4.08 TS – Byzantinoarmenika: Aspects of the Relations Between Byzantines and Armenians

Although the Armenians’ familiarity with Greek predates the creation of their own writing system—with numerous Armenian students attending the renowned schools of Antioch and Athens—it was the invention of the Armenian alphabet that decisively strengthened literary relations between the two cultures, initiating a sustained and fruitful exchange in the centuries that followed. Central to this…

Although the tenth- and eleventh-century mystics, the Byzantine Symeon the New Theologian and the Armenian Grigor Narekatsi, led different lives and never met, they shared an astonishing intellectual affinity and spiritual likeness, as witnessed by their major poetic works: the Hymns of the Divine Love and the Book of Lamentation (Matean). Both mystics described the…

My paper explores the transmission of military news from the Eastern frontier to Constantinople. Whether concerning Byzantine campaigns in Caucasus or Cilicia, or operations led by Armenian generals, an intricate network, both official and unofficial, facilitated the dissemination of military reports and bulletins. This network served not only to inform the Byzantine public but also…

One of the most decisive moments in the evolution of relations between the Byzantine Empire and the Armenian principality of the Rubenids in Cilicia was undoubtedly Emperor Manuel I Komnenos’ campaign in Cilicia and Syria in 1158–1159. As attested by the sources, the outcome of this expedition was the formal recognition of Byzantine suzerainty by…

The present paper investigates the role and presence of the members of the Senachereim family within the state apparatus, the army, the Church and, more broadly, in the Byzantine society from the 13th to 15th centuries—that is, following the already examined initial phase of the family’s establishment in Byzantium during the 11th century. The analysis…