Refractions of the Byzantine: The Empire of Trebizond (1204-1461), Senate House, University of London, June 5–6, 2017
The Empire of Trebizond, one of a handful of Byzantine successor states formed following the fall of Constantinople to the Latins in 1204, has largely been viewed by scholars of Byzantium as an outsider. Indeed, Trebizond, situated far from Constantinople on the distant Black Sea coast, has been accused of being culturally ‘un-Byzantine’ and, as such, less relevant for study in mainstream Byzantine history. However, is such a view fair? This colloquium aims to provide a platform on which the cultural identity of the Empire of Trebizond can be discussed and debated. Must the Empire of Trebizond be viewed exclusively as part of the Byzantine cultural sphere? Was it more culturally linked to the regional non-Byzantine cultures of the Caucasus and Anatolia? Or was it a mixture of both, spanning the boundaries of Byzantium and ‘otherness’, creating something altogether different in the process? By approaching Trebizond in such a way over the entire breadth of the state’s existence (1204-1461), the colloquium ultimately aims to depict Trebizond as an important case study of how the disintegration of the Byzantine Empire helped create new forms of political organisation and cultural expression, not least through cross-cultural exchange, inviting us to re-examine the multiple ways in which it was possible to be Byzantine during this period.
Part of the Annual Newton and ICS Byzantine Colloquium
This event is supported by the Newton International Fellowship of the British Academy, the Institute of Classical Studies, the British Institute at Ankara and the Centre for Hellenic Studies. Organized by Ioanna Rapti, École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris), Dionysios Stathakopoulos & Matthew Tanton (KCL)