculous Images of the Virgin Mary in Monastic Imagination
Ivan GerátBIG-HS
The Miracle-Working Icon of the Mother of God in Nicula, Transylvania
Petr BalcárekBIG-HS
Maria Candia – the Icon of the Holy Mother of God from Crete and its Veneration in the St. Michael’s Church in Vienna
Mihailo St. PopovićBIG-HS
Orthodox Miraculous Images of the Virgin Mary in the Habsburg Empire. Iconography, translatio and Multiculturalism
Branka VraneševićBIG-HS
The Promotion of St. Luke’s Images by the Jesuit Order in the Habsburg Empire
Vratislav ZervanBIG-HS
5.17 RT – Canon Law, Roman and Byzantine Law: The Evolution of Penalties for Offenses and Crimes within the Family
Inequalities in Punishments for Sexual Crimes and Adultery in Byzantium
Daphne PennaHS 41
Joined but Unblessed: Byzantine Punishments for Extra-Marital Sex between Slaves
James MortonHS 41
Famille, monastère et responsabilité pénale entre IV et VI siècle dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire romain
Francesca BaroneHS 41
La famille et la criminalisation de ses défaillances dans la codification du droit canonique du concile in Trullo, 691–692
Charis MessisHS 41
Chien, coq, vipère et singe: Punir le meurtre intra familial à Byzance
Romain GoudjilHS 41
Peccatum et Crimen: La “monachisation” de la peine pour adultère dans la Novelle 134 de Justinien
Nicolas ValenteHS 41
Thematic Sessions
5.18 TS – Towards a Definition of Byzantine Response in 19th–Century Architecture in Western Europe
John Louis Petit and the Development of Church Architecture in Britain during the Second Half of the 19th Century
Nikolaos KarydisHS 6
“Certainly from the East”: Eastern Mediterranean Byzantium in the Thought and Architecture of British Arts and Crafts Pioneers
Dimitra KotoulaHS 6
A Tale of Curious Scholars, Eccentric Outsiders, and Pious Rulers: Reflections of Byzantium in the Architecture of Germany and Austria
Thomas KaffenbergerHS 6
Missionary Domes: The French Neo-Byzantine between Revival and Colonization (1840–1930)
Adrien PalladinoHS 6
5.19 TS – Byzantine Empire and Imperialism: Eurasian Perspectives
Economic and Territorial Power Relations from Islamic Empire to ‘Commonwealth’
Marie LegendreHS 32
Entangled Legitimacies: China, Inner Asia, and the Mongol Imperial Project
Francesca FiaschettiHS 32
Empire in Medieval Eastern Eurasia: Song China Among Equals
Linda WaltonHS 32
“First Called Kings, then Emperors” – In Defence of the Carolingian Empire
Charles WestHS 32
5.20 TS – Repertorium Auctorum Polemicorum (RAP): Studying Complex Texts for Complex Polemics
Repertorium Auctorum Polemicorum (RAP): Studying Complex Texts for Complex Polemics
Alessandra Bucossi, Marie-Hélène BlanchetSR 6
Patriarch John XI Bekkos: Texts, Contexts and Reception
Francesca SamorìSR 6
Greek Texts in Hugo Eterianus’ De sancto et immortali Deo
Pietro PodolakSR 6
The Slavic Translations and Versions of Panagiotae cum azymita disputatio (RAP G20839): How To Integrate Them Into Repertorium Auctorum Polemicorum?
Angel NikolovSR 6
5.21 TS – Byzantium Translated – Byzantium Translates. A Study on Medieval Translation Practices
Aristotle’s Logic East of Byzantium: Evolution of Syriac School Manuals on Logic between 6th–9th centuries
Yury ArzhanovHS 3
Texts in Transition: Anthological Selection and Translation Practices in the Slavonic Tradition of the Greek Soterios
Evelyne DielsHS 3
Thomistic Scholia on Aristotle’s De anima and De physico auditu in cod. Ambr. G 61 sup.
Athanasios KerefidesHS 3
Manuel Kalekas’ Translation of St. Anselm’s Cur Deus homo: Methodological Reflections on the Study of its Autograph, Translation Strategy, and Contexts
Marthe NemegeerHS 3
To Whom It May Concern: Demetrios Kydones’ Translation of Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, IIa IIae and Its Eclectic Reception
Angelos ZaloumisHS 3
5.22 TS – The City of Antioch as a Center of Byzantine Power, Economy and Culture in the Middle East and Beyond
Experience of Urban Crisis and Antiochene Cultural Memory in the Chronicle of John Malalas
Paulina KaczmarczykHS 34
Better-Than-Antioch-By-Khosrow: From Antioch to Weh-Andiok in the Sixth Century
Khodadad RezakhaniHS 34
Re-Excavating Antioch: The First New Publication of Princeton’s Excavations of the 1930s
A. Asa EgerHS 34
A Difficult Pontificate. Gregory I, Patriarch of Antioch (571-593) Facing Accusations, Natural Calamities and Big Politics
Teresa WolińskaHS 34
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Session III
Free Communications
5.32 FC – Ceramics and Pottery
The Amphorae with the Rising Handles: A Mediterranean Trend of the 13th Century
Christos ApostolouHS 2
Ceramic Trade Around Constantinople and Thrace During the Middle and Late Byzantine Period
Özgü Çömezoğlu UzbekHS 2
L’utilizzo di vasi acustici in terracotta negli edifici di culto del Mediterraneo bizantino. Un quadro di sintesi
Francesco Cuteri, Elena Di FedeHS 2
Impressions of Change: Stamped Amphora Sealings from Naqlun and Sigillographic Shifts in Early Islamic Egypt
Dorota DzierzbickaHS 2
Between the Early and the Middle Byzantine Ceramic Production: Revisiting the Saraçhane type 45 amphora
Natalia Poulou, Christos ApostolouHS 2
5.33 FC – Armenian Art and Architecture Between East and West
Christian and Islamic Encounters: Muqarnas in Armenian Medieval Tradition
Arpine Asryan, Lilit MikayelyanSR 7
Communion of the Apostles in Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts (13th–14th Centuries)
Lusine BarseghyanSR 7
The Iconography of Momik’s Khachkar: On the Issue of the Unification of the Armenian Church with the Byzantine and Catholic Churches (13th–14th centuries)
Inesa DanielyanSR 7
Medieval Censers from Armenia and their Eastern Christian Context
Diana GrigoryanSR 7
In or Out of Byzantium: Zuart’noc’ and the Politics of Architectural Identity in the Seventh Century
Cassandre LejosneSR 7
Traces of Armenian-Byzantine Relations in Armenian Architecture during the Reign of Heraclius (610–641)
Güner SağırSR 7
5.34 FC – Visual Culture in Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia
La peinture nubienne entre traditions byzantine et latine
Waldemar DelugaHS 5
Christ as eikon and charakter on two Byzantine Icons of the Annunciation
Karin KrauseHS 5
Intercultural Workshops in 15th – 16th-Century Ethiopia: Jain, Veneto-Cretan and Coptic Artists Painting Icons
Carolin SchäferHS 5
Iconography and Style of the ΧΙΙΙth c. Sinai Icon Koimisis of St. Arsenius: Between East and West
Elena VinogradovaHS 5
5.35 FC – Scientific Methods in Archaeology and Art History
Unknown Red Limestone Used Locally in Constantinople, Prousa and Nicaea During the Middle Byzantine Period
Zeki BolekenSR 8
The Ongoing Research Programme at Caričin Grad (Justiniana Prima): The Tetraconch Area
Ivan Bugarski, Vujadin Ivanišević, Catherine VanderheydeSR 8
Byzantine and Italian Art in the 13th–15th Centuries: Artistic Transfers Viewed through the Prism of Material Analysis
Léa ChecriSR 8
Comprendere l’architettura costantiniana tramite la fotomodellazione
Siyana GeorgievaSR 8
Preliminary Report on Scholarly Editions for Byzantine Architecture Using 3D Models
Ryo HiguchiSR 8
5.36 FC – Digital Gallery (Special Strand)
The Digital Atlas of Byzantine Crimea: Suggested Implementation Approaches
Nikolai BystritskiyHS 21
Byzantium on the Web… And a Way to Find it: The Chalke Gate Project
Vicky Foskolou, Ioanna Bitha, Anna TakoumiHS 21
Exploring the Byzantine Legacy of the Eastern Mediterranean
R. David HendrixHS 21
A World on the Move. Challenges and Perspectives of the Research Program Migration Movements in Byzantine World (1261–1453) (MIMOZA Project)
Anastasia Kontogiannopoulou, Thanasis SotiriouHS 21
A Byzantine Cardinal between Byzantium and Renaissance in a “Knowledge Site”: Bessarionresearch.com
Panagiotis KourniakosHS 21
5.37 FC – A Narratological Approach to Byzantine Hagiographical Literature
Constructing Credibility through Narrators in Italo-Greek Hagiography
Emma HuigHS 31
Focalization and Narrators in the Life of Eustratios of Agauros
Óscar Prieto DomínguezHS 31
In the Saints’ Shadow: Animals as Characters in the Synaxarium of Constantinople
Lorenzo Maria CiolfiHS 31
Patients as Characters: Developing a Narrative to Communicate to Audience(s) of the Miracles of Sts. Kosmas and Damian
Elle JonesHS 31
Sacred Journeys: Settings and Frames in the Life of Ioannikios (BHG 935, 936, 937)
Giulia GolloHS 31
5.38 FC – Byzantium and the Caucasus from the 10th to the 12th Century
Armenia after the Collapse of the Byzantine Rule in the Eleventh Century: The Case of Vaspurakan
Kosuke NakadaHS 33
Byzantine Titles Bestowed upon the Bagratunis of Tayk and Kgharjk
Liana NazaryanHS 33
La charge de მოძღუარი (modzghuari) entre tradition géorgienne et influences byzantines
Mariam NutsubidzeHS 33
A Review of the Ideological Aspects of Medieval Byzantine-Georgian Relations
Nino TomadzeHS 33
5.39 FC – New Perspectives on Medieval Macedonia and Thessaly
Towards a New Corpus of Acta Thessaliae (12th–16th c.)
Demetrios S. Georgakopoulos, Christos D. TsatsoulisSR 6
Surviving Toponyms: Procopius’ Early Byzantine Fortress Βριγίζης
Jasminka KuzmanovskaSR 6
Medieval Pelagonia in the Light of New Archaeological Evidence
Robert MihajlovskiSR 6
Albanian Officials in Northern Macedonia: Their Military Role during the 13th-Century Byzantine Period
Agon RrezjaSR 6
Integration (des byzantinischen) Mazedoniens in den Nemanjiden-Staat im Licht der serbischen Herrscherurkunden von 1282 bis 1371
Žarko VujoševićSR 6
5.40 FC – Shaping Identities
From “Goat-Man, Violator” to Black Man: Racial Transformation in the Armenian Alexander Romance
Alex MacFarlaneHS 1
Asherav la-yoshev be-romi: Jewish Byzantine Patriotism in a Tenth-Century Apocalypse
Arie NeuhauserHS 1
Jewish Burial Practices in the Early Byzantine Balkans and the Aegean
Alexander PanayotovHS 1
Ethnic Identifications in Byzantine Egypt: The Case of the Ethnonym Ἕλλην in Papyri, Ostraca and Wooden Boards from the 4th century to 641 CE
Iason TheodoridisHS 1
5.41 FC – The Performative Self
Emotions of Power: Anger as a Resource for Political Communication in Byzantium
Alexandru Ștefan AncaHS 6
Performing Compunction Beyond Byzantium: Embodying Penitential Emotions in Post-Byzantine Katanyktic Hymns from Mount Athos
Cristina CocolaHS 6
‘A World Brimming Over with Divine Presence’: Late Antique Meteorology as a Cultural Practice
Angelo GargiuloHS 6
The Function and Role of Emotions in Middle Byzantine Historiography (8th–10th c.): The Dipole of Anger and Fear
Artemis LagouHS 6
Tragic, Satirical, and Comedic Plots in Byzantine Court Documents
Jovana ŠijakovićHS 6
Poikilia and Sacredness: Portable Art in Byzantine Religious Experience
Marianna VitelloHS 6
Thematic Sessions
5.28 TS – A Cultural Heritage Beyond the Capital: The Archaeological Context of the Başpınar Religious Buildings on Byzantine Nymphaion (Mount Nif, Kemalpaşa, Turkey)
Başpınar Religious Buildings: Research History and General Overview
Müjde PekerBIG-HS
Les phases des structures religieuses de Başpınar à la lumière des recherches archéologiques
Daniş BaykanBIG-HS
Functional, Technical and Aesthetic Evaluation of Başpınar Ceramics Based on Production and Consumption Areas
Lale Doğer, E. Merve KuntBIG-HS
Contexte des petits objets des édifices religieux de Başpınar et leur conservation
Ceren Baykan, Daniş BaykanBIG-HS
Carrying Başpınar Religious Buildings to the Future: A Conservation Proposal for Preserving the Building Phases
Bengi İnakBIG-HS
5.29 TS – Oscillating Between Modernity and Traditionality, Diversity and Uniformity. Reflections on the Physiognomy of Late Post–Byzantine Painting (ca. 1670–1900)
Navigating Tradition and Change Between East and West in 18th-Century Post-Byzantine Painting
Katerina KontopanagouSR 1
Beyond Confessional Lines. Artistic Exchange and Hybrid Aesthetics in Balkan Ecclesiastical Painting
Konstantinos GiakoumisSR 1
Images of St. Sebastian from Post-Byzantine Churches in Bulgaria in the Context of Tradition and Innovations
Tereza BachevaSR 1
Painting in 18th-Century Mani: Continuities and Transformations
Sofia MenenakouSR 1
New Trends and Continuity in 18th-century Post-Byzantine Painting in the Peloponnese
Marianna OikonomouSR 1
David of Selenica as the Last Station of “Palaeologan” Painting: The “Gallery of Portraits” in the Church of St Nicholas, Voskopoja (1722–1726)
Ahilino PalushiSR 1
5.30 TS – Between and Beyond: Networks and Connections Among Byzantine Neighbours in the Eleventh Century
Commerce & Crisis in the Eleventh Century: The Empire of New Rome in an Afro-Eurasian Perspective
Nicholas S. M. MatheouHS 3
Beyond the Capital: Urban and Social Transformations in Byzantine Pliska
Petar ParvanovHS 3
Armenian Colophons: Text Material Approaches to the Study of Eleventh Century Byzantium
Lewis ReadHS 3
Veszprémvölgy: A Greek Monastery beyond the Byzantine Political Sphere
Márton RózsaHS 3
Frontier or Periphery? Reassessing Imperial Influences within the Local Ecclesiastical Networks during the Christianisation of 11th c. Hungary
Mária VarghaHS 3
5.31 TS – Cultural Exchanges at the Time of the Palaiologoi: Beyond the Borders of Byzantium
The Mobility of Form: Byzantium and Serbia in the Palaiologan Period
Maria Alessia RossiHS 32
“Between Us and You There Is a Great Gulf:” Economic Disparity and Social Inequality in the Writings of Theodore Palaiologos, Marquess of Montferrat
Teresa ShawcrossHS 32
Byzantine Echoes: Constantinople and the Making of the Duchy of Milan
Jessica VarsallonaHS 32
Converting the Sultan: The War between Late Byzantine Platonists and Aristotelians for the Soul of Mehmet II?
Scott KennedyHS 32
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Plenary Session: Byzantium in Central Europe
Missions Lost? Byzantine Missionaries and Princesses in Central Europe in the 9th-13th Centuries
Petra MelicharAudimax
Byzantium and Central Europe in the Palaiologan Centuries: Observations and Approaches
Sebastian KolditzAudimax
Reframing Byzantium after 1453: Mobility, Art, Patronage
Alice Isabella SullivanAudimax
The Byzantine Idea, From Legacy to Inheritance: The Grand Strategies of Modern Historiography and Their Impact on Mitteleuropa
Petre GuranAudimax
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Session IV
Free Communications
5.45 FC – Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Churches and Monasteries
The Distinctive Features That Establish Certain Churches as Models: The Case of 17th-Century Churches in North Kynouria
Smaragdi ArvanitiBIG-HS
Δύο άγνωστοι βυζαντινοί ναοί της Μεσσηνίας/ Two Unknown Byzantine Churches in South-West Messenia (Greece)
Panagiota KatopodiBIG-HS
An Evaluation of the Plan Types of Post-Byzantine Period Greek Churches in the Torul-Maçka Region
Demet OkuyucuBIG-HS
The Impact of Famagustan Art on Cypriot Wall Painting in the First Half of the 15th Century
Konrad WaniewskiBIG-HS
5.46 FC – Churches II
Architecture Without Borders: 12th-Century Hungary, Poland, and Rus’
Özlem ErenSR 7
Arch-Gabled Church: an Original Architectural Tradition of Kyivan Rus
Kateryna MikheienkoSR 7
Alexey Gornostaev’s Basilica: At the Origins of the “Byzantine Style” in Russia
Galina SkotnikovaSR 7
Church at the Site of Dvorine, Serbia (14th Century): Architectural Remains and Fresco Fragments
Tatjana StarodubcevSR 7
5.47 FC – Byzantine Art and Patronage and Its Reception in the Post–Byzantine Centuries
Le rideau de l’iconostase (katapetasma) (1750) brodé par Antonios de la cathédrale de Saint Nicolas de Kozani
Glykeria ChatzouliHS 2
Female Founders Beyond Byzantium: Models, Patterns, Motivation
Taisiya LeberHS 2
Δύο τρίπτυχα του 18ου αιώνα από την Καρβάλη της Καππαδοκίας
Magdalini ParcharidouHS 2
Non-Invasive Analysis of Cypriot Composite Icons: Methods and Findings
Dorota ZaprzalskaHS 2
5.48 FC – Icons and Contexts
Investigation of the Oldest Icons (15th–16th c.) in the National Museum of the Przemyśl Land (under the Grant of the National Science Centre, 2023–2027)
Mirosław KrukHS 5
Two Emperors on the Throne: Iconographic Aspects of the Trial of Saint George and Other Scenes in the Relief of Saint George (late 11th–early 12th c.)
Oleksandra ShevliugaHS 5
Icons from the Bachkovo Monastery of the Virgin Petritziotissa (14th–16th c.)
Alexandra TrifonovaHS 5
Der Kosmos der Völker Gottes. Die Wiener Genesis (Cod. theol. graec. 31) in neuer Interpretation
Rainer WarlandHS 5
Among the Hyperboreans and in Colchis. Northern Greek Influences on Russian and Georgian Icon Painting of the 14th–15th Centuries
Maria YakovlevaHS 5
5.49 FC – Churches III
Oltre l’architettura in negativo: il rapporto tra chiese rupestri e chiese in muratura nella Cappadocia mediobizantina (IX–XII secolo)
Giorgia AbbateHS 6
Basilica B and Fluctuating Hegemony Between 5th/6th-Century Christian Doctrines: Architectural Evidence from Resafa
Catharine HofHS 6
Not Gone but Almost Forgotten: Transformations of Holy Land Churches in the Early Islamic Period
Benyamin StorchanHS 6
Representations of Female Devotion in the Rock-Cut Churches of Medieval Salento: A ‘Byzantinizing’ Painting Style as an Identity Marker of Local Communities
Paraskevi TassouHS 6
5.50 FC – Gender and Sexuality II
Male Characters Represent Female Agencies: How Empress Aelia Eudocia Depicts the Sorcerer Cyprian and the Saviour Jesus in her Stories
Hiroaki AdachiHS 21
Gender, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in the Passion and Life of Susanna
Mariana BodnarukHS 21
“Should Not the Shepherds Feed the Sheep?”: Gender Fluidity and Galla Placidia as Empress Shepherd
Vanina D’AmbrosioHS 21
Reconstructing a Theory of Gender Beyond Byzantine and Early Christian Thought
Antonia Gkremi-LiadiHS 21
5.51 FC – Alternatives to Kingship in Byzantium and Beyond
Rulers in the World: Metaphors of Authority and Social Organisation in the Coptic Manichaica
Håkon TeigenSR 2
Regulating Sexuality: Family Law and Ecclesiastical Governance in the East Syrian Community (6th–8th c.)
Anna GiaconiaSR 2
Ein Königreich ohne König ? Persarmenien und das nakharar-system unter den Sassaniden
Thomas GiraultSR 2
5.52 FC – Byzantium’s Eastern Frontier in the 8th to 10th Centuries
Warriors, Captives, Martyrs: Prisoners of War in the Byzantine Perception and Strategy
Eliso ElizbarashviliHS 31
The Final Abbasid Assault on the Eastern Roman Empire under al-Muktafi (902–908) and the Byzantine Riposte
Dan Ioan MureșanHS 31
A Christian Insurgency between Byzantium and the Caliphate: Syriac Evidence for Warfare, Life and Politics along the Mesopotamian Frontier, c. 750
Leif Inge Ree PetersenHS 31
Christians in the Abbasid Caliphate After the Byzantine Re-Conquest of Tarsus (965)
Philip WoodHS 31
5.53 FC – The Romania and the Eastern Mediterranean Before and After the Fourth Crusade
Angeloi Diplomacy: Rebuilding the Stability of the Empire at the End of the 12th Century
Victor BrissotHS 33
Between Byzantine and Latin Constantinople: Politics and Ideology of the Bulgarian State in post-1204 Romània
Francesco Dall’AglioHS 33
God’s Punishment: The Massacre of the People of Constantinople in April 1204
Manuela DobreHS 33
The Imperial Ideology of Alexios III Komnenos Angelos (1195–1203): A Case of an Overlooked renovatio imperii?
Dimitrios MarkakisHS 33
5.54 FC – The Anthological Habit in Slavonic Translation (Session 2)
The Reception of (Pseudo-)Anastasius of Sinai’s Quaestiones et Responsiones in Michael Glykas’ Quaestiones ad sacram scripturam and the Slavonic World
Evelyne DielsSR 6
Die slavische Rezeption der Matthäus-, Lukas- und Johanneskatenen vom Typ A
Dobriela KotovaSR 6
The Role of John of Damascus’ Theology in Early Slavic Christianity. Orthodoxy and Translation
Aneta YotovaSR 6
Trinitarian Dogmatic Florilegia on the Holy Spirit in Slavia Orthodoxa: A Preliminary Survey
Nicolò GhigiSR 6
Collections in REGEST: Concept and Implementation
Jürgen Fuchsbauer, Ekaterina DikovaSR 6
5.55 FC – The Post–Byzantine Life of Byzantine Texts
Translations of Byzantine Texts in Vernacular Greek during the 16th–17th Centuries: An Overview
Eleni KarantzolaHS 3
The «Σύνταγμα κατά στοιχείον» of Μatthaios Blastares and its Translation into Early Modern Greek
Christos KarvounisHS 3
Byzantine Vision-Accounts in Early Modern Greek: The Vision of the Monk Kosmas and the Vision of Theodora
Olympia Vrakopoulou , Konstantinos SampanisHS 3
The Post-Byzantine Versions of the Life of Antony and the Life of Ignatios
Martin HinterbergerHS 3
Thematic Sessions
5.43 TS – Byzantium beyond Byzantium: The Sinai Monastery as a Case Study
The Loose Sixth-Century Funerary Inscription of the Slaughtered Fathers of Raithou in Context
Marina MyriantheosHS 32
Importing Marble Panels from the Workshops of Proconnesus to Sinai in the 6th Century, Their Reusing and Recycling in the Following Era
Petros KoufopoulosHS 32
Georgians in Sinai: The Evidence of Written and Visual Sources
Zaza SkhirtladzeHS 32
Cultural and Artistic Interconnections in the Late Sixteenth-Century Sinai: The Fresco of the Last Judgment in the Old Refectory of Saint Catherine’s Monastery (1573)
Sophia Kalopissi-VertiHS 32
Superiors at the Monastery of Sinai: Tracing Convergent Identities
Georgia Foukaneli, Nikolaos FyssasHS 32
5.44 TS – Afterlives of Material Culture of Byzantium and Beyond: Perspectives on Preservation, Representation, and Appropriation
“Post-Byzantine” before 1453? Renovations of Byzantine churches in Nemanjić Serbia (ca. 1166-1371)
Ivana JevtićHS 1
A Byzantine Ruin between State and non-State Practices of Heritage Preservation as a Popular Symbol of Istanbul’s Urban Stratification
Pınar AykaçHS 1
Containing the Contested: Museumification of Byzantium in the Ottoman Empire and Early Republican Turkey
Ayşe Ercan KydonakisHS 1
The Management of Byzantine Churches in Ottoman Kostantiniyye: Historical Realities and Contemporary Representations of Mehmed II’s Foundation (Vakf)
Ali Daniş NeyziHS 1
A Quest for A Lost Library: The Manuscripts and Documents of the Soumela Monastery
Meriç T. ÖztürkHS 1
Saturday 29 Aug
Special Events
Without Registration
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
Under the Banner of the Seals: History and Culture in the Eastern Mediterranean (from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages)
Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Neue Burg, Heldenplatz
This special showcase provides an insight into the society and culture of the eastern Mediterranean region through clay seals from Egypt (from the holdings of the Papyrus Collection/Austrian National Library) and Byzantine lead seals (private collection of A.-K. Wassiliou-Seibt).
Ephesos – A Metropolis of the Ancient World and Modern Archaeological Project
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
For over 130 years, the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW has investigated Ephesos, a major UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye. Excavations reveal 9,000 years of settlement history. An international team studies social, economic, and environmental aspects of ancient life. The poster session presents this project, focusing on Byzantine material culture, diet, vegetation, agriculture, and animal husbandry.
The Stimulant Sea: Sugar, Coffee, & the Acquisition of Taste
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
This exhibition explores the intertwined and commodified histories of sugar and coffee within a specific place and time: the Medieval and Early Modern Red Sea, envisaged as a cultural connector between the Mediterranean world and Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Ocean. The exhibition explores four interrelated themes: first, tracing the trade networks and knowledge transfers that shaped the origins of sugar and coffee as we know them today; second, examining their early medicinal uses; third, considering the social rituals through which sugar and coffee became part of everyday consumption; and fourth, revealing the labor systems that enabled their production and global distribution.
This poster exhibition was part of a display in the Dumbarton Oaks Museum accompanying the 2025 Symposium, Africa and Byzantium, and sought to connect history-based scholarship with the contemporary world. As a public history initiative, it was intended for a wide audience, including visitors with a limited knowledge of the eastern Mediterranean and Byzantine worlds.
Book Exhibition
Main Ceremonial Hall, University of Vienna
Meet international academic publishers and their latest publications dealing with the Byzantine world.
Market of Fine Things
Arkadenhof, University of Vienna
The Market of Beautiful Things is a place to wander, marvel, and discover: handmade pieces, fine foods, and objects with history and character, held at the University of Vienna, where those who love fine craftsmanship and special finds will feel right at home and meet people who create with passion.
The Emperor’s New Dice. Exploring Byzantium and Beyond on the Game Board
How about helping Emperor Constantine to build his new capital at the Bosporus? Or would you like to organise a school of translators between Greek, Syriac, Persian and Arabic? Explore Byzantium and Beyond from a new perspective with board games on historical topics from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern period.
Registration Required
Closing Reception
Arkadenhof der ÖAW, Ignaz-Seipel-Platz
Join us for the closing reception marking the end of ICBS 2026. The evening offers a final opportunity to reflect on the past days, continue conversations, and strengthen new and existing connections in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Food and drinks will be provided.
8:30 am – 10:00 am Session I
Free Communications
6.10 FC – Apocrypha, Apocalypses and Eschatology
The Passion of Christ: An Authoritative Early Russian Apocryphal Text
Atmoja BoseSR 1
The Legacy of Early Christian Apocalyptic in Byzantium and the Romanian Lands (15th – Early 17th c.)
Andrei ProhinSR 1
An 11th-Century Byzantine Illuminated Manuscript: Iconographic and Stylistic Analysis (BnF Grec 74)
Fatma YasarSR 1
6.11 FC – Wisdom and Advice
Translation of Byzantine Texts Beyond Byzantium: Nemesius of Emesa’s Treatise “On Human Nature”
Anush ApresyanHS 5
Egyptian Pagan Temples and Theodosian Legislation: A Chronological Analysis of Religious Policy in Late Antiquity
Estera GolianHS 5
Representations of Parables in Codex Skevophylakion 3 of the Vatopedi Monastery
Apostolos MantasHS 5
The Ant and the Ant-Lion: Virtue and Sin in Byzantium
Ayșenur Mulla TopcanHS 5
Eusebius Pamphilus and the Mosaic Law: The Old Testament Heritage in the Cultural Memory of Ancient Christians of the Constantinian Age
Ilya PopovHS 5
6.12 FC – Byzantium in the Lab: New Types of Digital and Natural Scientific Analysis
Forensic Paleodemography in Byzantine Istanbul: A Case Study from the Yenikapı Excavations
Mehmet GörgülüHS 2
Digital Methods and Byzantine Fiction: New Techniques and Approaches
Emelie HallenbergHS 2
A Corpus of Byzantine Lead Seals from Istanbul Housed in Japan: A Lead-Isotope Analysis
Ryo Takayanagi, Koji MurataHS 2
Microbiome Analysis of a Mass Burial Group from the Selçuk Ayasuluk Excavations Associated with the Early Byzantine Period: A Search for Potential Pathogens
Fatih TepgeçHS 2
6.13 FC – Entangled Emotions in Byzantine Art and Literature
Reach Out, Touch Faith: The Incredulity of Thomas and the Embodied Experience of the Divine in Medieval Byzantine Art and Architecture
Lara FrentropSR 8
Picturing Martyrdom: Theological Resonance and Patronal Intent in the Iconography of Saint Cyricus and His Mother Julitta
Leonela FundićSR 8
Depicting Suffering: Byzantine Contributions to a Defining Feature of Christian Art
Vladimir IvanoviciSR 8
The Sea Personified: Classical Motifs in Medieval Last Judgement Iconography
Aleksandra Krauze-KołodziejSR 8
6.14 FC – The Process of Christianization
The Unique 5th–6th Century CE Byzantine Church at Ashdod-Yam (Azotos Paralios) and Its Significance for Early Christianity
Alexander FantalkinSR 6
A Regional Study of the Christianisation of Crete. Insularity and Religious Change
Sait Can KutsalSR 6
Benefactors and Donations: Clergy and Laity Shaping the Christian Landscape in the Late Antique Provinces of Achaia and Epirus Vetus
Maria Noussis, Priscilla RalliaSR 6
The Transition from Paganism to Christianity in Rural Balkan Provinces in Late Antiquity
Carolyn SnivelySR 6
Round Tables
6.01 RT – (In)Stability at the Frontiers: Dialogues Between Archaeology and History
Egyptian Monasteries as Safe Harbors in the Sixth to Ninth Centuries
Darlene L. Brooks HedstromBIG-HS
Society and Landscape in the Diocese of Tyre in Late Antiquity
Jacob AshkenaziBIG-HS
Protecting, Exploiting, Trading: Tales from the Byzantine Frontier of North Africa
Anna Leone, Tommaso GiuliodoroBIG-HS
Frontier Forts as “Anchors” of Religious Mobility in the Southern Levant
Marlena WhitingBIG-HS
6.02 RT – Byzantium and/or Weltliteratur? Moments and Forms of Contacts and Suggestions
Byzantine Literature in the Renaissance: Between Classical Tradition and Modern Literatures
Niccolò ZorziHS 31
La percezione di Bisanzio all’epoca della Weltliteratur e il suo influsso
Paolo CesarettiHS 31
Byzantium in Early Modernist Literature: Yeats, Pound, and Others
Ioannis KonstantakosHS 31
Itinerant Byzantium: Appropriations and Metamorphoses of the Byzantine Ekphrastic Tradition in Modern Greek Literature
Beatrice DaskasHS 31
6.03 RT – Macedonia and Some Other Balkan Regions: Within or Beyond Byzantium
Macedonia Between Empires: Religion and Identity (7th–10th Centuries)
Mitko PanovSR 7
Monastic Rules between Byzantine Tradition and the Local Context: The Case of the Typikon of Veljusa
Maja Angelovska-PanovaSR 7
Byzantine Macedonia in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries: Monetary Evidence
Katerina HristovskaSR 7
The Ohrid Archbishopric in the Fragmented Empire: Role and Influence in a Post-1204 Landscape
Filip MarkovskiSR 7
Disintegration of Stefan Dušan’s State in Romania: A Case Study of Macedonia (1355–1371)
Toni FiliposkiSR 7
6.04 RT – AI and Byzantine Studies
Byzantine Sigillographic Knowledge as Linked Open Data: Dos and Don’ts
Martina FilosaHS 41
Who Murdered Emperor Nikephoros I? An Experiment in Generating Data on Political Instability in the Byzantine Empire with the Help of Large Language Models (LLMs)
Johannes Preiser-KapellerHS 41
Philology Meets Machine Learning: Digital Annotation and Semantic Modelling of Byzantine Greek Texts
Colin SwaelensHS 41
6.05 RT – The Economy of Crete and Its Commerce with the Mediterranean World (7th–11th Centuries)
Production and Storage of Cereals in Early Byzantine Messara, Crete
Salvatore CosentinoHS 1
The Transformation of the Cretan Rural Settlement Pattern (and Agroecosystems) in the Early Middle Ages (ca. 550–ca.900): A Comparative Study
Luca ZavagnoHS 1
Gortyn at the Eve of the Arab Conquest: Exchange Networks and Urban Economy (7th–9th c. CE)
Giulia MarsiliHS 1
Cretan Mediterranean Trade-Networks during the 7th–10th Centuries CE: Three Diachronic Case-Studies from the Ceramic Record (7th-c. ARSW; 8th–9th-c. Sicilian Amphorae; Islamic Oil Lamps and a Strainer Jug)
Mateo G. RandazzoHS 1
Exploring the Journey of Ceramics: The Intersection of Byzantine and Islamic Cultures on Crete (ca. 7th to 12th c.)
Joanita VroomHS 1
Maritime Networks and Archaeological Evidence: Trade and Interaction between Crete and the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th–11th Century
Natalia PoulouHS 1
Thematic Sessions
6.06 TS – The Reception of Byzantine Studies in China
The Reception of Digital Humanities in Chinese Byzantine Studies
Jianchang LiuHS 3
6.07 TS – Reflecting the Capital: Mystras Beyond Constantinople
Manuel II Palaiologos and the Rhetorical Performance of Imperial Brotherhood in Late Byzantine Mystras
Florin LeonteHS 32
The Architecture of Mystras between Hellas, Constantinople and the West
Stavros MamaloukosHS 32
The Sculptural Decoration in the Churches of the Vrontochion Monastery at Mystras: Preliminary Remarks
Angeliki MexiaHS 32
Reflecting Constantinople: The Iconographic Program in the Gallery of the Panagia Hodegetria at Mystras
Nektarios ZarrasHS 32
6.08 TS – Remembering Byzantium on Mount Athos during the Ottoman Period
Remembering the Kings of Iberia in Iviron Monastery since Ottoman Times
Tinatin ChronzHS 21
Liturgical Commemoration of Bulgarians at the Serbian Athonite Monastery of Hilandar: Methods of Ethnic and Prosopographic Identification (on the Basis of Cod. Hiland. slav. 519, 15th–16th c.)
Kirill MaksimovičHS 21
Remembering the Departed at Vatopedi Monastery during the Ottoman Period: A Study of Manuscript Vatopedi 1945
Emanuela MîndrilăHS 21
Rediscovering the Byzantine and Bulgarian Past of Zographou on 18th-c. Mount Athos
Kostis SmyrlisHS 21
6.09 TS – The Byzantine Church Beyond Byzantium
The Patriarchal ‘Pentarchy’ – a Fig Leaf for Constantinopolitan Supremacy?
Silvio RoggoHS 6
Constantinople and Alexandria in a Lost Miaphysite History from Egypt
Phil BoothHS 6
From the Outside Looking In – Miaphysite Perceptions of Melkite-Constantinopolitan Relations
Julia SchwarzerHS 6
The Chalcedonian Church of Marwānid Syria Beyond the Maronites
Paul UlishneyHS 6
Materiality and Typology of Icons among the Melkites: John the Damascene and Theodore Abu Qurrah
Juan Signes CodoñerHS 6
10:15 am – 11:45 am Session II
Free Communications
6.22 FC – Depicting Authority
The Fresco Paintings of Ecumenical Councils in the Monastery of Dečani: Geopolitics and Church Canonical Analyses
Ivica ČairovićHS 3
Temple Paintings of the Bagratid’s Era in Ani: Programmatic and Stylistic Features in the Context of Byzantine Art
Anna MakarovaHS 3
Borderland Sovereignty and Sacred Patronage: Kesar Novak’s Visual Identity in the Frescoes of Maligrad
Flora MarolliHS 3
Fresco Paintings in the Church on the Second Floor of the the Defensive Line Tower of the Syuren Fortress (Mountainous Tavrika)
Yuriy Mogarichev, A. S. ErginaHS 3
6.23 FC – Icons of Sound
Singing of Mortality and Beholding Eternity: The Liturgical World of Funerals at Chora Monastery
Andrew MellasHS 32
Iconic Chanting in the Athonite Monastic Commonwealth
Damaskinos OlkinuoraHS 32
The Melismatic Chants of the Divine Liturgy. From the Asmatikon to the Akolouthiai
Ioannis ArvanitisHS 32
6.24 FC – Emotions as Literary Device
Between Illusion and Disillusion: Narratological Shifting and Emotional Fluidity in Ekphrastic Texts
Arianna MagnoloHS 7
Managing Emotions in Male-Female Spiritual Correspondence in Late Byzantium
Alevtina MatveevaHS 7
The Altruist’s Ache: Understanding the Emotion of Pity in the Chronography of Michael Psellos
Lamprini MilioriHS 7
6.25 FC – New Perspectives on the Comnenian Century
The Doukai and the Byzantine Navy under Alexios I Komnenos (1081–1118)
João Vicente De Medeiros Publio DiasHS 2
Sending Relics and Negotiating the Church Union: Alexios I Komnenos and the Benedictines after the First Crusade
Angeliki PanagopoulouHS 2
Un Latin à Byzance : le discours de Pierre Grossolano à Constantinople en 1112, textes et contextes
Achille PoulinHS 2
La mémoire du règne d’Andronic Comnène : un empereur tyrannique?
Jack RoskillyHS 2
The Relations between Poland and Byzantium (from 1018 to ca. 1132). Some Notes and Observations
Grzegorz RostkowskiHS 2
6.26 FC – Byzantine Perceptions and Perceptions of Byzantium: The “Peoples of the Steppe”
The Byzantine Image of the Rulers of the Great Steppe (5th–14th centuries)
Jarosław DudekSR 6
La description des Mongols (Tokhariens) dans les Relations historiques de George Pachymères
Ziran GuoSR 6
The Balkan Policy of the Golden Horde, the Islamization and the “Dream of Constantinople” (1300–1341)
Alexandar NikolovSR 6
Creating the “Beyond” – Concepts of Byzantine-Bulgarian Borders (7th–10th Centuries)
Daniel ZiemannSR 6
6.27 FC – Byzantine Rhetoric
On the Possible Literary Models of Nikephoros Basilakes’ Bagoas
Konstantinos ChryssogelosHS 41
Framing Rhetoric: The Role of Protheoria in Libanius’ Declamationes
Grammatiki KarlaHS 41
An Unknown Rhetorical Treatise for an Emperor: From Constantinople to the Humanists via Mount Athos
Ilias NesserisHS 41
Reading Hermogenes in the Perspective of Tertullian, Origen and the Corpus Areopagiticum
Olena SyrtsovaHS 41
Sopatros’ Μεταποιήσεις: Stylistic Rewriting, Byzantine Rhetorical Figures, and a Proto-Pragmatic Theory of Speech Act
Alfonso Vives CuestaHS 41
6.28 FC – Uneasy Siblings: Rome and Constantinople
From Admonition to Appeal: Typologies of Episcopal Dissent in Middle Byzantium (1025–1180)
Péter BaraHS 34
Isaurians in Italy: Forced Migration and ‘Roman’ Identity in the Justinianic Reconquest
Nastasya KosyginaHS 34
On the Murder of Popes: Remembering Pope Martin and Maximos the Confessor in Early-Eleventh-Century Rome
James MillerHS 34
Interpreting Psalm 110:3 in East and West: Exegesis and Theological Conflict in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries
Renate SilvestrovHS 34
Round Tables
6.15 RT – Networks, Mobility and the Maintenance of Christian Communities Beyond Byzantium, c. 800–1500 CE
Christians in Khazaria: Community Structures and Nomad Rule
Nicholas EvansHS 21
Connection and Resilience within the Church of the East in Central Asia
Benjamin SharkeyHS 21
Patronage, Art, and Monastic Networks in Eastern Europe
Alice Isabella SullivanHS 21
Cross-Confessional Contacts: Everyday Piety and Social Boundaries on Cyprus in the Late Lusignan period (14th–15th Centuries)
Miriam SalzmannHS 21
Ethiopia and the Byzantine World During the Middle Ages: Mobility of Sacred Ideas and Objects
Alebachew Belay BirruHS 21
6.16 RT – Régner au–delà des frontières: l’impérialité à l’époque paléologue (XIIIe–XVe siècle)
Imperial Authority and the Collapse of Byzantine Rule in Western Asia Minor
Alexander BeihammerHS 31
L’élaboration de l’Ekthésis Néa, un nouveau manuel de chancellerie au patriarcat à la fin du XIVe siècle: un recueil de formules stéréotypées ou un reflet d’une nouvelle conception de l’ordre universel ?
Raúl Estangüi GómezHS 31
Le royaume de Sicile, membre du Commonwealth impérial byzantin au XIIIe siècle? Les marques de l’impérialité byzantine sous Frédéric II, roi de Sicile
Annick Peters-CustotHS 31
Shared Authority in the Theory and Practice of Imperial Power under the Palaiologoi – Some Considerations
Srđan PirivatrićHS 31
Empire romain et Église(s) chrétienne(s). Le pouvoir impérial byzantin à l’épreuve de l’union de Lyon (fin du XIIIe siècle)
Francesca SamorìHS 31
6.17 RT – Style: Byzantium Beyond Byzantium
Unmoored Treasure: Style and the Stakes of Attribution
Cecily HilsdaleBIG-HS
The Semantics of Style in Santa Maria d’Àneu: The Early Catalan Romanesque Mural Painting and the Byzantine Heritage in the Mediterranean
Manuel Antonio Castiñeiras GonzálezBIG-HS
6.18 RT – Memories of Empire: Byzantine Heritage in Italy
Affective Contaminations: Byzantine Influence on Emotional Imagery in Venetian Illuminated Manuscripts Illustrating the Trojan Legend
Serena CuomoHS 6
From the Skylitzes’ Synopsis to the Orally Transmitted Tales of the Greek-Speaking Area of Apulia: The Widow Danielis and the Rich Danilìa
Francesco G. GiannachiHS 6
Reflections of the Hagiographic Traditions of Terra d’Otranto in the Palimpsests I
Konstantina TzakonaHS 6
Reflections of the Hagiographic Traditions of Terra d’Otranto in the Palimpsests II
Panagiotis LeontaridisHS 6
6.19 RT – Byzantine Prayer Traditions Beyond Byzantium: Manuscripts and Practices
Prayer Traffic to and from Egypt: Lessons from the Bohairic Coptic Euchologia Project
Arsenius MikhailHS 5
Georgian Sources of the Byzantine Rite of Consecration of the Holy Myron (Chrysm): Starting the New Heisenberg Project
Tinatin ChronzHS 5
Bilingualism, Digraphia, Binarity in Dogma and Alphabet: Features of Multilingual and Multicultural Practices in a Southern Italian Psalter
Renate BurriHS 5
Funeral Prayers for Monastics in Southern Slavonic Euchologia
Georgi MitovHS 5
Thematic Sessions
6.20 TS – The Real and Imagined Landscapes of Ṭūr ʿAbdīn During the Late Antique and Islamic Periods
Roman Soldier, Syriac Saint, and Memories of Rome in the Medieval Hagiography of Ṭūr ʿAbdīn
Reyhan DurmazHS 1
Aniconic Ṭūr ʿAbdīn? Questioning the Mor Gabriel Monastery Mosaic in Mediterranean Context
Alexandre Varela ExpositoHS 1
When Empires Aligned: Political Kinship and Doctrinal Divide in Late Antique Ṭūr ʿAbdīn
Virginia SomellaHS 1
Carving Names into the Ground of Osrhoene. Epigraphic Practices in the Rural Milieu at the Turn of the Byzantine and Islamic Eras
Simon BrelaudHS 1
6.21 TS – Thinking Byzantine Multitudes
Seasonal Collectivity in the Lenten Homilies of Michael Choniates
John KeeHS 33
Managing Multitudes on the Move: The Katouna as Pastoral Collective and Institution in the Late Medieval Balkans
Guillaume BidautHS 33
Tackling the Role of Communities in the Construction of Byzantine Churches: The Evidence from the Manipulation of Natural Light
Flavia VanniHS 33
Negri in New Rome: Empire and Multitude from Postmodernity to the Middle Ages
Nicholas S. M. MatheouHS 33
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Session III
Free Communications
6.31 FC – Recherche sur la cartographie de Gaza du IIIe au VIIe siècles à partir des sources écrites
Présentation du projet de publication sur une cartographie de la Gaza byzantine à partir des sources écrites
Maximilien DurandBIG-HS
Topographie et sources écrites : du territoire à la ville
Catherine SaliouBIG-HS
City of Rhetoric, City of Religion: Late Antique Authors on the City of Gaza
Claudia RappBIG-HS
Les objets archéologiques provenant de Gaza conservés dans les musées
Magali CoudertBIG-HS
6.32 FC – Eastern Christian Art in Early Modern Vienna: Post–Byzantine Transconfessional Cults
The Mother of God of Pócs and the Habsburgs: A Hungarian Miraculous Image in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna
Katalin FöldváriHS 6
Eastern Sacred Images against the Background of the Ottoman Threat in the Second Half of the 17th Century in Vienna
Robert BornHS 6
Devotional Objects on the Move and the Religious Practices of Early Modern Greeks: Comparing Vienna to Other “Greek Enclaves” in Central Europe
Stefano SaracinoHS 6
Orthodox Paper Icons in Early Modern Vienna: On the Dissemination of Post-Byzantine Art in the Habsburg Capital
Liliya BerezhnayaHS 6
6.33 FC – Churches and Their Decoration in Medieval Greece
The Throne of Grace: An Unusual Iconographic Theme in Three Churches of Rhodes
Michail AsfentagakisHS 2
Architettura mediobizantina della Corinzia tra fine XI e XII secolo
Chiara BasiliHS 2
Παναγία με Προφήτες: Εικονογραφικοί συσχετισμοί σε προγράμματα ναών της εποχής των Παλαιολόγων. Παραδείγματα από τον ελλαδικό χώρο
Dimitrios CheilasHS 2
Marble Sculpture from the Churches of the Byzantine Castle of Drama, Northern Greece
Maria KontogiannopoulouHS 2
Contribution to the Carved Decoration of a Little-Known Church in Mistra. Elements for a New Proposed Dating of the Evangelistria Church
Elisabeth YotaHS 2
6.34 FC – Saints and Angels in Byzantium and Beyond
L’ordine dei pannelli della porta bizantina di Monte Sant’Angelo: una nuova ipotesi
Paolo FasanoSR 7
Beyond the Byzantine Dome: Narrative Strategy in the Church of the Archangel Michael in Pedoulas, Cyprus
Nicolette LevySR 7
Local Saints’ Shrines as Factors for the Production of Innovative Iconography
Dionysios MourelatosSR 7
Sacred Images, Local Cults: The Iconography of Local Saints in 12th-Century Cyprus
Ourania PerdikiSR 7
Les saints Quarante Martyrs de Sébaste dans la peinture monumentale byzantine
Kyriaki Tassoyannopoulou, Anna TakoumiSR 7
6.35 FC – Iconography and Icons
Icons in Arab Orthodox (Greek Orthodox) Christian Churches of the Ottoman Period in Hatay Province, Türkiye
Sezer ArslanHS 3
Emanuele Zanfurnari’s Vita Icon, Life of John the Baptist (ca. 1600)
Thomas SchweigertHS 3
The Byzantine Tradition in European Religious Art (10th–16th centuries): The Stairstep Motif in Three New Testament Scenes
Stela TashevaHS 3
Russian Illuminated Manuscripts of the Heavenly Ladder: The History of Reception and Adaption of Byzantine Iconography
Georgii TitovHS 3
6.36 FC – Recent Research in Byzantine Sigillography
New Evidence on the Urban Administration of Byzantine Carthage: The Seals of the χαρτουλάριοι τοῦ σιτωνικοῦ in Context
Tommaso GiuliodoroHS 5
The Bureau of the Eparch in the 11th Century – New Insights on the σύμπονος from the Sigillographic Sources
Pia EveningHS 5
Byzantine Seals from the National Museum of Ravenna
Margherita Elena PomeroHS 5
New Insights on Stamping Tools and Marking Practices in Byzantium (5th–14th Century)
Lucia Maria OrlandiHS 5
6.37 FC – Imperial Power Made Visible
The Throne of Justin II: Imperial Iconography and Political Symbolism in Early Byzantium
Caterina AgostinelliHS 21
Where Do Crown Jewels Come From? Roman to Byzantine Regalia & Imperial Portraits, 1st to 6th c. CE
Amelia BrownHS 21
Political Themes in Monastic Florilegia: Rulers and Ruled in the Sacra of John the Monk
Petros TsagkaropoulosHS 21
The Byzantine Intaglio from Patriarch Job’s Panagia: Revisiting Attribution and Historical Context
Andrei ZaluninHS 21
6.38 FC – Aspects of the Seventh Century
Scramble for Orthodoxy? Some Remarks on the Theological Debates and the Rome-Constantinople Conflict in the Seventh Century
Márk BeszterceiHS 31
The Synodikon of Orthodoxy: A Living Witness of Byzantium Beyond Byzantium
Pantelis LevakosHS 31
Rome in Transition: Administrative Transformations in the Supervision of the City’s Classical Public Spaces Between the Late 6th and Mid-7th Centuries
Nicola LucianiHS 31
At the Western End of the Eastern Empire: Valentia, València la Vella and Other Fortified Places in Carthaginensis Provincia (6th–7th Centuries)
Albert Ribera i LacombaHS 31
Visions of Salvation and Identity in the Seventh Century: The Fragile Roman Unity
Panagiotis TheodoropoulosHS 31
6.39 FC – Routes, Ships, Networks and Trade from the Black Sea to the Indian Ocean
Ports of Faith: Christian Maritime Networks in the Western Indian Ocean from the 5th to 8th Century
Jon Mateo Gabilondo GutierrezHS 33
All Aboard the Empire! Exploring Nautical Imagery in Byzantine Literature and Society
Zeynep OlgunHS 33
The Revival of Trade along the Western Black Sea Coast and the Connecting River and Overland Routes in the 9th and 10th Centuries
Liliana SimeonovaHS 33
The Geography of Law. Jurisdiction, Magistrates and Prohibited Territories in the Genoese Liber Gazarie (14th Century)
Daniele TinterriHS 33
6.40 FC – Constantiniana Porphyrogenneta Varia
Traces of ‘Adriobyzantine’ Discourse in the Records of the Placitum of Riziano
Ivan BasićHS 41
‘Spain, the First Country of Europe’: Constantine VII and the Limits of Europe
Alex M. FeldmanHS 41
Late Roman and Early Byzantine Past in Constantine Porphyrogennetos’ De Administrando Imperio
Hrvoje GračaninHS 41
The Letters of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus: A Foundation for Exploring the Emperor’s Literary Identity
Teuta Serreqi JurićHS 41
Digitization of the De Administrando Imperio: Innovative Approaches to Historical Sources for Studying Croatian History in the Early Middle Ages
Teuta Serreqi Jurić, Zvonko Liović, Smodlaka VitasHS 41
6.41 FC – Discovering Byzantium through Athonite Collections on the Princeton Campus
Kurt Weitzmann on Athos. Aspects of a Scholarly Microhistoriography
Vangelis MaladakisSR 6
Researching Medieval Heritage through Archival Material: Challenges and Insights from Nenadović’s Hilandar Collection at Princeton
Dubravka PreradovićSR 6
Selling Images from Afar: Vovo’s Mount Athos and the Visual Market
Beatrice SpampinatoSR 6
Bridging Byzantium and the Digital World: Cataloguing Mount Athos in the Index of Medieval Art
Kyriaki GiannouliSR 6
Graphic Work as Devotional Subjects. The Case Study of Athonite Engravings in Princeton Collections
Aleksandar VasileskiSR 6
Looking for Byzantium / Experiencing Athos: Visual Evidence from the Millet Archives (EPHE and Collège de France)
Ioanna RaptiSR 6
6.42 FC – Aspects of Military Culture and War in Byzantium
On the Border of the Byzantine World: William I of Sicily (1120 /1121–1166) and the Italian Military Campaign of Manuel I Komnenos in 1155–1158
Marcin BöhmHS 1
Knowledge-Organization, Narrative and Genre in 10th-Century Byzantine Military Manuals
Merdan DoğanayHS 1
Aleppo and its Prisoners After the Campaign of Nikephoros Phokas in December 962
Dmitry KorobeynikovHS 1
Οἱ τῆς Σικελίας τύραννοι: The Byzantine Image of Norman Rulers as Tyrants – Meaning & Perspective
Vuk SamčevićHS 1
“Put Your Sword Back Into its Place” (Matt. 26: 52). An Alleged Warlike Representation of Isaac II Angelos and Other Artistic Evidence
Andrea Torno GinnasiHS 1
Thematic Sessions
6.29 TS – The Jerusalem Typicon in Constantinople, Palestine and Beyond Byzantium
Mapping Byzantine Liturgy in the Second Millenium: The Typikon Project
Stefanos AlexopoulosHS 32
Are Typicon Studies Caught in a Russian Trap? Reassessing the Scholarship on the History of the Typicon
Aleksandr AndreevHS 32
The Agrypnia in the Typikon Manuscripts Sin. syr. 129 and Sin. syr. 136: Distinct Redactions within the Syro-Melkite Translation Movement
Joachim BraunHS 32
Cheesefare Week: Formation and Liturgical Functionality in Jerusalem and Constantinople
Leonide B. EbralidzeHS 32
6.30 TS – The Lexicon of Cyril in Medieval Southern Italy
An Alleged Contamination across the Stretto? Blended Families and Additional Glosses in the Messan. S. Salv. 167 of Cyril’s Lexicon
Federica ScognamiglioSR 1
Some Scholia on Gregory of Nazianzus between Stoudios and Southern Italy
Carmelo Nicolò BenvenutoSR 1
Italo-Greek Connections: Kephallenia, Hagiou Gerasimou 1 (G), and Laur. Plut. 57.42 (F) — Twin Brothers across the Sea?
Stamatis BussésSR 1
On Some ‘Companions’ of Cyril: Etymologica in Southern Italian Manuscripts of Cyril’s Lexicon
Alessandro MusinoSR 1
Cyril, the Synagoge and Southern Italy: A Story Yet to Be Written
Paolo Scattolin, Paola Carmela La BarberaSR 1
A Computational Framework for Sorting Witnesses of Cyril’s Lexicon: The Southern-Italian Manuscripts
Maria KonstantinidouSR 1
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Plenary Session: Byzantium Lost and Found
All the Emperor’s Men: Uncovering Byzantium in the Nineteenth-Century Press
Przemysław MarciniakAudimax
Ottoman Patriotism and the Cultural Heritage Policy: The Contexts of Byzantine Legacy in The Late (Early 20th Century) Ottoman Popular Publications
Mertkan KaracaAudimax
The Norwegian Adventures of Sigurd Jorsalfare in a Byzantine Storyworld: Chivalry, Nationalism, Terrorism, Multiculturalism
Helena BodinAudimax
Bisanzio reimmaginata: la percezione dell’Impero Bizantino nei fumetti
Maria-Rosaria MarchionibusAudimax
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Closing Session
No workshops in this session.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Concluding Reception
No workshops in this session.
