The Caucasica Initiative aims to draw attention to the historical and cultural diversity of the Caucasus in the premodern times through a range of scientific activities, the most significant of which is the launch of a new academic journal. Caucasia: Journal of Premodern History of the Caucasus is an open-access journal that aims to provide…
The Orthodox Academy of Crete (OAC), founded in 1968, constitutes an important contemporary institution for the study, preservation, and promotion of Orthodox cultural and intellectual heritage. Situated within the broader historical and cultural landscape of Crete, the Academy combines theological scholarship and ecumenical dialogue with initiatives focused on the documentation and interpretation of the Orthodox…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…