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| Israel Society for Byzantine Studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Israel Society for Byzantine Studies |
| Formation | 1957 |
| Type | Learned society |
| Headquarters | Jerusalem |
| Region served | Israel |
| Fields | Byzantine studies, Late Antiquity |
Israel Society for Byzantine Studies is a learned society dedicated to the study of Byzantine Empire, Late Antiquity, and the cultural, religious, and material exchanges across the eastern Mediterranean. The Society fosters research on topics ranging from Constantinople and Antioch to the interaction between Byzantium and Islamic Golden Age polities such as the Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, and Fatimid Caliphate. It connects scholars working on texts, archaeology, art, liturgy, law, and numismatics linked to centers such as Jerusalem, Alexandria, Córdoba (Spain), Ravenna, and Nicaea.
Founded in the 1950s by Israeli and international scholars influenced by figures from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Society drew on comparative work involving researchers from Oxford University, University of Cambridge, University of Paris, University of Rome La Sapienza, and University of Vienna. Early members included specialists in subjects associated with Procopius, Theophanes the Confessor, John of Ephesus, Phocas, and the chronicles of Michael Psellos, while engaging debates sparked by analyses of the Fourth Crusade, the Iconoclasm controversies, and studies of the Council of Chalcedon. The Society built formal ties with institutions such as the Israel Antiquities Authority, the National Library of Israel, the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, and the Museum of Islamic Art, Jerusalem to support excavations near sites like Masada, Caesarea Maritima, Tiberias, and Megiddo.
The Society’s mission emphasizes interdisciplinary inquiry linking specialists in Byzantine art, Byzantine archaeology, Patristics, Byzantine law, Liturgical studies, Numismatics, and manuscript studies of collections including the Dead Sea Scrolls repositories, the Greek Codex Sinaiticus context, and holdings at the Vatican Library. It mounts lecture series with invited speakers from centers such as the Warburg Institute, the Institute for Advanced Study, the German Archaeological Institute, the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Public programs compare Byzantine interactions with medieval polities like the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, and the Mamluk Sultanate to illuminate continuities with Ottoman-era narratives exemplified by the Suleiman the Magnificent period.
The Society publishes peer-reviewed proceedings and monographs drawing on methodologies used in journals like Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Revue des études byzantines, Journal of Early Christian Studies, and Speculum. Its annual conferences are hosted in collaboration with universities such as Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, Haifa University, and international partners including Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, Leiden University, and Freie Universität Berlin. Special colloquia have centered on topics related to the Council of Nicaea, the Macedonian Renaissance, the impact of the Black Death, and cross-cultural studies addressing exchanges with Venice, Genoa, and the Crusader States.
Membership comprises academics at institutions such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology historians engaged with museums including the Israel Museum, curators from the British Museum, librarians from the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and postgraduate researchers connected to the École française d'Athènes. Governance follows an elected council model with presidents drawn from scholars who have worked on figures such as Emperor Justinian I, Empress Theodora, Emperor Heraclius, and Basil II. The Society organizes working groups on manuscript cataloguing, archaeological fieldwork, and digital humanities projects aligned with initiatives like the Digital Humanities Lab at major research centers.
Research programs support excavations, codicological studies, and comparative projects in partnership with the Israel Exploration Society, the Royal Hellenic Ministry of Culture, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, the Hermitage Museum, and the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Collaborative grants have enabled studies on topics including the transmission of texts by John Chrysostom, the architecture of Hagia Sophia, mosaics of San Vitale, coin hoards tying into the histories of Constantine I, and epigraphic surveys referencing the Codex Theodosianus. The Society has promoted joint doctoral supervision with programs at University College London, The Hebrew University’s Department of History, Università degli Studi di Milano, and research networks funded by bodies like the European Research Council and the Israel Science Foundation.
The Society confers prizes for outstanding dissertations, monographs, and excavations, often awarded alongside honors named after scholars such as Averil Cameron, Steven Runciman, Irene Vallejo, and Peter Brown. Its members have received distinctions including fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study, grants from the British Academy, awards from the Max Planck Society, and recognition by national academies like the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The Society’s conferences and publications are cited in major reference works including the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, the Cambridge Medieval History, and the Encyclopaedia of Islam.
Category:Learned societies of Israel Category:Byzantine studies