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The term pistis, in its legal context, refers to various forms of trusts, loans, securities, credits, guarantees, and means of inheritance. One of its uses in Greek Egyptian papyri was interpreted as referring to title-transfer security or to fictitious ownership. This paper adds rabbinic sources from Greco-Roman Palestine to the discussion on pistis. The comparison sheds light on the rabbinic sources, as well as expands our understanding of the use and spread of a Greek legal term and concept in the eastern Roman Empire. It therefore serves as a test case for the importance of rabbinic literature as a source in the study of Greek and Roman legal traditions, supplying new evidence for using this term as referring to fictitious ownership and for its use as referring to title-transfer security. This use of the term pistis changes in the Babylonian Talmud, preserving only echoes of its original meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Bede's preaching on the Lamb of God in the context of the Trullan Synod of 692 and its influence on art in the northern British Isles. Bede's homilies, dating from around 703 to the early 730s, explore the Christological controversy of his time. He connects the image of the Lamb of God with the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, operating within the patristic tradition of allegorical interpretation of Scripture. Bede's engagement with contemporary theological discourse and his reflections on Christ as the Lamb of God shed light on the cultural connections between Anglo-Saxon England and the eastern Mediterranean world. [Extracted from the article]

This article revisits the Mediterranean port city of Smyrna (today's Izmir) in 1919 as it stood on the cusp of monumental change. Édmond-Édouard Boissonnas's photographs and Édouard Chapuisat's accompanying textual frames in the album Smyrne capture the city just as the Greek army landed there to begin their occupation of Asia Minor in a doomed bid to defeat the Ottoman Turks and create a new Byzantine empire. The article argues for the propagandist, transnationalistic aim of Smyrne in support of the Greek state's irredentist agenda based on what Astrid Erll identifies as the 'isomorphy between territory, social formation, mentalities and memories'. 'Civilised' Greeks are pitted against 'backward' Turks, and those who do not fit the narrative at all – Jews and Armenians – are excluded. The article concludes by reflecting on the afterlife of the album on a Greek heritage website which now offers the potential for reconciliatory nostalgia for both Greeks and Turks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA), and the Justinianic Plague, were recently suggested as the possible culprits for settlement contraction and population decline that supposedly occurred in the 6th c. CE. According to some who support this claim, these changes contributed to the weakening of this empire, which eventually led to the loss of vast territories and its defeat by the Persians and Arabs in the first half of the 7th c. CE. The assumptions that climate and plague had devastating impacts in the 6th c. CE are largely based on selected textual evidence, and archaeological evidence outside of the boundaries of the Eastern Roman Empire. As the current article will show, it seems that these assumptions are inherently incorrect as vast amounts of evidence, including archaeological survey data, settlement patterns, shipwreck analyses, pottery distribution in the Mediterranean and other material, indicate that there was no decline in the 6th c. CE. On the contrary, it is possible that there was a peak in population size in the second half of the 6th c. CE, suggesting that the LALIA and the Justinianic plague were limited in their impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diplomasi günümüze kadar birçok dönüşüm geçirmiş ve sürekli çeşitlenerek gelişim göstermiştir. Başlangıçta sadece ad hoc (geçici) diplomasi uygulamaları kullanılırken, zaman içerisinde başka diplomasi türleri ortaya çıkmış ve 15. yüzyıldan itibaren sürekli diplomasi uygulamaları başlatılmıştır. Diplomasi kavramının ve tarihinin geçirdiği bu evrim, diplomasinin yürütücüleri olarak kabul edilen elçilerin de dönemin koşullarına göre sürekli değişim göstermesine yol açmıştır. Çalışmada Avrupa diplomasi tarihi kapsamında, Antik Yunan döneminden modern diplomasinin başlangıcı olarak kabul edilen 1815 Viyana Kongresi dönemine kadar olan dönemde elçilerin değişimi ele alınmıştır. Bu bağlamda çalışma, nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden doküman analizinden yararlanarak, Antik Yunan’dan başlayarak, Roma İmparatorluğu, Bizans İmparatorluğu, 15 ve 16. yüzyıllarda İtalya ve son olarak da 17. ve 18. yüzyıllarda Fransa’daki diplomasi uygulamalarını dönemin kendine has koşulları çerçevesinde ortaya koymaya çalışacaktır. Her bir uygarlık ve yönetim döneminde, elçilerin görevli oldukları devletlerin ticaret ya da tarım ile uğraşan devletler olmalarının getirdiği farklılıkların, elçilerin seçim niteliklerinde ne gibi değişimlere sebep olduğu incelenip değerlendirilecektir. Bütün bu bilgiler ışığında çalışma, tarihsel olarak elçilerin nitelikleri, görevleri, hak ve yükümlülükleri ile sahip olmaları gerekli görülen meziyetlerin süreç içerisindeki değişimini ortaya koymaya çalışacaktır.

From the first appearance of Arab armies in the mid-7th century the progressive installation of political control over the Georgian lands was started by the Umayyad Caliphate. After the formation of the Emirate of Tbilisi in the early Abbasid period, the city grew into a center of trade between the Islamic world and Europe. Tbilisi functioned as a key Arab outpost and a buffer province facing the Byzantine Empire and Khazar dominions. During the Umayyad and Abbasid Periods in Georgia Islamic administration was established with its law, art, currency and also the Arabic (Kufic) script, which was the main language of the Caliphate. During the reign of Caliph abd al-Malik, Arabs began to expand the Islamic domains. From the beginning of VIII century Arabs had a continuous struggle for Transcaucasia with the Khazars who acted either independently or together with the Byzantines. During that period the commander Jarah, who was sent after the Khazars defeat, entered Kartli and renewed the "Certificate of Protection"1. He burdened local population with taxes. Around 730 two factors led to a change in Umayyad policy towards Georgia. First in that year the Khazars managed to invade Northwest Iran and went all the way to Mosul before being defeated. The tributary buffer states of the Caucasus had not been able to prevent that invasion. Furthermore local Christian rulers, such as Guaram III of Iberia still kept contact with Byzantium and hoped for its intervention. The Empire however was weak and Arab raids could reach Constantinople making Byzantines less of a menace than the Khazars. In 732 - 733 Caliph Hisham Ibn al-Malik (724-743) appointed Marwan Ibn Muhammad governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the task of waging war against the Khazars and subduing Georgia. The campaign that followed was devastating for Georgia. Marwan did not only invade Kartli as his predecessors had done, but also led his armies after the retreating Georgian princes into the western half of the country from Samtskhe to Abkhazia where they were eventually stopped. After the final conquering of Kartli, the Arabs put their governors - Amirs at the head of the country. The residence of Amir was in Tbilisi. Amir was a military, the rulers of the country and the supreme judge. Amir had a large staff of Arab officials: Shurta (chief of police), Muhtasib (observance of religious and household rules, market surveillance and public welfare) etc. In the 8th century the Muslim population increased in Tbilisi which created its own mosques in the city. And the state of Amir was maintained by the local population. The arrival of the Abbasids in the country was reflected accordingly. They increased the tax both on their own Muslims and non Muslims in the conquered territory. The tribute of the Arabs was imposed on all layers of the population, although it was most acutely reflected in the lower layer. Georgians had no respite from the Khazars either. In 764 they invaded Transcaucasia from through Derbent and conquered Kartli. From 833 the emirate regained power over Georgian lands, imposing its authority over many princes and forcing the Bagrationi to pay tribute. Emboldened by those successes the emirs stopped recognizing the higher authority of the Caliphate. In 853 Caliph Al-Mutawakkil (847-861) sent the Turkish general Bugha al-Kabir with an army against the Caucasian rebels. The Abbasid army sacked and burned Tbilisi and executed the emir1. Many Georgian nobles were captured during the invasion. The decision the Abbasids took of not rebuilding the city extensively would considerably weaken their economic and cultural influence in Georgia and allowed the Bagrationi to become the major power in the country facilitating its further unification. After the 853 expedition the Arab rule over Georgia was never again as strong. The emirate of Tbilisi had not been abolished but the Caliphs would not allow its power to grow again. Another vassal of the Caliphate Yusuf Ibn Abi'l - Saj, emir of Azerbaijan led in 914 the last Arab attempt to restore their domination over the Caucasus. The Sajid invasion of Georgia as it is known was however a failure although it devastated Georgian lands and allowed the Bagratids to restore the alliance with Byzantium, which they had earlier neglected in favour of Caliphs. From that moment the Arabs stopped playing a significant role in the history of Georgia and the progressive unification of the country under the Bagrationi proceeded without any interference on their part. Only Tbilisi and its surrounding was still ruled by an emir whose relations with the Caliphate were now tenuous at best. During the 11th century, the wealthy citizens of the city gained much power as a council of elders and kept the emirate alive mostly as a way to avoid taxation from the Georgian kings. The Georgian king Barat IV (1027-1072 took the city three times (in 1046, in 1049 and in 1062), but could not keep it under his rule. By the 1060s the Great Seljuk Empire, led by Alp Arslan (1063-1072) a Turk lad replaced the Arabs as the main Muslim menace facing Georgia. The Seljuks appointed a new emir in Tbilisi but after his death in 1080 the city was again ruled by its local elders. In 1121 David IV the Builder (1089-1125) king of Georgia defeated the Seljuks ar the battle of Didgori1. Allowing him to enter Tbilisi next year and putting an end to almost 500 years of Arab presence in Georgia. Tbilisi lost its autonomy and become the royal caital, but its inhabitants long remained predominantly Muslim. Our goal is to describe those archeological artifacts with Kufic inscriptions that people used in their daily life. Also, some important conclusions can be drawn from those artifacts and writings. The establishment of the Arab administration in the territory of Eastern Georgia led to the establishment of a new trade system, which implied the introduction of a new currency and new trade weight standards. Also, active trade included such items for daily use as jewelry, writing materials, items for commercial purpose... many of them have Arabic inscriptions, the study of which provides us with additional historical and economic information about daily life during Arab rule in Georgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations in Israel of Byzantine and early Islamic sites have yielded some interesting gaming boards that are not always understood by the archaeologists who found them. Because they are organised in parallel rows of 'holes', most are presented as 'mancala' gameboards – which some may be, indeed; however, boards offering three or four rows of squares or depressions cannot reasonably be mancalas, nor can they be held as 'senet', the Egyptian game. So, what are they? Reviewing the relevant literature, this article will try in this article to disentangle these finds, the more so as they are often well dated to periods which have rarely been looked into. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life was unpredictable and precarious for the people of medieval Byzantium. Life expectancies were low and mortality rates high, particularly for young children and women. Securing divine protection was imperative for medieval families, particularly in the face of childbearing, illness, death, and judgement. Very often, all that remains of the cycles of existential threat, fear, and trust in God experienced by medieval people are the objects of material culture through which they sought God's protection, and often merely fragments thereof. Here, I explore what remains of the image of Christ's nativity in the tenth-century, rock-hewn church of Eğri Taş in the Peristrema Valley, near Ihlara, Cappadocia, in rural Turkey as an indexical trace of the community that once came to secure God's protection assisted by the potent imagery there. The palpable emphasis on Christ's infancy in this funerary church, which hosted many graves, including those of women and children, through a highly unusual and extended cycle concerning His birth, along with the inclusion of powerful written elements such the elusive Sator palindrome within the nativity, will be interpreted as the employment of persuasive analogies in response to the struggles families faced in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designated as architect by Osman Hamdi, Alexander Vallaury designed the classical building of First Imperial Museum of Ottoman Empire (Müze-i Hümayun - İstanbul Archaeological Museums — IAM), erected between 1891 and 1907 in three phases. The IAM building sprouted inside the land walls of Topkapı Palace, which was built in the acropolis of the ancient Greek city Byzantion, just across from the ruins of the Great Palace of Byzantine Empire. This building is in a core area, symbolizing the imperial power of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras. Unlike previous studies, which examined mostly the building's architectural history, this study focuses on the time before its construction. It investigates the understructure remains by utilizing the original drawings and correspondences in the Museum Archive, which were made during the construction of second and third phases of the building in 1899–1907 at the end of the Ottoman Period. Through this investigation, it reveals the reciprocal relationship between the superstructure of IAM and the Byzantine substructure for the first time in the literature. All these sources were used to create a holistic site restitution of the museum buildings, covering old and newfound remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, southern Italy experienced a period of relative political stability and economic prosperity under the Normans as well as the Hohenstaufen dynasty that succeeded them. These cultural conditions fostered a cultural resurgence, which included the composition of Greek poetry. Poets in Sicily wrote from within a multicultural context, including the presence of Arabic- and Latin-speaking communities. Many of their poems illustrate the generative intersections between the Byzantine-Constantinopolitan, Latin, and Arabic traditions. Later in Salento, poetry was written in a rather closed Greek-speaking, Orthodox society. Comparing Greek poetry from Sicily and Salento shows some differences between composition in the two regions. Whereas Sicilian poetry includes especially creative narrative poems, composed for the rich and sophisticated courts of the island, the Salentine poetry bears the stamp of the schoolroom. In fact, most poems from both Sicily and Salento survive in manuscripts that can be traced to a pedagogical environment. While the circulation of these poems was limited to their surrounding regions, their literary sophistication betrays remarkable creativity and the multicultural conditions of composition, further evidence of the vitality of Greek literary culture far from the heartland of the Byzantine Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines the fall of Constantinople in 1453 as a critical juncture for the playing out of Chrisitan-Muslim relations. Particularly, this historical moment demonstrates the significant theological schism between Orthodox and Latin Christianity that overshadowed the external threat posed by the Ottomans. The fall marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire and highlighted the deep-rooted theological tensions within Christianity, tensions that were so profound that many Orthodox Christians preferred Ottoman rule over submission to the Latin Church. This preference stemmed from a desire to maintain theological autonomy and avoid the doctrinal compromises required by the Latin Church. The essay critically assesses the contemporary scholarship on Christian Islamophobia, arguing that it often overlooks the internal Christian divisions and portrays Christianity as a monolithic entity united against Islam. By focusing on the diverse Christian attitudes towards the Ottomans, particularly the Orthodox perspective, the essay demonstrates that the fear of theological compromise with the Latins was considered a worse fate than Muslim conquest. This analysis challenges the prevailing narratives in Islamophobia literature by highlighting the necessity of acknowledging intra-Christian tensions to fully understand the historical dynamics of Christianity and Islamophobia. Through an exploration of various Christian responses to the Ottoman threat and the subsequent establishment of the millet system, the essay advocates for a more nuanced portrayal of Christianity's internal divisions and their impact on the construction of Christian identity and attitudes towards Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the study of late antique cities and challenges the traditional views of decline and decay during this period. It emphasizes the importance of considering the agency of individuals and communities in shaping the urban environment. The authors argue for the use of agency-focused methodologies and materialist approaches to gain a more nuanced understanding of late antique cities. The text also highlights the significance of examining the relationships between humans and materials, as well as the role of craftspeople and laborers in urban development. Overall, the article presents a more complex and diverse perspective on late antique urban environments. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Journal of Cultural Studies / Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Journal of Cultural Studies / Kultur Arastirmalari Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The lower chamber of tower J17 from the Aurelian Walls in Rome is covered by a singular brick vault by slices that is almost completely preserved. This kind of vault is unusual in a Roman context and specifically in Aurelian Walls. Brick vaults by slices were extensively studied by the French engineer Auguste Choisy, who mainly scrutinized their ease of construction that doesn't require formwork and can adapt to different plans to achieve lowered vaults. The best-known examples are in Byzantium and generally in the Eastern Roman Empire, while we don't know many cases dating from late Roman antiquity on the Italian peninsula. Based on a rigorous photogrammetric survey and thorough data management, a detailed analysis of this vault allows us to establish a hypothesis about its construction process and to deepen the knowledge of this type of structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the 14th century manuscript by the Genoese Gabriele de’ Mussi many historians widely believe that plague called the Black Death had to have reached European continent from the port city of Kaffa (modern-day Theodosia) on the Crimea peninsula as a result of a biological warfare by the Mongols. This is not only a historical interest but also relevant to current efforts to evaluate the threat of military or terrorist use of biological weapons. Based on published translations of the de’ Mussi’s manuscript and other 14th-century accounts of the Black Death it can be concluded that the Mongol attack was a biological warfare at Kaffa and provides the best explanation of the plague entry into the city. However, questions arise. Even though such a theory is consistent with the technology of those times and in a way with contemporary notions about the dangers and necessary caution in the treatment of such diseases, the report has a number of weaknesses in terms of practical implementation. This paper sheds light on the dark points of Gabriele de’ Mussi’s manuscript of the siege of Kaffa in the year 1346.

During the reign of Emperor Basil II, the Byzantine Empire intensified its policy of expansion in the eastern direction, thereby creating the prerequisites for the capture of new territories. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate and highlight the significant role of the Principality of Tayk in the context of this policy, and also to illustrate the diplomatic success of the Byzantine Empire in the capture of Tayk. The Principality of Tayk reached its apogee during the reign of David Kuropalates Bagratid. As a consequence of the latter’s heirless state, King Bagrat III of Georgia was designated the successor to Tayk. As a result of Basil II’s astute and forward-thinking policies, the territory of the Tayk principality was first expanded, and subsequently, Bagrat III was deprived of his inheritance. In the end, Basil II was declared the heir of the Tayk principality. Despite the efforts of the Georgian establishment, Tayk was annexed to the Byzantine Empire at the end of Basil II’s reign.

The appendices of Michael of Devol to the chronicle of John Skylitzes are a valuable testimony in the knowledge of the Balkan wars of emperor Basil II and the first century of Byzantine rule in Bulgaria. They also provide important information on the biographies of individual members of the Komitopules family or the process of assimilation of Bulgarian elites in the geographical area of Macedonia under Byzantine rule in the XI-XII centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Route Educational & Social Science Journal (Ress Journal) is the property of Ress Academy Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article "Nexus of Knowledge on the Silk Roads" published in Inner Asia discusses the contested term 'Silk Road' and its historical inaccuracies. It highlights the complexity of cultural exchanges across Eurasia and the role of various commodities beyond silk. The article emphasizes the importance of using the term 'Silk Roads' in the plural form to reflect the multiplicity of routes and interactions. Scholars in the field have embraced the term to explore the historical and cultural richness of the Eurasian landmass, focusing on the transformation of science, medicine, and technology through multidisciplinary research approaches. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Studia Academica Šumenensia is the property of Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Academica Šumenensia is the property of Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Academica Šumenensia is the property of Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Academica Šumenensia is the property of Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the early fourteenth century, decades before the Ottomans became the sole rulers of Anatolia, the Germiyanid beylik stood as a dominant force among the principalities that had emerged in western Anatolia following the demise of the Seljuks (1307). Nonetheless, to date, the exact origins and ethno-cultural background of the Germiyanids remain unclear. This article re-evaluates previous theories and posits that the embryo of what eventually became the Germiyanids formed between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries in the lowlands between Malatya and Lake Van, and that the name "Germiyan" was of Kurdish origin. It also suggests that an intense proto-Yedizi proselytism took place in eastern Anatolia before the Germiyanids migrated to western Anatolia. Beyond its significance to the history of the Seljuks, the Ottomans, the Mongols, and Byzantium, this paper challenges the prevailing narrative that views the emergence of the beyliks as an exclusively Turkic phenomenon and sheds light on the role played by non-Turkic people, including Kurds and Arabs, in their formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in analyzing the manufacturing techniques of Byzantine church doors in laboratory settings. However, the connection between the iconography and significance of the décor of church doors and their liturgical performativity, as well as their parallels with iconostases in Byzantium, remained a relatively underexplored area of study. This article seeks to delve deeper into these intersections. By focusing on the relationship between the iconography of church doors in Middle to Late Byzantium and their connection to the sacred space and liturgical practices, I aim to shed light on how these artworks played a crucial role in the sacred experience of the Byzantines. This exploration will not highlight only the aesthetic evolution of church door artwork but also emphasize the communal and embodied nature of the religious experience during the Byzantine era. Their intricate designs were not merely decorative elements but served as portals to the divine, enriching the salvation journey of worshippers as they crossed the threshold into the liturgical spaces. By conducting an examination of the development of door iconography and their symbolism throughout the empire's history, the transformation of narrative depictions from the Middle Byzantine era to the Palaiologan period, culminating in a convergence of symbolic meanings within the sacred space of the church, is delineated. This transformation is further exemplified by a sculpted church door from the Principality of Wallachia. By bridging the gap between art history and religious studies, this article aims to rekindle interest in the profound symbolism and significance of Byzantine church doors and their relation to sacred liturgical space, offering a broader perspective on an important aspect of Byzantine heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 988, under the leadership of Kinyaz Viladimer, Russians accepted Christianity through the Patriarchate of Constantinople and entered a new phase in their history. With Christianity, the Russians were introduced to writing and, most importantly, to religious texts. At the same time, this religious conversion also led to the acceptance of the belief of chosenness, which had spread to Christianity from Judaism. Nestor, a Russian priest who lived in the 12th century, wrote in his work that although Russians were the last community to accept Christianity, they would undertake important missions in the future. He also attributed a mission to the Russian society by referring to the biblical passage that the feet will be the head and the head will be the feet. However, in the mentioned centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire was still the center of Orthodoxy. For this reason, the Russian Orthodox Church would remain for many years as a Metropolitanate under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. However, the increasing Ottoman pressure on Constantinople from the 1400s onwards created several historical opportunities for the Russians. In particular, the Byzantine agreement with the Pope of Rome in Florence in 1439 mobilized the Russian Church. Using this agreement as a pretext, Moscow severed its relations with Constantinople. In 1453, the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, the center of the Orthodox world, opened a new page in Russian Theo-politics. Russian priests believed that Nestor's prophecy had been fulfilled and Moscow developed the concept of the Third Rome. Appearing in the 16th century, the Moscow-Third Rome concept soon became the ideological basis for the formation of the Moscow kingdom. In this article, the concept of Moscow Third Rome, which is one of the important turning points in Russian history, is analyzed through an analytical method. The background of the concept, the conditions that led to its emergence, its historical development and its reflections on the present day are emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Crusading, Society, and Politics in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Age of King Peter I of Cyprus" is a review of a book edited by Alexander D. Beihammer and Angel Nicolaou-Konnari. The book is a collection of papers presented at an international conference on the topic of knighthood, crusades, and diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean during the reign of King Peter I of Cyprus. The papers cover various aspects of King Peter's reign, including his depiction in historical sources and modern popular culture, the geographical and political context of his sack of Alexandria, the role of Cyprus in the Crusades, Venetian diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean, environmental factors during King Peter's reign, the competing claims of the Angevin and Lusignan royal houses to the crown of Jerusalem, the relationship between the papacy and King Peter, European military developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the sack of Alexandria from the perspective of the Mamluks. The article provides a brief overview of each paper and highlights the main arguments and findings. This collection of essays offers valuable insights into the political, structural, and intellectual developments in the Latin East, Byzantium, Muslim Anatolia, and the Mamluk sultanate during this period. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Marmara University Journal of Turkology / Marmara Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Marmara University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An international research on Croatian and Hungarian architectural relations started with the cooperation of the HMA MPDC and the Zagreb IPU. Eszter Baldavári and Boris Dundović are examining Ernő Foerk’s architecture, they gave a presentation about the results in Split. Foerk designed buildings in Croatia such as the Palace of the Post Office in Zagreb or the Tüköry Mansion in Daruvar. The 6000-item heritage of Foerk is preserved at the HMA in Budapest, which contributes to the specification of the present-day Balkan research. This paper presents the circumstances and results of the expeditions of Ernő Foerk architect – a member of the National Commission of Historic Monuments and professor of the Hungarian Royal Public Higher Architectural School – achieved in 1917 and 1918.

The article "Civic Identity and Civic Participation in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages" edited by Cédric Brélaz and Els Rose is a collection of studies by leading scholars focusing on the concepts of civic identity and civic participation in the classical, late antique, and early medieval periods. The volume aims to stimulate discussion on these topics and offers a conventional narrative of changes in cities, institutions, and conceptualizations during the period. While the contributors' understandings of civic identity and participation vary, the volume provides valuable insights into the significance of these concepts in different historical contexts. [Extracted from the article]

NEW AND DISTINCT CERAMIC TYPES emerged from the cultural centres of the Islamic Caliphate in Western Asia beginning in the eighth century AD. Islamic potters carefully added colour, glaze, and finishes to their vessels, which became luxury items throughout the Caliphate. People within the sphere of influence of the Islamic Caliphate slowly adopted objects, such as unique styles of glazed pottery, which symbolised status and power. The Byzantine Empire and Islamic Caliphate both influenced the material culture of the Southern Caucasus, which ebbed and flowed between them both. In particular, the emerging Caucasian polities in medieval Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan began to produce splashed sgraffito ceramics in the 9th and 10th centuries AD that were very similar to those created by Islamic potters in centres such as Baghdad, Samarra, and Nishapur. Scholars have explained such changes in Caucasian consumption patterns as the result of influence and trade between the Islamic Empire and the Caucasus; however, they have not considered the cultural implications of such a change. My paper discusses how Caucasian elites and eventually even the peasantry used splashed sgraffito to construct their individual and group identities. I examine three sites from the Caucasus where local potters produced and used splashed sgraffito ceramics. I assess Ani in Armenia, Shamkir in Azerbaijan, and Tbilisi in Georgia. My analysis suggests that ceramics played a larger role in the construction of political and individual identity at a time when independent kingdoms were emerging in the Caucasus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the pre-industrial practice of winter navigation in the Mediterranean Sea, which has been the subject of numerous studies, winter seafaring on the medieval Black Sea has not previously been the subject of thorough scholarly investigation, not least because the available sources are relatively few and fairly circumstantial. Being aware of the limitations of the present survey, the author attempts to gather together and reinterpret several instances dating from the period of the Byzantine and Italian domination over the Black Sea, which can shed some light on the seamen's often complicated relation with the winter season. The majority of the extant sources date from the last two centuries of the Middle Ages, an era that witnessed substantial technological developments which contributed to the amelioration of winter navigation. This study chiefly aims to highlight the unresolved issues and address the challenges that such a topic of inquiry presents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article concerns issues connected with references to wild animals in a variety of sources, reflecting Byzantine social practices primarily connected with hunting. Hunting here is understood in the broadest possible sense. It should be remembered that the function of providing food through hunting was marginal in the Byzantine context; propaedeutic and prestigious functions of hunting were dominant. The activities discussed therefore include: game keeping, gifting exotic animals in the course of diplomacy and keeping them in captivity, hunting during military training, fishing (regarded in Byzantine culture as a form of hunting), and pigeon breeding. This requires a rich and diverse bibliographical basis. It should be emphasised that information concerning wild animals in legislation is scant and scattered. Byzantine law did not specify in detail either how hunting should take place or people's attitude towards wild animals, except concerning issues connected with ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Articles and studies on medieval subjects featured prominently in the pages of Études balkaniques between 2014 and 2023. Conventionally they are divided into two larger groups, according to their focus on issues related to Byzantine and Bulgarian history. This overview begins with an outline of the studies relevant to the development of medieval Bulgaria. This category comprises the works of medievalists such as Vassilka Tâpkova-Zaïmova, Penka Danova, Sashka Georgieva, etc. Elena Kostova's article on the possessions of the Athonite monasteries in the present-day Bulgarian town of Melnik also belongs to this set of themes as it throws a natural bridge to the extensive thematic range of Byzantine studies. Among the examined studies in this field are papers dedicated to the graffiti in the Constantinople Cathedral of Hagia Sophia, Byzantium's ties to Southern Italy and Egypt, silk production, the empire's political relations with its neighbours such as the community of the Cumans and other themes from the history of what came to be known as the "Byzantine cultural circle", whose geographical reach extended up to the Caucasus and Russia. The overview ends with a discussion of two articles by Theodor Dimitrov, which examine the plague epidemics in Byzantium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay employs the anthropological notion of female social agency to analyse a selection of case studies in the art history of the late Byzantine Empire. They concern three women – Nicoletta Grioni, Isabelle de Lusignan, and Maria d'Enghien-Brienne – who lived between the mid- to late fourteenth century and the first half of the fifteenth. All three were part of a Greek-Latin Mediterranean socio-cultural context. While their stories are not fully represented in textual primary sources, the present essay examines a selection of heterogeneous visual and cultural materials that help to reinstate their role in history and overcome the male-logocentric nature of the written evidence related to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the historical development and dynamics of political and administrative structures in regions of a fragmented empire that cannot be simply described as marginal 'mouseholes'. Rather, it should be acknowledged that these spaces were part and parcel of a wider area (the Byzantine insular and coastal koine) , which encompassed coastal areas as well as insular communities promoting socio-economic contact and cultural interchange. More importantly, they also boasted a peculiar set of material indicators suggesting a certain common cultural unity and identity. The koine coincided with liminal territories and the seas on which the Byzantine Empire retained political and naval rulership. Such liminal territories showed varied – yet coherent– administrative infrastructures and political practices on the part of local elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Far from being a natural, prelapsarian state, cisness is a hegemonic ideal of gender performance demanded of all people. This article explores the construction of cisness in the field of Byzantine studies, and the historiographical tropes through which it is maintained, naturalised and made invisible. It uses analysis of hegemonic cisness in Byzantine studies to suggest new avenues of investigation for Byzantine gender history. It proposes 'cisness' as method; a focal point for historical and historiographical investigation. It asks, was there cisness in Byzantium? If so, did it resemble ours? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores precious fragments of silk, manufactured in the Byzantine Empire and Central Asia, discovered in archaeological excavations in Dublin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]