The aim of this research, focusing on representations of light and the symbolism of early Christian lamp decorations, has been to examine and summarise the existing knowledge of the symbolism of light in the Mediterranean region and the models by which this symbolism was manifested in the early Christian visual culture. Lamps with Early Christian…[Read more]

Lamp as a Symbol in Theology and Iconology of Light in the Mediterranean / Light and fire have been a part of the religious experience since the dawn of civilization, its cultic use can be traced back to as early as the Paleolithic. Seen as divine emanations, light and fire were experienced as a symbol of the divine presence. This symbolism can be…[Read more]

Presentation of the architecture and sculpture of a peculiar double medieval church in rural Crete, dating from the 12th to the 16th c.

The Arabic narrative sources record a host of tales related to the founding of Baghdad and to its founder, the caliph al-Manṣūr. In one account, reported in several versions by al-Ṭabarī and al-Ḫaṭīb al-Bagdādī, a Byzantine ambassador arrives at al-Manṣūr’s court and criticizes the caliph’s new capital. The present paper suggests that the tale m…[Read more]

An examination of Mourning and Tears in the works of John Chrysostom, with comparison to his classical and hellenistic predecessors (Aristotle, Seneca, Plutarch).

An article on the Armenian manuscripts at the Vatican Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana).

Eine kurze Geschichte der Heiligenverehrung rund um den wichtigsten serbisch-orthodoxen Heiligen. Dargestellt aus einer kultur-anthropologischen Perspektive und im Kontext der politischen Mythologien verschiedener Bewegungen serbischer Identitätsprojekte: vom Mittelalter bis in die Neuzeit, von dynastischer Kulturpropaganda bis zum…[Read more]

This paper discusses the issue of the Emperor Herakleios’ mid career adoption of a large handlebar mustache at the end of the seventh century Byzantine-Persian war.

Based on the basilica of the Theater in Messene the architectural planning and building practices in provincial monuments of the sixth century is examined. In the basilica’s impost capitals, the use of position- ing marks for the correct setting of the colonnades is observed and on the paved floor of the sanctuary auxiliary etchings are visible f…[Read more]

During the older excavation of Messene by Anastasios Orlandos a quite original smaller than life-size marble statue of a Roman emperor wearing a short tunic and holding in his left hand the orb had been located and dated to the 4th c. AD. Further exploration of the area by Petros Themelis in the 1990s unearthed a magnificent Roman urban domus of…[Read more]

This dissertation proposes a social analysis of the Early Christian basilicas (4th-6th century) of Southern and Central Greece, predominantly those in the Late Roman province of Achaia. After an introduction which places the dissertation in the broader context of the study of Late Antique Greece, the second chapter argues that church construction…[Read more]

In this paper I outline a historical materialist framework for the transhistorical critique of ethnicity, providing a case study in the shaape of Armenian settlements in medieval New Rome. This is necessary since constructivism – the dominant theoretical tradition of the last forty years or so – has failed to dethrone common sense, met…[Read more]

An analysis of Ioannes Zonaras’ history, in particular its preface, in the light of recent debates over East Roman identity and republicanness, drawing a broad set of comparanda from the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

A social-historical reading of historical causation in Khoniates’ Khronike Diegesis, with particular reference to the information he provides on Asia Minor.

Review of the collected volume Court Ceremonies and Rituals of Power in Byzantium and the Eastern Mediterranean.

From Constantinople to the Frontier: The City and the Cities provides twenty-five articles addressing the concept of centres and peripheries in the late antique and Byzantine worlds, focusing specifically on urban aspects of this paradigm. Spanning from the fourth to thirteenth centuries, and ranging from the later Roman empires to the early…[Read more]

From Constantinople to the Frontier: The City and the Cities provides twenty-five articles addressing the concept of centres and peripheries in the late antique and Byzantine worlds, focusing specifically on urban aspects of this paradigm. Spanning from the fourth to thirteenth centuries, and ranging from the later Roman empires to the early…[Read more]

Introduction to special journal edition of Medieval Worlds, focused on revisiting and reframing the debate over ethnicity and nationhood before modernity.

Dedicatory inscriptions on Middle Byzantine reliquaries have been analyzed for their documentary information, including prosopography, provenance, and date. Relying solely on this data limits our understanding of these objects. The methodology in this paper recontextualizes Byzantine reliquaries and their dedicatory inscriptions by reassessing the…[Read more]

Dedicatory inscriptions on Middle Byzantine reliquaries convey important information, including the identity of the patrons, the provenance of the relics, and the purpose of the gift. I argue that the placement of the dedicatory inscription in relationship to the image and the contents of the reliquary provides a more nuanced message than that…[Read more]