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The Fortresses of Thrace and Dacia in the Early Byzantine Period

V. DINCHEV

in The Transition to Late Antiquity, on the Danube and Beyond

During the early Byzantine period (395–610), a large number of non-urban sites, recorded in ancient sources, are known to have existed in the dioceses of Thrace and Dacia. Contemporary sources ... More

During the early Byzantine period (395–610), a large number of non-urban sites, recorded in ancient sources, are known to have existed in the dioceses of Thrace and Dacia. Contemporary sources suggest that they all possessed fortifications. Amongst the fortified settlements of the early Byzantine period, there were two main groups which can be identified. The first group includes the quasi-urban centres with an intramural area of more than one hectare and the second includes fortified villages, with an intramural area of less than one hectare. This chapter describes the different kinds of fortresses which existed in the dioceses of Thrace and Dacia from AD 395 to 610. It examines the character of the fortresses and internal structures and identifies different types. Finally, it addresses the functions of these sites, especially their role in the defensive system which protected the eastern Balkans during the early Byzantine period.Less

The Fort of Iatrus in Moesia Secunda: Observations on the Late Roman Defensive System on the Lower Danube (Fourth–Sixth Centuries ad)

GERDA VON BÜLOW

in The Transition to Late Antiquity, on the Danube and Beyond

The seven years of excavation on Dichin (Bulgaria) have made a significant contribution to our understanding of the fifth century AD, a period that is still regarded as a ‘dark age’. The fort of ... More

The seven years of excavation on Dichin (Bulgaria) have made a significant contribution to our understanding of the fifth century AD, a period that is still regarded as a ‘dark age’. The fort of Iatrus was situated in the province of Moesia Secunda, where Dichin is also located. Founded at the beginning of the fourth century, the fort was several times destroyed and then rebuilt over the 300 years of its existence until it was finally abandoned c.AD 600. What is not clear is whether Iatrus' role as a part of the Roman frontier (limes) on the lower Danube belongs to the final period in the history of the Roman Empire or whether it belongs to the early development of the Byzantine State. This chapter examines whether the archaeological discoveries at Iatrus, combined with the fragmentary literary sources for the fort, suggest a gradual transition or a radical break between Late Antiquity and the early Byzantine period.Less

Nature and Idolatry

Henry Maguire

in Nectar and Illusion: Nature in Byzantine Art and Literature

In this chapter the role of the iconoclastic controversy as a watershed between the early Byzantine and the medieval Byzantine period is explored. During the iconoclastic crisis, both the supporters ... More

In this chapter the role of the iconoclastic controversy as a watershed between the early Byzantine and the medieval Byzantine period is explored. During the iconoclastic crisis, both the supporters and the opponents of images of Christ and the saints accused the other side of “worshipping the creature rather than the Creator.” This secondary debate – the debate over the portrayal of living things other than human beings – has received relatively little attention from scholars in comparison to the dispute over the sacred icons. Nevertheless, it was a debate that had a profound effect on the subsequent decoration of Byzantine churches, and, like the debate over icons proper, its roots reached back into the early Byzantine period.Less

Caričin Grad and the Changes in the Nature of Urbanism in the Central Balkans in the Sixth Century

B. BAVANT

in The Transition to Late Antiquity, on the Danube and Beyond

Caričin Grad (Justiniana Prima) is an ideal site for studying urbanism in the early Byzantine period. Amongst the numerous early Byzantine sites in the central Balkans, Caričin Grad is one of the ... More

Caričin Grad (Justiniana Prima) is an ideal site for studying urbanism in the early Byzantine period. Amongst the numerous early Byzantine sites in the central Balkans, Caričin Grad is one of the very few that was a city and was founded in the sixth century. Its fortifications include three separate walled areas (the Acropolis, the Upper City, and the Lower City). Contrary to the traditional view, this chapter argues that the walls of the Acropolis were not part of the original plan and that the Upper and Lower Cities were established at the same time. The Church and the army occupied more than two-thirds of the Upper City and the Lower Town contained mainly public buildings. The only known intramural residential area lies in the south-west corner of the Lower City. Houses here were built of stone bonded with clay at ground-floor level, and the upper floor was constructed with a timber frame and cob walls and had tile roofs. It is also very likely that there was an extramural population, protected by a ditch and palisades.Less

Imagining Rome in Medieval Constantinople: Memory, Politics and the Past in the Middle Byzantine Period

Dimitris Krallis

in How the Past was Used: Historical cultures, c. 750-2000

This chapter suggests that interest in the Roman past during the middle Byzantine period was not evidence of idle antiquarianism but rather a meaningful ingredient in the creation of the Byzantines’ ... More

This chapter suggests that interest in the Roman past during the middle Byzantine period was not evidence of idle antiquarianism but rather a meaningful ingredient in the creation of the Byzantines’ imagined community. Focusing on the modulations of Roman themes within the context of Byzantine writing we may therefore better map medieval processes of identity formation. This chapter explores instances of such engagement with the Roman past, and more specifically with the history of the Republic in Byzantine texts from the early tenth to the mid-twelfth centuries. It thus looks at the ways in which distant history was woven onto the fabric of contemporary political narrative, becoming a newly familiar component of an evolving political and more broadly cultural identity.Less

Building Memory: The Role of Sacred Structures in Sphakia and Crete 1

Lucia Nixon

in Historical and Religious Memory in the Ancient World

Sacred structures incorporate several functions and meanings, and these can relate to memory on various scales and levels. This chapter looks at sacred structures in Sphakia, SW Crete, with reference ... More

Sacred structures incorporate several functions and meanings, and these can relate to memory on various scales and levels. This chapter looks at sacred structures in Sphakia, SW Crete, with reference also to the rest of Crete, during three periods: GACHER (ancient Greek religion, through the Early Roman period); LR (Late Roman, imperial Christianity); and the BVT (Byzantine–Venetian–Turkish period, Greek Orthodox Christianity). In Sphakia there are perhaps three GACHER sacred structures; at least twelve LR basilicas; and over one hundred BVT churches. The proportions of sacred structures for each of the three periods are more or less same for the whole island of Crete. The chapter considers the relationship between the number of sacred structures in a given period, and the scale and type of memory which might be involved. The hypothesis is that the higher the number of sacred structures, the smaller the scale of memory in that sacred landscape.Less

Gender Construction as Acculturation

in The Perfect Servant: Eunuchs and the Social Construction of Gender in Byzantium

This chapter discusses acculturation of eunuchs during the Byzantine period. Byzantine culture and society constructed a collective identity for its eunuchs, the result of which was something that ... More

This chapter discusses acculturation of eunuchs during the Byzantine period. Byzantine culture and society constructed a collective identity for its eunuchs, the result of which was something that modern gender analysis recognizes as perhaps the ultimate case of socially constructed gender. This is particularly the case if it is accepted that, in the Byzantine context, the primary indicators of gender were not sexual object choice but rather physical appearance, societal function, relationship to reproduction, and capacity for relating to the spiritual world. The chapter shows aspects of the acculturation process that defined these people both in their own eyes and in the eyes of the society around them. The process involved many things familiar to modern gender awareness: systematic preparation and education based on implicit assumptions; the appropriateness of specific forms of dress; and inculcation of distinctive speech patterns, facial expressions, and body language. The process normalized eunuchs as the appropriate agents for carrying out a variety of roles in society, particularly mediating between distinctive groups, defining the sacred space around the emperor, and connecting that space to the regular world.Less

The Social Practice of Brother-Making in Byzantium

Claudia Rapp

in Brother-Making in Late Antiquity and Byzantium: Monks, Laymen, and Christian Ritual

Adelphopoiesis retained its original value within monastic communities, while its application expanded in middle and high society. From the seventh century, extramural brother-making allowed monks ... More

Adelphopoiesis retained its original value within monastic communities, while its application expanded in middle and high society. From the seventh century, extramural brother-making allowed monks contact with laymen, although attempts were made to regulate this. From the middle Byzantine period, adelphopoiesis also became a popular networking strategy in lay society, supplementing other ties of kinship through marriage or godparenthood. In later centuries, the assumption of affective closeness, loyalty, and the avoidance of strife that kinship relations entail also made adelphopoiesis a convenient tool to bridge the division of enmity and strife, or to cross boundaries of gender, ethnicity and faith. A case study discusses the most detailed account of an adelphopoiesis relation in Byzantium between the future emperor Basil I and John, the son of the wealthy widow Danelis. The chapter presents all other known or likely cases of adelphopoiesis between identifiable individuals in Byzantium.Less

Natural and Supernatural Revelation in Early Irish and Greek Monastic Thought: A Comparative Approach

Chrysostomos Koutloumousianos

in Toward an Ecology of Transfiguration: Orthodox Christian Perspectives on Environment, Nature, and Creation

A number of similarities have been found between Irish and Eastern Christianity in the field of theology and spiritual life, with monasticism being the meeting point of these physically distant ... More

A number of similarities have been found between Irish and Eastern Christianity in the field of theology and spiritual life, with monasticism being the meeting point of these physically distant traditions. This chapter discusses theological theses expressed in early Irish and Greek religious literature of the first Byzantine period in the context of comparative spirituality, with the aim of presenting the unity of God's revelation in both nature and history, according to pre-Norman Irish and Greek patristic thought and religious experience, and that testify to a common theological background and a shared insight rooted in the biblical tradition.Less