What was the Byzantine Empire?

It was the continuation of the eastern Roman Empire, centered on Constantinople (modern Istanbul), which endured from Late Antiquity until 1453.

How is Byzantine archaeology related to Roman archaeology?

Byzantine archaeology studies the eastern Roman world as it transformed after antiquity, sharing methods with classical archaeology but focusing on later, Christian, medieval material culture.

Byzantine Archaeology

Byzantine archaeology studies the material culture of the eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire from Late Antiquity through the medieval centuries, including its cities, churches, fortifications, and everyday objects.

Definition

The archaeological study of the Byzantine Empire and its material culture, from Late Antiquity to the late medieval period.

Scope

This topic covers the archaeology of the Byzantine world centered on Constantinople and the eastern Mediterranean, from the transformation of the late Roman world through the medieval empire to its fall in 1453. It examines urban change, churches and monasteries, fortifications, pottery and coins, and the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages, integrating excavation, standing monuments, and textual sources.

Core questions

How did late Roman cities transform into Byzantine ones?
What does church architecture reveal about Byzantine religion and society?
How did the Byzantine countryside and economy develop?
How do material remains illuminate the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages?

Key theories

Transformation of the ancient city: The debate over how classical cities changed in Late Antiquity and the early Byzantine period—through contraction, ruralization, or reorganization around churches—rather than simple decline.
Continuity and change from Rome to Byzantium: The interpretation of Byzantine material culture as both continuous with the Roman past and distinctively transformed by Christianity and new political and economic conditions.

History

Byzantine archaeology developed later than classical archaeology, long overshadowed by interest in the Greco-Roman past. Excavations in Constantinople and across the eastern Mediterranean, together with study of churches, fortifications, and ceramics, have established it as a field central to understanding the transition from antiquity to the medieval world.

Debates

Decline versus transformation in Late Antiquity: Scholars debate whether the late antique and early Byzantine centuries represent catastrophic decline or a more complex transformation of cities, economy, and society.

Key figures

John Haldon
Cyril Mango
William Bowden

Seminal works

mango2002
haldon1990
bowden2004

Frequently asked questions

What was the Byzantine Empire?: It was the continuation of the eastern Roman Empire, centered on Constantinople (modern Istanbul), which endured from Late Antiquity until 1453.
How is Byzantine archaeology related to Roman archaeology?: Byzantine archaeology studies the eastern Roman world as it transformed after antiquity, sharing methods with classical archaeology but focusing on later, Christian, medieval material culture.