Byzantine News

Just as they have done for 17 centuries, the Greek Orthodox monks of St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt’s Sinai desert and the local Jabaliya Bedouins worked together to protect the monastery when the 2011 revolution thrust Egypt into a period of uncertainty. “There was a period in the early days of the Arab Spring when we had no idea what was going to happen,” says Father Justin, a monk who has lived at St. Catherine’s since 1996. Afraid they could be attacked by Islamic extremists or bandits in the relatively lawless expanse of desert, the 25 monks put the monastery’s most valuable manuscripts in the building’s storage room. Their Bedouin friends, who live at the base of St. Catherine’s in a town of the same name, allegedly took up their weapons and guarded the perimeter. The community’s fears of an attack were not realized, but the monks decided they needed a new way to protect their treasured library from any future threats. Last year, they accelerated a program of digitall...

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"Herrin is acutely aware not only of Byzantium's place in the world, but also of its idiosyncrasies, which she illuminates by bringing into play the ecclesiastical sources in a way that few other Byzantine historians have done. Her essays reveal first and foremost her breadth of vision."--Michael Angold, editor of "The Cambridge History of Christianity: Eastern Christianity" "Tracing her journey across the history of Byzantium, Herrin's elegant essays display her insightful approaches, solid methodology, and vast historical knowledge."--Christine Angelidi, Institute of Historical Research, Athens "Herrin's essays reveal a capacity given to very few historians--the power to present the big picture without ever losing sight of the vital details. Their genesis over the course of her career, and more importantly their bearing on our current intellectual and political situation, illustrate what it means to be a humane and humanistic...

// --> // ORBIS: The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World reconstructs the time cost and financial expense associated with a wide range of different types of travel in antiquity. The model is based on a simplified version of the giant network of cities, roads, rivers and sea lanes that framed movement across the Roman Empire. It broadly reflects conditions around 200 CE but also covers a few sites and roads created in late antiquity. The model consists of 751 sites, most of them urban settlements but also including important promontories and mountain passes, and covers close to 10 million square kilometers (~4 million square miles) of terrestrial and maritime space. 268 sites serve as sea ports. The road network encompasses 84,631 kilometers (52,587 miles) of road or desert tracks, complemented by 28,272 kilometers (17,567 miles) of navigable rivers and canals. Sea travel moves across a cost surface that simulates monthly wind conditions and takes acco...

A great resource for people interested in a visual history of Europe: --> Click here to go to EURATLAS

Ancient mosaic floor belonged to Byzantine-era church has been discovered by some looters near the Roman city of Jerash in Jordan. The remains were unearthed on private property located outside the ancient city of Jerash, around 40km north of Amman, said director of the French Archaeological Mission at Jerash Jacques Seigne. Looters uncovered the mosaics accidentally when they were digging during the night, according to a report announced by the Department of Antiquities in Jerash. The discovered floor, which is around five by seven meters in full colour, features an unusual scene of men climbing up trees to hide from bears and lions.   --> An inscription was also found at the site that displays names of the patron and mosaic artist of the floor. According to the inscription, the experts believe that the findings date back to 589-590 CE. The Department of Antiquities (DoA), presiding by Rafe Harahshah, managed a 45-day rescue operation to uncover and secure the...

 A virtual tour of Cappadocia is accessible here: // --> http://www.din.gr/cappadocia/   Enjoy!