Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies

Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
Name	Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
Formation	1983
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	London
Region served	United Kingdom, international
Language	English
Leader title	President

Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies is a United Kingdom–based learned society devoted to the study and dissemination of Byzantine history, art, and culture. The society fosters research on Late Antiquity, the Byzantine Empire, and related regions such as the Balkans, Anatolia, the Levant, and the Caucasus, and maintains links with academic institutions, museums, and archives across Europe. Its activities connect scholars working on topics ranging from the reign of Justinian I and the reign of Heraclius to the fall of Constantinople and the legacy in modern Greece, Turkey, and Russia.

History

The society emerged amid growing postwar interest in Byzantine studies that drew on traditions established by figures associated with Oxford University, Cambridge University, University College London, and the British Museum. Early members included scholars influenced by the work of Edward Gibbon, A. H. M. Jones, Steven Runciman, John Haldon, and Michael Angold. Institutional support derived from relationships with the British Academy, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Royal Asiatic Society. The society’s development paralleled major archaeological campaigns and publications such as excavations at Hagia Sophia, surveys in Thessaloniki, and numismatic projects connected to the collections of the Ashmolean Museum and the Vatican Library.

Aims and Activities

The society promotes scholarship through collaborations with universities including University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Birmingham, and international centers such as Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, École Pratique des Hautes Études, University of Paris (Sorbonne), and University of Vienna. It supports research on emperors and statesmen like Basil I, Alexios I Komnenos, and Constantine XI Palaiologos as well as on ecclesiastical figures including Photius I of Constantinople, John of Damascus, and Meletius I of Antioch. The society encourages study of primary sources held in institutions such as the National Library of Greece, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, State Hermitage Museum, and Pergamon Museum.

Publications and Journals

The society issues newsletters and monographs, collaborating with presses and journals linked to Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Brill, Routledge, and the British School at Athens. Its publications often engage material examined in journals such as Byzantion, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Revue des études byzantines, Speculum, and Journal of Roman Studies. Studies published address themes connected to figures and events like Anna Komnene, the Fourth Crusade, the Battle of Manzikert, the Iconoclasm, and the Council of Chalcedon. Editions and translations feature manuscript evidence from repositories such as the Monastery of Saint Catherine, the Patriarchal Library of Constantinople, and the Bodleian Library.

Conferences and Events

The society organizes annual symposia, international congresses, and lecture series in partnership with organizations including the International Association of Byzantine Studies, Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and regional centers such as the German Archaeological Institute, École française d'Athènes, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Conference themes have covered periods from the reign of Maurice (emperor) to late medieval phenomena involving the Ottoman Empire, the Serbian Empire, and the Latin Empire. Notable hosted speakers have included specialists affiliated with Dumbarton Oaks, Princeton, Columbia University, Leiden University, University of Bonn, University of Warsaw, and Freie Universität Berlin.

Membership and Governance

Membership comprises academics, curators, postgraduate students, and independent researchers drawn from institutions such as Trinity College Dublin, University of Edinburgh, University of St Andrews, King’s College London, University of Manchester, University of Glasgow, University of Leeds, and international universities including University of Rome La Sapienza, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Bologna, University of Barcelona, University of Lisbon, University of Zagreb, University of Belgrade, University of Istanbul, Ankara University, Haifa University, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and University of Cairo. Governance follows a council and officers model with elected posts comparable to those at the British Academy and the Royal Historical Society. Trusteeship and partnerships align with standards practiced by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Awards and Grants

The society awards grants, travel bursaries, and prizes for doctoral research, postdoctoral fellowships, and publication subventions, often coordinating with funding bodies such as the Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome Trust, European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Council of Europe, and national research councils in the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey, Germany, and Italy. Prizes have recognized work on topics involving primary sources like the Patrologia Graeca, studies of liturgical manuscripts from Mount Athos, archaeological reports from Ephesus, and numismatic catalogues linked to the British Museum Collection. Grants have supported fieldwork in sites such as Jerusalem, Antioch, Nicaea, Pergamon, and Aphrodisias.

Category:Byzantine studies organizations