International Association of Byzantine Studies

International Association of Byzantine Studies
Name	International Association of Byzantine Studies
Abbreviation	IABS
Formation	1948
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Paris
Region served	International
Language	Multilingual
Leader title	President

International Association of Byzantine Studies The International Association of Byzantine Studies is a global learned society dedicated to the study of Byzantine civilization, fostering research on Byzantine history, art, literature, theology, law, and archaeology. It connects scholars specializing in topics such as Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine art, the Fourth Crusade, and the Macedonian Renaissance, and sponsors congresses, publications, and awards that engage institutions like the University of Oxford, the École Pratique des Hautes Études, and the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.

History

Founded in the aftermath of World War II amid renewed interest in medieval studies, the Association drew founding support from scholars associated with École Pratique des Hautes Études, University of Paris, University of Vienna, University of Cambridge, and Harvard University. Early officers included figures connected to Otto Demus’s circle, participants in conferences at Venice, and correspondents with centers such as Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and Library of Congress. The Association’s development paralleled initiatives at institutions like Dumbarton Oaks, Warburg Institute, Gennadius Library, British Museum, and the Vatican Library, and it engaged with national bodies such as the British Academy, the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to coordinate international Byzantine research.

Mission and Activities

The Association advances scholarship on topics including Justinian I, Heraclius, Basil I, Alexios I Komnenos, Constantine XI Palaiologos, and urban centers such as Thessaloniki and Ravenna. It promotes study of primary sources like the Chronographia, the Alexiad, the Corpus Juris Civilis, and manuscripts from repositories such as Mount Athos and Topkapi Palace Museum. Programmatic activities link researchers working on Iconoclasm, Hesychasm, Byzantine mosaics, Byzantine liturgy, and legal traditions preserved in collections like the Biblioteca Marciana and archives in Istanbul. The Association encourages interdisciplinary collaboration involving scholars from Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Bologna, University of Rome La Sapienza, Leiden University, and the University of Belgrade.

Organization and Governance

Governance rests with an elected Executive Committee and a President drawn from leading academics at centers such as University of Athens, University of Istanbul, Charles University in Prague, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Advisors have included curators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, conservators from the Getty Conservation Institute, and directors of institutes like Institut de France and Max Planck Institute for European Legal History. The Association collaborates with national committees represented by entities such as the American Council of Learned Societies, the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Academy of Sciences for coordination of conferences, grants, and editorial projects.

Conferences and Congresses

The Association organizes regular international congresses often hosted in historic cities including Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Paris, Vienna, Sofia, Bucharest, Belgrade, Thessaloniki, Zagreb, Moscow, Prague, Budapest, Ljubljana, Nicosia, Ravenna, Venice, Florence, Naples, Milan, Zurich, Geneva, Brussels, Berlin, Lisbon, Madrid, Seville, St Petersburg, Edinburgh, Dublin, Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Kyiv, Lviv, Tirana, Skopje, Podgorica, Sarajevo and Ankara. Sessions feature papers on figures such as Photios I of Constantinople, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Anna Komnene, Nikephoros II Phokas, Theodora (wife of Justinian I), Leo III the Isaurian, and topics tied to events like the Fourth Crusade and the Fall of Constantinople (1453). Past keynote venues include Dumbarton Oaks, the Gennadius Library, the British School at Athens, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Publications and Awards

The Association supports publication series and proceedings produced in collaboration with presses such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Brill Publishers, Peeters Publishers, Routledge, Harvard University Press, Cornell University Press, Manchester University Press, Edinburgh University Press, De Gruyter, Brepols, Akademiai Kiadó, I.B. Tauris, and Louvain University Press. It endorses journals and monographs on topics including Byzantine chant, Byzantine iconography, Byzantine seals, and the works of Procopius and John of Ephesus. Prizes recognize scholarship on subjects like Byzantine numismatics, Byzantine law, Byzantine textile arts, and young scholars connected to institutes such as Dumbarton Oaks, Warburg Institute, Gennadius Library, Bode Museum, State Hermitage Museum, and National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Membership and Affiliations

Membership encompasses individual scholars, national committees, and institutional partners from universities and museums including University of Oxford, Sorbonne University, University College London, University of Cambridge, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Leiden University, University of Amsterdam, University of Bologna, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Padua, University of Granada, University of Barcelona, University of Porto, University of Lisbon, Charles University, Masaryk University, Jagiellonian University, University of Warsaw, University of Belgrade, University of Zagreb, University of Ljubljana, University of Sofia, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Istanbul University, Bogazici University, Middle East Technical University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, McGill University, University of Toronto, Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Ghent University, KU Leuven, University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, University of Bern, University of Cologne, Heidelberg University, Humboldt University of Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, University of Munich, Max Planck Society, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Swiss National Science Foundation, National Science Centre (Poland), and cultural institutions like the Vatican Library, State Library of Bavaria, National Library of Russia, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Bibliothèque nationale de France and National Library of Greece.

Category:Byzantine studies organizations