Byzantina Nova is an open-access journal dedicated to the comprehensive and interdisciplinary study of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. To bridge the gap between foundational classical scholarship and cutting-edge contemporary methodologies. While firmly rooted in rigorous philological and historical analysis, Byzantina Nova actively encourages innovative theoretical frameworks, digital humanities approaches, and cross-disciplinary dialogue. The journal aims to present Byzantium not merely as a political entity centered on Constantinople, but as a dynamic, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious civilization that functioned as a cultural crucible—preserving, transforming, and transmitting ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian traditions to the Islamic world, the Latin West, and the Slavic peoples.

Chronological and Geographical Scope

The journal covers the full span of Byzantine history, from the refoundation of Constantinople in 330 CE to the fall of the imperial city in 1453 CE. However, its purview extends beyond these traditional boundaries to include:

• The Late Antique transition (3rd–7th centuries) as the formative period of Byzantine identity.
• The post-Byzantine legacy, including the Ottoman period, the survival of Orthodox patriarchates, and the dissemination of Byzantine intellectual and artistic traditions across Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Near East, and the Caucasus.
• Comparative studies that place Byzantium in a global context, including interactions with the Sasanian Empire, the Caliphates, the Turkic polities, the Latin Crusader states, and the Mongol world.

Comprehensive Thematic Areas

The journal invites submissions across the full spectrum of Byzantine studies. Below is a detailed, expanded outline of our core thematic areas:

Byzantine History, Governance, and Social Dynamics

Imperial Ideology & Political Theory

Critical analysis of Byzantine political thought, including the concept of the emperor as God's vicar on earth (Christomimetes), the theological foundations of imperial authority, and the relationship between imperium and sacerdotium. Studies on imperial ceremonial (De Ceremoniis), court ritual, acclamations, and processions as performances of power. Examination of legal codices (Codex Justinianus, Epanagoge, Basilika) and their social implementation. Administrative history, including the thematic system (themata), the central bureaucracy (logothetes, eparchos), and provincial governance.

Socio-Economic & Agrarian History

In-depth investigation of rural economies, agrarian structures, and land tenure systems, with special attention to the tension between the powerful aristocracy (dynatoi) and the impoverished peasantry (ptochoi). Studies on fiscal administration, taxation reforms (e.g., the allelengyon), monetary history, coin circulation, urban development, and long-distance trade routes connecting Byzantium with the Black Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic world. Environmental history and the impact of climate change, plagues, and demographic shifts on Byzantine society.

Diplomacy, Military History, and Geopolitics

Critical examination of Byzantine diplomatic practice, including treaty-making, gift-exchange, hostage-taking, marriage alliances, and intelligence networks. Military history, with close textual analysis of strategic manuals (Strategikon of Maurice, Taktika of Leo VI, De Velitatione Bellica, Praecepta Militaria), logistical systems, fortification architecture, and naval warfare. Geopolitical studies of Byzantine relations with the Persian, Arab, Slavic, Latin, Turkic, Mongol, and Caucasian polities.

Material Culture, Visual Arts, and Auxiliary Sciences

Art History & Architectural Traditions

Comprehensive study of Byzantine monumental architecture, including churches, palaces, fortifications, and civic infrastructure. Analysis of mosaic and fresco programs, iconographic cycles, and their theological and political meanings. Studies on manuscript illumination, ivory carving, metalwork, enamel, textile arts, and the evolution of liturgical objects. Special focus on periodization (Early Byzantine, Iconoclastic, Middle Byzantine, Late Byzantine) and regional variations (Constantinople, Cappadocia, Thessaloniki, Ravenna, Venice, Georgia, Armenia).

Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Numismatics

Reports on archaeological excavations and surveys of Byzantine urban centers, rural settlements, fortresses, and monastic complexes. Spatial analysis and GIS applications in Byzantine archaeology. Epigraphic studies of Greek inscriptions on stone, metal, and mosaic. Numismatic research on coin hoards, mints, and monetary circulation. Sigillography (the study of lead seals) as a vital source for administrative history, prosopography, and economic networks.

Liturgical Practice & Daily Life

Exploration of Byzantine ecclesiastical institutions, monastic rules, liturgical calendars, hymnography, and the performance of the Divine Liturgy. Social history approaches to gender dynamics, family structures, childhood, and marriage. Studies on foodways, dietary habits, costume and dress, private devotion, and domestic religion. Reconstructions of daily life in both urban (Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Trebizond) and provincial (rural villages, mountain monasteries) settings.

Philosophy, Intellectual History, and Literary Culture

Philosophical Tradition & Classical Reception

Analysis of the transmission, commentary, and transformation of ancient Greek philosophy within Byzantine intellectual circles. Focus areas include Byzantine Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, and Stoicism, with special attention to key figures such as John Philoponus, Michael Psellos, John Italos, Eustratios of Nicaea, Nikephoros Blemmydes, and Gemistos Plethon. Studies on the Byzantine commentary tradition on Aristotle, Plato, and Plotinus, and the role of philosophy in theological and political debates.

Theology, Dogma, and Intellectual Debates

In-depth examination of Patristic literature (the Cappadocian Fathers, John Chrysostom, Maximos the Confessor, John of Damascus), the ecumenical councils, and the Christological, pneumatological, and trinitarian controversies that shaped Eastern Orthodoxy. Studies on Hesychasm and Palamism (Gregory Palamas), the anti-Latin polemics, the Photian schism, and the intellectual exchanges between Byzantium, the Latin West, and the Islamic world (including translations from Arabic and interactions with Jewish thought).

Rhetoric, Historiography, and Literature

Critical studies on Byzantine epistolography, secular and epic poetry, court rhetoric (encomia, monodia, prosphonemata), and the vast corpus of chronicles and imperial histories. Authors under scrutiny include Procopius, Theophylact Simocatta, Michael Psellos, Anna Komnene, Niketas Choniates, George Akropolites, George Pachymeres, Nikephoros Gregoras, and John Kantakouzenos. Investigations of literary genres, rhetorical education (enkyklios paideia), and the performance of literature in imperial and monastic contexts.

History of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Natural Sciences

Medical Practice, Codices, and Physicians

Epistemological and practical study of Byzantine medical literature, including the transmission of Galenic and Hippocratic traditions. Critical editions and commentaries on major medical encyclopedists: Oribasius, Aëtius of Amida, Paul of Aegina, Alexander of Tralles, and Nicholas Myrepsos (author of the Dynameron). Studies on the theory of humors, diagnostics, surgery, and gynecology. Examination of the role of physicians in imperial, monastic, and urban contexts.

Institutional Care & Hospitals (Xenones)

Historical and archaeological investigation of Byzantine hospitals, infirmaries, and charitable institutions. Studies on the organization, administration, funding, staffing (physicians, nurses, attendants), and therapeutic protocols of major hospitals such as the Pantokrator Xenon in Constantinople. Analysis of the intersection between medical care, philanthropy, and Christian piety.

Pharmacology, Botany, and Public Health

Exploration of herbal remedies, materia medica, toxicology, and pharmaceutical preparations in Byzantine medical manuals. Studies on botanical knowledge, the import and cultivation of medicinal plants, and the role of the apothecary. Environmental history of disease, including investigations of epidemics (Justinianic Plague, Black Death), sanitation, water supply, urban hygiene, and public health policies.

Natural Philosophy & Exact Sciences

Critical studies on the transmission, development, and application of the exact sciences in Byzantine intellectual circles. Topics include astronomy and astrology (with attention to Ptolemy, Theon, and later Byzantine commentators), alchemy, geography (cosmography, cartography, and travel accounts), optics (Euclid, Hero), and mathematics (the arithmetic tradition, Diophantine analysis). Studies on the Byzantine reception of Islamic and Persian scientific works, and the role of science in imperial ideology and monastic education.

Interdisciplinary and Comparative Approaches

Byzantina Nova particularly welcomes submissions that adopt comparative, cross-cultural, or global historical perspectives. We encourage research that places Byzantine phenomena in dialogue with:

• Late Roman and Early Islamic civilizations
• Medieval Latin Europe (Carolingian, Ottonian, Norman, and Hohenstaufen worlds)
• Slavic and Eurasian steppe cultures (Bulgars, Khazars, Rus', Cumans, Mongols)
• The Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Albania)
• The Mediterranean as an interconnected zone of exchange

We also invite contributions employing digital humanities tools (e.g., GIS, network analysis, digital text corpora, 3D modeling) and interdisciplinary approaches that combine history with anthropology, sociology, literary theory, art history, and the history of science.