Late Byzantine Cities, Bahçeşehir University, Beşiktaş Campus, August 20–23, 2019
The late Byzantine world (1204–1461) was distinguished by the existence of multiple, competing, and interconnected cities in contrast to the centrality of Constantinople in previous periods. Late Byzantine cities in fact constituted centers, rather than marginal lands, as they are often protracted in historical studies.
While this period was marked by gradual political and military decline, the late Byzantine cities were economically integrated into trading networks that spanned the Mediterranean and functioned as nodes in that system. Further, whereas the political history speaks of military campaigns, another view holds that diplomacy, itinerant masons and artists, intermarriage, intellectual networks, and trade helped establish a rich milieu of cultural interchange reflected in the urban character of these cities.
The workshop is aimed at discussing the nastier of the region's territorial fragmentation as well as the partial reconstructions that resulted in the emergence of multiple autonomous centers. Drawing upon individual case studies, in particular those of Trebizond, Constantinople, Nicaea, Nymphaion, Thessaloniki, Arta, and Mistra, this workshop will cover the archival, literary, economic, archaeological, and artistic evidence toward bringing forth a wider perspective on these urban centers in late Byzantium.