Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

that addresses the

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, demography, dress, religion/theology,

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

/epigraphy,

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Coining (mint), the process of manufacturing coins * '' COINage'', a numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Coinage, a protologism or neologism In linguistics, a neolo ...

and

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. The discipline's founder in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

is considered to be the

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Hieronymus Wolf Hieronymus Wolf (13 August 1516 – 8 October 1580) was a sixteenth-century German historian and humanist, most famous for introducing a system of Roman historiography that eventually became the standard in works of medieval Byzantine history. ...

(1516–1580), a Renaissance Humanist. He gave the name "Byzantine" to the Eastern Roman Empire that continued after the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

collapsed in 476 AD. About 100 years after the final conquest of Constantinople by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

, Wolf began to collect, edit, and translate the writings of

Byzantine philosophers The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

.''Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557)''

Helen C. Evans Helen C. Evans is an American art historian and curator specializing in Byzantine art. Evans has worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1991 and was co-curator along with William D. Wixom of its 1997 exhibition, ''The Glory of Byzanti ...

, ed., exh. cat. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004 Quote: "And, whereas Wolf initiated Byzantine studies in Germany, particularly through the editing of texts, other sixteenth-century humanists were doing the same in Holland and Italy." Other 16th-century humanists introduced Byzantine studies to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The subject may also be called Byzantinology or Byzantology, although these terms are usually found in English translations of original non-English sources. A scholar of Byzantine studies is called a Byzantinist.

Structure

Definition

Byzantine studies is the discipline that addresses the history and culture of Byzantium (Byzantium ↔ Byzantine Empire, the Greek Middle Ages; Byzantium = Constantinople s capital of the Byzantine Empire. Thus the unity of the object of investigation ("Byzantium") stands in contrast to the diversity of approaches (= specializations) that may be applied to it. – There were already "Byzantine" studies in the high medieval Byzantine Empire. In the later Middle Ages, the interest in Byzantium (in particular the original Greek sources) was carried on by Italian humanism, and it expanded in the 17th century throughout Europe and Russia. The late 19th and early 20th centuries brought the formation of Byzantine studies as an independent discipline.

Byzantium

Greek-Hellenistic culture, Roman state traditions, Oriental influence and

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, together with a relative unity of language and culture, constitute medieval Byzantium. The starting point of Byzantine history is usually taken to be the reign of

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

(306–337) and the foundation of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(330). The "East Roman" (or

Late Antique Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodization has since been wide ...

) era of Byzantium begins at the latest with the division of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

into a

and an Eastern Roman Empire (395). This "Early Byzantine" period lasts until approximately 641 AD. Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(527–65) reconquered Italy, north Africa, and southern Spain, but after the expansion of Islam (634/98) a reorganized Byzantium, now based on administration by

Theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

s, was limited to the Greek-speaking regions of the Balkan peninsula, Asia Minor, and southern Italy;

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

was abandoned as the language of officialdom. This may be perceived as the "end of antiquity", and the beginning of the "Middle Byzantine" era. This was also the era of

Iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

(717–843) and of the origin of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

(800). Under the

Macedonian Dynasty The Macedonian dynasty () Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty, ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Byzantium under the Amorian dynasty, Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greates ...

(10th–11th centuries) Byzantium regained power against the Islamic and Bulgarian states, but the death of Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

marked a turning point, with Byzantine power in Asia Minor and southern Italy suffering from the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

(1071) and the rise of the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

, respectively. A certain stability was achieved under the

Comnenian Dynasty The House of Komnenos ( Komnenoi; , , ), Latinized as Comnenus ( Comneni), was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos, ruled from 1057 to 1059. Th ...

, at least until the

Battle of Myriokephalon The Battle of Myriokephalon (also known as the Battle of Myriocephalum, , or ''Düzbel Muharebesi'') was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in the mountains west of Iconium (Konya) in southwestern Turkey on 17 September ...

(1176). Internal conflicts facilitated the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders (the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

of 1204) and the establishment of Latin states in the south Balkans. The late period of the Byzantine Empire as a small state begins with the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; , ; female version Palaiologina; ), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family that rose to power and produced th ...

dynasty, which was particularly threatened by the advances of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and the economic influence of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

. An empire weakened in part through civil war suffered a severe blow when Thessalonica was captured in 1430, and finally fell to the Ottomans (

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

in 1453, and of

Mistras Mystras or Mistras (), also known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzethras or Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mount Taygetus, above ancient Sparta, a ...

in 1461). The

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

(1204–1461), founded in the wake of the Fourth Crusade, also forms a part of Byzantine history.

Languages

It is possible to distinguish between three levels of speech: Atticism (the literary language),

Koine Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-regional form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic ...

(the common language of the Hellenistic period), and

Demotic Demotic may refer to: * Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language * Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language * Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used t ...

(the popular language, and the forerunner of

modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...

). Thus a certain

diglossia In linguistics, diglossia ( , ) is where two dialects or languages are used (in fairly strict compartmentalization) by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety (labeled "L" or "low" v ...

between spoken Greek and written, classical Greek may be discerned. Major genres of Byzantine literature include

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

(both in the classical mode and in the form of

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

s),

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

(in the form of the biographical account or ''bios'' and the

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

or ''enkomion''); hagiographic collections (the ''menaia'' and ''synaxaria''),

epistolography Epistolography, or the art of writing Letter (message), letters, is a genre of Byzantine literature similar to rhetoric that was popular with the intellectual elite of the Byzantine age."Epistolography" in ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, The Oxfo ...

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

, and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. From the Byzantine administration, broadly construed, we have works such as description of peoples and cities, accounts of court ceremonies, and lists of precedence. Technical literature is represented, for example, by texts on military strategy. Collections of civil and canon law are preserved, as well as documents and ''acta'' (see "Diplomatics" below). Some texts in the demotic are also preserved.

Identity

There are currently three main schools of thought on medieval eastern Roman identity in modern Byzantine scholarship: 1) a potentially preponderant view that considers "Romanity" the mode of self-identification of the subjects of a multi-ethnic empire, in which the elite did not self-identify as Greek and the average subject considered him/herself as "Roman", 2) a school of thought that developed largely under the influence of modern

Greek nationalism Greek nationalism, otherwise referred to as Hellenic nationalism, refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.. As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in classical Greece. In modern times, Greek nationalism became a m ...

, treating Romanness as the medieval manifestation of a perennial Greek national identity, 3) a line of thought recently proposed by

Anthony Kaldellis Anthony Kaldellis ( ; born 29 November 1971) is a Greek-American historian and Byzantinist who is a professor of classics at the University of Chicago. He is a specialist in Greek historiography, Plato, and Byzantine studies. As the author of mon ...

arguing that Eastern Roman identity was a pre-modern

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

al identity.

Auxiliary sciences

Modes of transmission

Modes of transmission entails the study of texts that are preserved primarily on

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

, in addition to inscriptions, coins, and medals. The papyrus rolls of antiquity (

papyrology Papyrology is the study of manuscripts of ancient literature, correspondence, legal archives, etc., preserved on portable media from antiquity, the most common form of which is papyrus, the principal writing material in the ancient civilizations ...

) are quickly replaced by the parchment codices of the Middle Ages (

codicology Codicology (; from French ''codicologie;'' from Latin , genitive , "notebook, book" and Greek , ''-logia'') is the study of codices or manuscript books. It is often referred to as "the archaeology of the book," a term coined by François Masai. ...

), while paper arrives in the 9th century via the Arabs and Chinese.

Diplomatics

Diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

entails the study of Byzantine documents. Documents may be classified according to their producers as secular (imperial and private documents) or sacred (patriarchal and episcopal documents), or according to their means of preservation (the originals, imitations, or simple copies). Imperial documents may be divided into those that promulgate law (types: ; ), present decisions regarding specific cases (Epistula type: ; Subscriptio type: ''lysis'' dministration, taxes ), documents of foreign policy (treaties, letters to foreign rulers) (types: ''sakrai, grammata, basilikon, chrysobullos horismos, chrysobullon sigillon, prokuratorikon chrysobullon'') and administrative documents (types: , ''horismoi'', '' sigillia'', ''codicilli'').Britannica on chrysobullos logos
/ref> Sacred documents are the documents and official letters of the patriarchs, including the (creeds), (testaments), ' (excommunication), (abdication) as well as the ceremonial () and the (the resolution of a synod) and the (dogmatic edicts). The most splendid form of privileged communication, in the form of a letter, was so called because the Emperor's word (

logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...

) appeared three times in red ink. They were used in the appointments of Imperial ambassadors and they were stamped with the Imperial golden seal (Chrysos = gold and bulla =

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

=Sigillography and palaeography

= Specific subsets of diplomatics entail

sigillography Sigillography, also known by its Greek-derived name, sphragistics, is the scholarly discipline that studies the wax, lead, clay, and other seals used to authenticate archival documents. It investigates not only aspects of the artistic design ...

, the study of seals, and

palaeography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...

, the study of scripts.

Epigraphy

Byzantine

epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

entails the study of various stone, metal, ivory, mosaic, enamel, and paint inscriptions.

Numismatics

Byzantine

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

entails the study of imperial coins and

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach, given their association with natural byproducts ...

. Building on the gold standard of Late Antiquity, the Byzantine monetary system was, until the middle of the 14th century, based on a gold standard, and included silver, bronze, and copper coins. With the economic and political decline of the late period, the gold standard was abandoned in the final century of Byzantine history, and replaced by a silver-based system.

Metrology

Byzantine

metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...

entails the study of Byzantine weights and measures. A great number of measures of length were used, including modified forms of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Roman units The units of measurement of ancient Rome were generally consistent and well documented. Length The basic unit of Roman linear measurement was the ''pes'' (plural: ''pedes'') or Roman foot. Investigation of its relation to the English units#Leng ...

of the

finger A finger is a prominent digit (anatomy), digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (dactyly, pentadact ...

pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US *Pace Airlines, an American charter airline * Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

fathom A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an international standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally accepted non-SI unit. H ...

schoenus Schoenus (; , ''schoinos'', " rush rope"; , "river-measure") was an ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman unit of length and area based on the knotted cords first used in Egyptian surveying. Length The Greeks, who adopted it from the Egyptians ...

(field measurement),

plethron Plethron (, plural ''plethra'') is an ancient unit of Greek measurement equal to 97 to 100 Greek feet (ποῦς, ''pous''; c. 30 centimeters), although the measures for plethra may have varied from polis to polis. This was roughly the width of a ...

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

, ''allage'', and an average

day's journey A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible and ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance. In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the ...

.Ancient Greek Units of Length
/ref> Measure of volume included: ''litra, tagarion, pinakion, modios'', and those of surface area ''modios, megalos modios'' and ''zeugarion''.The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century
Angeliki E. Laiou, Editor-in-Chief Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Washington, D.C. © 2002 Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University Washington, D.C. Measures for water and wine were called and . Measures of weight were and ''pesa''.

Chronology

Byzantine chronology entails the study of the computation of

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

. According to the various Byzantine calendar systems, Year 1 AD. = Year 754 ab urbe condita = the first year of the 195th Olympiad = Year 49 of the Antiochean era = Year 5493 of the Alexandrine era = Year 312 of the Seleucid era = Year 5509 from the formation of the world. The Byzantine year began with 1 September, believed to be the Day of Creation, e.g., 1 January through 31 August belonged to the year 5508, 1 September through 31 December to the year 5509. Dating according to

indiction An indiction (, impost) was a periodic reassessment of taxation in the Roman Empire which took place every fifteen years. In Late Antiquity, this 15-year cycle began to be used to date documents and it continued to be used for this purpose in Med ...

remained standard.

Organizations

Institute for Byzantine Studies
(), academic institute of the

Serbian Academy of Science and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...

Institut für Byzanzforschung (IBF)
, Austrian Academy of Sciences

non-profit cultural organization, Belmont, Massachusetts
Byzantine Studies Association of North America, Inc. (BSANA)Australian Association for Byzantine Studies (AABS)
non-profit organization, Australia and New Zealand

U.K. * Byzantine Institute of America,

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and gardens of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife ...

, Washington D.C.
Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus Mainz: Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident
Germany. *

International Association of South-East European Studies International Association of South-East European Studies, better known by its French language abbreviation AIESEE (from ) is an international scholarly, non-political and non-profit professional association focusing on Balkan studies and related f ...

Byzantinische und neugriechische Philologie, Leipzig, Germany

Journals

* '' Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies'', Birmingham, . *
Byzantina Symmeikta
', Athens, . * ''

Byzantinische Zeitschrift Byzantinische Zeitschrift (abbr. BZ and ByzZ) is a Byzantine studies journal established in 1892 by Karl Krumbacher. It is currently published by De Gruyter. After Krumbacher's death it was edited by Paul Marc (1909–1927) and Kaspar Ernst August ...

'', Munich, . * ', Prague, * '' Byzantion: revue internationale des études byzantines'', Brussels. * ''

Dumbarton Oaks Papers Dumbarton Oaks Papers (DOP) is an academic journal founded in 1941 under the auspices of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection for the publication of articles relating to Byzantine society and culture from the 4th to 15th century in ...

'', Washington, . * '' Gouden hoorn'', Amsterdam, * '' Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies'', * ', Vienna, . * ''

Revue des études byzantines The ''Revue des études byzantines'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the study of Greek Christianity and especially Byzantine civilization. It was established in 1897 as ''Échos d'Orient'', renamed ''Études byzantines'' in ...

'', Paris, . * '' Rivista di studi bizantini e neoellenici'', Rome, . * ', Münster,
(The Byzantine Review)
* ', Moscow, * '' Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta'', Belgrade, .

Notable people

* Athanasios Angelou (b. 1951), Greek, literature *

Sergey Averintsev Sergey Sergeyevich Averintsev (; December 10, 1937, in Moscow – February 21, 2004, in Vienna) was a Russian literary scholar, Byzantinist and Slavist. Biography Averintsev was the son of the biologist Sergey Vasilyevich Averintsev. He studied ...

(1937–2004), Russian, culture *

Peter Charanis Peter Charanis (1908 – 23 March 1985), born Panagiotis Charanis (), was a Greek-born American scholar of Byzantium and the Voorhees Professor of History at Rutgers University. Charanis was long associated with the Dumbarton Oaks research li ...

(1908–1985), Greek and American, history and demography * (1946-2008), Russian, history and literature *

Franz Dölger Franz Dölger ( Kleinwallstadt, 4 October 1891 – Munich, 5 November 1968) was a German Byzantinist. He is most notable for his crucial contributions to Byzantine diplomatics, and as the chief editor of the journal ''Byzantinische Zeitschrift'' f ...

(1891–1968), German, diplomatics *

Božidar Ferjančić Božidar Ferjančić ( sr-cyr, Божидар Ферјанчић; 17 February 1929 – 28 June 1998) was a Serbian historian, a specialist in medieval Serbian history and the later Byzantine empire. He was member of the Serbian Academy of Scienc ...

(1929–1998), Serbian, history *

Henri Grégoire Henri Jean-Baptiste Grégoire (; 4 December 1750 – 28 May 1831), often referred to as the Abbé Grégoire, was a French Catholic priest, constitutional bishop of Blois and a revolutionary leader. He was an ardent slavery abolitionist and sup ...

(1881–1964), Belgian, philology *

Philip Grierson Philip Grierson, (15 November 1910 – 15 January 2006) was a British historian and numismatist. He was Professor of Numismatics at Cambridge University and a fellow of Gonville and Caius College for over seventy years. During his long and e ...

(1910-2006), British, history and numismatics *

Venance Grumel Venance Grumel (born François Grumel on 23 May 1890, La Serraz, Le Bourget-du-Lac, Savoy, France – died 13 August 1967, Paris) was a French theologian and Byzantinist. Biography He was born on 23 May 1890 under the name of François Gru ...

(1890–1967), French, history and chronology *

Judith Herrin Judith Herrin (; born 1942) is an English archaeologist, byzantinist, and historian of Late Antiquity. She was a professor of Late Antique and Byzantine studies and the Constantine Leventis Senior Research Fellow at King's College London (now ...

(b. 1942), British, archaeology * Karl Hopf (1832–1873), German, history * Herbert Hunger (1914–2000), Austrian, literature * Sergey Ivanov (b. 1956), Russian, history and literature *

(b. 1971), American, history and culture *

Alexander Kazhdan Alexander Petrovich Kazhdan (; 3 September 1922 – 29 May 1997) was a Soviet and American Byzantinist. Among his publications was the three-volume ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', a comprehensive encyclopedic work containing over than 5,000 ...

(1922–1997), Russian and American, history * Héctor Herrera Cajas (1930–1997), Chilean, diplomatics *

Angeliki Laiou Angeliki E. Laiou (; Athens, 6 April 1941 – Boston, 11 December 2008) was a Greek-American Byzantinist and politician. She taught at the University of Louisiana, Harvard University, Brandeis University, and Rutgers University. She was the Dumbar ...

(1941–2008), Greek-American, society *

Viktor Lazarev Viktor Nikitich Lazarev (; 3 September 2 August Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.1897 – 1 February 1976) was a Soviet and Russian art critic and historian who specialized in medieval Byzantine art, Byzantine, Russian, and Armenian art ...

(1897–1976), Russian, art *

Ruth Macrides Ruth Iouliani (Juliana) Macrides (1 October 1949 – 27 April 2019) was a UK-based historian of the Byzantine Empire. At the time of her death, she was Reader in Byzantine Studies at the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Greek Studies at the Uni ...

(1969-2019), American and British, history, literature and law * Maria Mavroudi (b. 1967), Greek-American, philology *

John Meyendorff John Meyendorff (; ; February 17, 1926 – July 22, 1992) was a leading theologian of the Orthodox Church of America as well as a writer and teacher. He served as the dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in the United States unt ...

(1926–1992), French and American, theology *

Gyula Moravcsik Gyula (Julius) Moravcsik (Budapest, 29 January 1892 – Budapest, 10 December 1972), who usually wrote just as Gy. Moravcsik, was a Hungarian professor of Greek philology and Byzantine history who in 1967 was awarded the Pour le Mérite for Scien ...

(1892–1972), Hungarian, philology * (1925–1994), German, theology *

George Ostrogorsky George Alexandrovich Ostrogorsky (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Георгије Александрович Острогорски, Georgije Aleksandrovič Ostrogorski; 19 January 1902 – 24 October 1976) was a Russian-born Yugoslavian historian and Byzantin ...

(1902–1976), Yugoslav-Russian * (1857–1932), Russia * Émile Renauld (1870–?), French, history * Silvia Ronchey (b. 1958), Italian, philology *

Semavi Eyice Mustafa Semavi Eyice (9 December 1922 in Istanbul, Turkey – 28 May 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey) was a Turkish art historian and archaeologist, who specialised in the study of Byzantine and Ottoman art in Istanbul. Professor Eyice is widely rega ...

(1922-2018), Turkish art historian *

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...

(1903–2003), English, Byzantium and the Crusades *

Gustave Schlumberger Gustave Léon Schlumberger (17 October 1844 – 9 May 1929) was a French historian and numismatist who specialised in the era of the crusades and the Byzantine Empire. His ' (1878–82) is still considered the principal work on the coinage of the ...

(1844–1929), French, numismatics *

Nicolae Șerban Tanașoca Nicolae Șerban Tanașoca (3 October 1941 – 7 April 2017; ) was a Romanian historian and philologist. An ethnic Aromanian, he specialized in the study of classical philology, Byzantine and Ottoman studies and cultures of the Balkans, includi ...

(1941–2017), Romanian, history and philology *

Warren Treadgold Warren T. Treadgold (born April 30, 1949, Oxford, England) is an American historian and specialist in Byzantine studies. He is the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Byzantine Studies at Saint Louis University. His interest in the p ...

(b. 1949), American, Byzantine Military Organisation *

Fyodor Uspensky Fyodor Ivanovich Uspensky (or Uspenskij; ; 19 February 1845 – 10 September 1928) was a Russian and Soviet Byzantinist. His works are considered to be among the finest illustrations of the flowering of Byzantine studies in the Russian Empire. ...

(1845–1928), Russian, Byzantine-Bulgarian relations * Alexander Vasiliev (1867–1953), Russian, history and culture *

Vasily Vasilievsky Vasily Grigorievich Vasilievsky, sometimes Vasiljevskij or Wasiliewski (; 2 February 1838 – 25 May 1899) was a Russian historian who founded the St. Petersburg school of medieval studies and was a major force in Byzantine studies during the secon ...

(1838–1899), Russian *

Andrey Vinogradov Andrey (Андрей) is a masculine given name predominantly used in Slavic languages, including Belarusian, Bulgarian, and Russian. The name is derived from the ancient Greek Andreas (Ἀνδρέας), meaning "man" or "warrior". In Eastern O ...

(b. 1976), Russian, history, hagiography, epigraphy, architecture *

Speros Vryonis Speros Vryonis Jr. (, July 18, 1928 – March 12, 2019) was an American historian of Greek descent and a specialist in Byzantine, Balkan, and Greek history. He was the author of a number of works on Byzantine and Greek-Turkish relations, includ ...

(1928–2019), Greek and American, history *

Dionysios Zakythinos Dionysios A. Zakythinos or Zakythenos (; 1905 in Lixouri, Kefalonia – 18 January 1993, in Athens) was a leading Greek Byzantinist. Biography Zakythinos was born in Kefalonia in 1905. After graduating from the University of Athens in 1927, he w ...

(1905–1993), Greek, history

References

Literature

* * * * * * * Ivanova, Mirela; Anderson, Benjamin (2024).
The Politics of Byzantine Studies: Between Nations and Empires
. ''The English Historical Review''. * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byzantine Studies Asian studies European studies

Structure

Definition

Byzantium

Languages

Identity

Auxiliary sciences

Modes of transmission

Diplomatics

=Sigillography and palaeography

Epigraphy

Numismatics

Metrology

Chronology

Organizations

Journals

Notable people

See also

References

Literature

External links