Standardization as an imperial practice of Byzantine soft power

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Standardization as an imperial practice of Byzantine soft power

Veranstalter
Stefan Albrecht and Benjamin Fourlas (Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus – Byzanz zwischen Orient und Occident – Mainz/Frankfurt) (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie)
Ausrichter
Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie
Veranstaltungsort
Ludwig-Lindenschmit-Forum 1
PLZ
55116
Ort
Mainz
Land
Deutschland
Findet statt
Hybrid
Vom - Bis
05.03.2024 - 07.03.2024
Website
https://www.byzanz-mainz.de/aktuelles/details/standardization-as-an-imperial-practice-of-byzantine-soft-power
Von
Stefan Albrecht and Benjamin Fourlas

The aim of the conference is to delve into the role of seemingly insignificant phenomena that are often overlooked in the formation of societies and to emphasize the importance of human-object relationships in the context of the Byzantine Empire as a political entity. The conference brings together experts from various historical and archaeological fields to explore the phenomenon of imperial standards in Byzantium from an inter- and multidisciplinary perspective.

Standardization as an imperial practice of Byzantine soft power

An international conference of the Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus – Byzanz zwischen Orient und Occident – Mainz/Frankfurt at the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie.

The stability of Empires depends to a considerable degree on policies of soft power, which contributes to internal cohesion and makes friends out of near and far neighbours who imitate and desire the culture (religion, language, habitus, technology and science) of the imperial neighbour. Standardization is an important but underappreciated imperial practice of soft power, often deliberately used or promoted. Nevertheless, it is equally often the outcome of processes beyond political control that inadvertently develop their unifying function. In our context, the term "standards" primarily refers to "de facto standards" rather than "norms" which are considered "de jure standards". These standards can impact all aspects of human activity, including cultural phenomena, economic activities, and technical systems. Therefore, standards have always been a crucial requirement for managing large territories, trade, and social interactions.

As in any empire “imperial” standards are widely accepted throughout the Byzantine realm and have even spread beyond political borders into what is known as the "Byzantine Commonwealth". The range of standards includes among others weights and measures, common techniques in architecture, craftsmanship, art, and cuisine, as well as common practices and rites of social communication and religious celebration. Considering standards provides a means of exploring the political and social impact of cultural phenomena from both material and spiritual realms. By focussing on the topic of standardization and its role as instrument of soft power various source materials and different methodological appoches can be matched under an overarching aim.

The aim of the conference is to delve into the role of seemingly insignificant phenomena that are often overlooked in the formation of societies and to emphasize the importance of human-object relationships in the context of the Byzantine Empire as a political entity. The conference brings together experts from various historical and archaeological fields to explore the phenomenon of imperial standards in Byzantium from an inter- and multidisciplinary perspective.

With this conference, our primary goal is to focus on three overarching questions:

- To what extend does the Byzantine Empire ease or advance the spreading of standardization processes?
- How does standardization contribute to the consolidation of the Byzantine Empire?
- Does the search for and examination of standardization provide a heuristic instrument for a better understanding of imperial integration?

Programm

Tuesday 5 MARCH 2024

12:30 ARRIVAL
Refreshments
13:00 WELCOME
13:15-14:15 INTRODUCTION: KONZEPTCAFÉ “STANDARDIZATION AND IMPERIAL SOFT POWER”
Chair: Henriette Baron (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Ivan Foletti (Masarykova univerzita, Brno)
Jan Kusber (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz)
Dominik Maschek (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Hagit Nol (Goethe Universität, Frankfurt)

SESSION I:
STANDARDIZING IMPERIAL SPACES
Chair: Wolfram Brandes (Goethe Universität, Frankfurt)
14:15 Andreas Külzer (Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien)
Imperiale Straßen und Verkehrswege. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Standardisierung
15:00 Sabina Fiołna (Freie Universität, Berlin)
Environmental Dimensions of Roman Globalisation — Landscape Dynamics in Western Anatolia from 1st century BCE to 7th century CE
15:45 Alexander Sarantis (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
The Disappearance and Reinvention of Standardization in the Anatolian and Balkan Peripheries, 7th-9th century
16:30 COFFEE BREAK
16:45 Helen Saradi-Mendelovici (Athens)
The Resilience of Byzantine Urbanism: The Cities as the Means for Controlling and Unifying the Empire
17:30 Stefan Albrecht (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Griechisches Synaxar und lateinisches Martyrologium. Standardisierung der Heiligenverehrung mit und ohne Imperium
18:15 Markos Giannoulis (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz)
Macht, Raum und Medien nach byzantinischen Standards. Auftritte venezianischer Herrscher auf Kartenwerken
19:30 RECEPTION

Wednesday 6 MARCH 2024

SESSION II: VISUAL STANDARDS
Chair: Ivan Foletti (Masarykova univerzita, Brno)
9:30 Pierre Charrey (Université catholique Louvain)
Weighing with Seals and Icons. Technical and Iconographic Standardization as an Imperial Practice in Late Roman Trade (4th —8th century)
10:15 Benjamin Fourlas (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Imperial Imagery, Gold multipla and Soft Power — Early Byzantine Coin-set Jewellery as a Standard of the Emperor’s Largesse?
11:00 COFFEE BREAK
11:15 Jörg Drauschke (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Münzschmuck im Fränkischen Reich. Byzantinische Softpower im Spiegel der Praktiken fränkischer Eliten
12:00 Stepan Stepanenko (Zentrum für Baltische und Skandinavische Archäologie, Schleswig)
Olena Chernenko (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
Byzantine Power Projection through Numismatics and Sigillography in the Period of Rus State Formation: Social Status Projection in Byzantium’s Northern Hinterland
12:45 LUNCH
14:30 Maria Andrianaki (Aristotéleio Panepistímio Thessaloníkis)
Nicaea, Constantinople and /or Crete? Imperial Softpower und Political — Religious Standards in the Iconographic Program of the Church of Saint Nicholas in Kyriakoselia, Crete (c. 1230)
15:15 Elizabeth Dospel Williams (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington)
Ittai Weinryb (Bard Graduate Center, New York)
Boxing Medicine Across Premodernity: An Early Byzantine Medicine Container in Context
16:00 COFFEE BREAK
16:20 THE MUSEALITY OF IMPERIAL STANDARDS
Chair: Jörg Drauschke / Henriette Baron (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Handling Session with Objects from the Collection of the LEIZA
Cäcilia Fluck (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)
Elizabeth Dospel Williams (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington)
Benjamin Fourlas (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
19:00 CONFERENCE DINNER

Thursday 7 MARCH 2024
SESSION III: STANDARDS AND SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
Chair: Andreas Külzer (Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien)
9:30 Christian Miks (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Betrachtungen zur Standardisierung spätantiker Militärausrüstung am Beispiel der Baldenheimer Helme
10:15 Ronald Bockius (Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie, Mainz)
Technologisch-konstruktive „Normen” im byzantinischen Schiffbau. Zur Frage des Nachwirkens antiker Traditionen
11:00 COFFEE BREAK
11:15 Brigitte Pitarakis (CNRS, Paris)
Stereotypes and Imitation in Byzantine Bronze Craft
12:00 Beate Böhlendorf-Arslan (Philipps Universität, Marburg)
Standards im Alltag am Beispiel der Keramik
12:45 LUNCH
14:00 Zachary Chitwood (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz)
Kaisar gegen Kompilator: Manuscript Evidence for the Success (and Failure) of Imperial Attempts at the Standardization of Byzantine Law (9th – 11th centuries)
14:45 Andreas Rhoby (Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien)
„Errichtet wurde dieses Haus von den Grundfesten aus von …“ — Das standardisierte Vokabular von Stifterinschriften der mittel- und spätbyzantinischen Epoche
15:30 CONCLUDING DISCUSSION
16:30 END

Kontakt

anke.dingler@leiza.de
benjamin.fourlas@leiza.de

https://www.byzanz-mainz.de/aktuelles/details/standardization-as-an-imperial-practice-of-byzantine-soft-power
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Englisch, Deutsch
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