Welcome to a very special edition of the Βυζάντιο Explained newsletter!
With the 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies kicking off in Vienna this week, the global Byzantine studies community is coming together for what promises to be an incredible gathering of research, dialogue, and discovery.
While Βυζάντιο Explained will not be taking part as an official platform or hosting a dedicated panel, our team members, contributors, and guests of the podcast are heading to Vienna in full force! We will be there, presenting our academic research, engaging in sessions, and taking part in the vibrant discussions spanning everything from global interconnections to environmental history. Look out for Phoebe-Irene Georgiadi during Wednesday’s panel on the Palaeologan Period (1258–1453) and for Gavriil - Ioannis Boutziopoulos at the Posters session on Thursday. (Yes, we know, shameless self-promotion is a real thing!)
We couldn’t be more excited to immerse ourselves in this year’s theme, “Byzantium Beyond Byzantium,” and connect with colleagues, friends, and fellow enthusiasts from around the globe. If you are attending the congress—whether to present, listen, or explore the side exhibitions—we are looking forward to seeing you all in person!
Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram where we’ll be sharing live impressions, panel takeaways, and behind-the-scenes highlights throughout the week. Use the hashtag #ICBS2026 to join the conversation and feel free to tag us!
Be sure to say hello if you spot us in the halls of the University of Vienna!
International Congress of Byzantine Studies - Vienna 2026
Navigating the week in Vienna? Here are the essential links to keep bookmarked:
Full Academic Program & Session Schedule – Browse daily panels, filter by topic, or build your custom “My Picks” schedule.
Download the PDF Program – Keep an offline copy of the complete conference schedule.
Venue Map & Directions (Univie) – Floor plans and transit info for the University of Vienna Main Building (Universitätsring 1).
Official Congress Updates – Live announcements, venue changes, and participant notices.
The Plenary Papers of the ICBS are now published as an edited volume. You can download them open access: Byzantium Beyond Byzantium: Proceedings of the Plenary Sessions at the 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies (Vienna, 24–29 August 2026), ed. Adrian C. Pirtea, Giulia Rossetto, and Nikos Zagklas (Moving Byzantium 5), Wien: Vienna University Press, 2026.
To set the stage for what makes this year’s congress in Vienna so unique, we are delighted to share an enlightening interview with Prof. Claudia Rapp, Director of the Institute for Medieval Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).
“Byzantium beyond Byzantium”
On August 24, 2026, the world’s largest Byzantine studies conference begins in Vienna. The Austrian capital already hosted the International Congress of Byzantine Studies 45 years ago. How do today’s topics differ from those of the past?
How does Byzantium radiate beyond the borders of the Byzantine Empire? This is the primary focus of the “25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies” in Vienna, which will attract experts from all over the world. Claudia Rapp, Byzantinist and Director of the Institute for Medieval Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), discusses in an interview what makes Vienna a special place for researching Byzantium.
Claudia Rapp: In 1981, during the last Vienna Congress led by Herbert Hunger, one major topic was prominently featured for the first time: women in Byzantium. The conference proceedings from that time are still considered a key milestone in this field of research. Our theme this year is “Byzanz über Byzanz hinaus – Byzantium beyond Byzantium.” We want to show how Byzantium as a culture radiated beyond the borders of the Byzantine Empire—as a magnet and point of connection for surrounding cultures, both during its time and from a diachronic perspective with an impact extending to the present day.
At the same time, with this congress, we want to demonstrate what 21st-century Byzantine studies can look like: with a broad representation across all generations of researchers, in dialogue with related disciplines—which is how we work at the ÖAW—and with intentionally flat hierarchies so that doctoral students have the same audience as established professors.
25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies: Byzantium Beyond Byzantium Date: August 24 to 29, 2026 Location: University of Vienna Universitätsring 1 1010 Vienna
Vienna as a Byzantine Studies Hotspot What makes Vienna a special place for the study of the Byzantine Empire?
Rapp: Vienna has a very long research tradition in Byzantine studies. One could say: Byzantine studies avant la lettre. Even before the discipline was established under this name, intensive research was carried out here on medieval documents and charters in the Greek language, published by the Slavist Franz von Miklosich in collaboration with the classical philologist Joseph Müller. The first president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Josef von Hammer-Purgstall, was an Orientalist and also engaged with these larger historical contexts.
If you go back even further, you come across Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, who brought back Greek manuscripts from Istanbul in the 16th century on behalf of the Habsburg emperors. They formed the foundation of the Austrian National Library. And in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Babenbergs maintained marriage alliances with Byzantine princesses.
In addition, Byzantine studies as a discipline connects well with many other fields: classical philology, Greek literary and intellectual history, Western and Eastern European history, Modern Greek studies—and increasingly, research into connections with the Near East and beyond.
The Significance of Eurasia You direct the Eurasia Cluster. What new questions are you addressing in this field?
Rapp: Every era asks its own specific questions—and today, we ask about global interconnections. We trace them in the movement of ideas and religions, and in the migration of artworks and stylistic languages. The dragon motif, for example, which originated in the East and appears in altered form in Western art, is a vivid example.
Today we ask about global interconnections.
Climate and environmental history are also becoming increasingly interesting to us. My colleague Johannes Preiser-Kapeller shows, for example, how volcanic eruptions in the Pacific had consequences that can be traced beyond Byzantium as far as Iceland—and which left their mark in contemporary sources, each in its own language.
In April, I went on an excursion with the Eurasia Cluster to China, to the Turfan Oasis. Similar to Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, ancient manuscripts were discovered there in a room found only in the early 20th century—including Christian writings and texts in Syriac, occasionally with echoes of Byzantium. This vividly demonstrates how far this cultural influence can reach.
What are you particularly looking forward to at this year’s congress?
Rapp: Every day, we have plenary sessions on highly topical themes that bring together various subdisciplines: archaeology, art history, environmental history. I am also particularly excited about a panel and an evening event on medieval Nubia in present-day Sudan, where the connection to Byzantium through Christianity was once very strong. The epigraphic material from this region—Greek texts on church walls—is unique and is currently being freshly researched by scholars in Poland.
In addition, there is a rich side program: concerts, exhibitions—including the recently opened papyrus exhibition “In Search of Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages,” a coin exhibition here at the Otto Wagner Postsparkasse, and an icon exhibition at the Greek Orthodox parish of St. George. In this way, we hope to bring Byzantium closer to a broader public as well.
Source: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/news/byzanz-ueber-byzanz-hinaus
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