第21届世界拜占庭研讨会综述

本文概要介绍了2006年8月21—26日在伦敦召开的第21届世界拜占庭大会的基本情况及东西方拜占庭学者们在大会上所展示的主要研究成果,以及近年来世界拜占庭学者所关注的热点问题。     

第21届世界拜占庭大会在伦敦举行

2006年8月21日至26日,第21届世界拜占庭大会在伦敦大学教育研究所召开。世界拜占庭学会会长,德国科隆大学教授彼得施瑞纳先生和本届大会组委会主任、英国伯明翰大学教授安东尼·布里尔先生和牛津大学埃克塞特学院教授伊丽莎白·杰弗里斯女士主持了大会。伦敦大学国王学院教授朱迪·海琳女士做了题为《展示拜占庭研究》的主题发言。闭幕式上,著名英国拜占庭艺术史教授,罗宾·科麦克的发言《有没有将来》（IsThereAFuture？）,为这次大会划上了圆满句号。此次大会的专题论文和学术报告分为8个专题：1、帝国;2、工作与时日;3、社会结构;4、话语;5、文献;6、正教;7、对拜占庭的展示;8、过去的未来。注册参与大会的有来自亚洲、欧洲和美洲、大洋洲几十个国家的学者1100余人,向大会提交论文并在各类会场发言的学者有750余人,其中,年轻一代拜占庭研究学者的成就引人注目。大会将论文摘要编成3本文集,总达1200页。大会期间,从事古典学和拜占庭研究的出版家举行了拜占庭研究书展,为学者提供拜占庭和东地中海研究的新作。欧洲各地古典学和拜占庭研究专业图书馆和博物馆展出了部分珍贵拜占庭文物和手稿。大会还于8月22日和8月24日在伦敦圣保罗教堂和伦敦大学国王学院的小教堂举行了两场拜占庭音乐会。中国东北师范大学历史文化学院徐家玲教授应邀参加了这次大会。该会议学术内容介绍将刊于《古代文明》2007年2期（总第2期）。     

"查士丁尼瘟疫"影响初探

“查士丁尼瘟疫”是地中海世界爆发的第一次大规模鼠疫,造成的损失极为严重。但是此次瘟疫对拜占庭帝国的破坏程度还没有得到充分认识,其极高的死亡率不仅使拜占庭帝国人口下降明显,劳动力和兵力锐减,正常生活秩序受到严重扰乱,进而产生了深远的社会负面后果,而且对拜占庭帝国、地中海、欧洲的历史发展都产生了深远影响。     

拜占庭还是塞尔柱人国家？——析《宋史·拂菻国传》的一段记载

自西汉（公元前206-公元23年）以降，或从更早的时候起，直到明朝（1368—1644年）早期，中国史籍中不乏对于罗马一拜占庭世界的记载。学者们认为，自唐代以来，中国人都以“拂菻”一词称呼拜占庭。但是，除了那些往来于“西域”和中华帝国腹地的商人们，古代中国人对于罗马和拜占庭帝国的疆域范围却并没有十分清楚的概念，甚至对拂菻一词所指的地域范围、或者其具体所指代的文明范畴有所误解。于是，对“拂菻”一词的理解，或者对于中国史籍中各个时期之“拂菻传”所指代的范围，就不能笼统理解为对拜占庭的描述，本文试图就宋史《拂菻传》中的一段记载说明这一问题，就教于学界同仁们。     

拜占庭与西欧中世纪：詹姆斯·霍华德-约翰斯通教授的拜占庭史观

本文从3个方面归纳英国学者詹姆斯·霍华德一约翰斯通的拜占庭史观。1、4—7世纪拜占庭的社会变迁和军区制的改革归因于草原游牧民族大迁徙引起的“蝶震”;2、10—11世纪间小农经济和军区制的衰落,迫使拜占庭皇帝们从约束权力和控制资源两个方面下手,加大与权贵斗争的力度,但收效甚微;3、拜占庭的外交倾向,即在整个中世纪时期对西方世界事务的关注,是受“统一的罗马帝国”这一意识形态观念支配的;与此同时,在对付来自东方和北方的草原部族时,外交上的实用性和灵活性保证了拜占庭在艰难的环境中顽强生存下来。     

拜占庭文明——独特的历史文明模式

本文探讨研究拜占庭文明的方法,分析拜占庭东正教和拜占庭神学的特点及其对社会发展的影响。通过对拜占庭文明与中世纪西欧文明的比较,说明拜占庭文明的独特性以及拜占庭文明在中世纪基督教世界历史发展中的地位。     

评陈志强教授和他的《拜占庭帝国史》

拜占庭帝国位处“五海三洲”之枢纽地带 ,是联系欧亚文化的桥梁 ,曾经被马克思赞誉为东西方贸易的金桥。其历史疆域正处于今日众所周知的包括中东、巴尔干等在内的地缘战略热点当中。因此 ,当代多个领域的知名学者都对拜占庭研究十分重视 ,使其成为国际学术界的一门“显学”。然而 ,我国目前从事这一领域的学者并不是很多 ,算是“冷门”。商务印书馆 2 0 0 3年出版的《拜占庭帝国史》便是这个“冷门”中的开创性作品之一。作者陈志强教授一直致力于拜占庭学的研究。从 1 983年到 1 997年 ,陈志强教授主要从一些具有重大意义的个别问题研究入…     

拜占庭音乐研究综述

拜占庭帝国在世界历史上占有重要地位,其文化上承希腊罗马古典文化,下启欧洲近代文艺复兴,对人类历史的影响重大。作为拜占庭学的一个分支学科,拜占庭音乐在欧洲文化史上也起着承前启后的作用。整体而言,近年来国人对拜占庭音乐的研究越来越关注,亦取得了一定的进展,但与国外同领域丰硕的研究成果相比依然相形见绌。     

第20届世界拜占庭大会在巴黎召开

2001年8月19—21日,由世界拜占庭研究会主办的5年一度的国际拜占庭研究大会于法国的首都巴黎召开。参与主办这次大会的有法国国家教育研究部、法国信息教育部(图书献司、法国国家档案司)、法国外交部、法兰西学院、巴黎第一大学-巴特农-索邦、     

阐扬西方古钱币文化的佳作

李铁生教授的《拜占庭币》问世了,这是国内第一部专门介绍拜占庭古钱币的工具书。该全书分为六章,第一、二章介绍了拜占庭帝国的历史和拜占庭钱币的基本特征,第三章介绍了324年到1204年间拜占庭各朝代的代表性钱币,第四章专门介绍帝国从969年到1092年发行的“无名”富利铜币,第五、六章则介绍拜占庭帝国晚期的货币。正文之后附有拜占庭皇帝年表,拜占庭帝国大事记,主要参考书目,供读者进一步了解拜占庭钱币沿革的历史背景。在前言中,作者指出,此书主要根据英国学者西尔的《拜占庭币及其价格》和美国学者塞尔斯的《古币集藏第五卷:东罗马/拜占…     

Nursing mothers and feeding bottles: reconstructing breastfeeding and weaning patterns in Greek Byzantine populations (6th–15th centuries AD) using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios

Traditionally, documentary evidence (mainly medical works and the vitae and miracles of saints) served as the primary source of information for perinatal nutrition in the Byzantine era. In the last decade, however, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis has also been applied for the reconstruction of Byzantine breastfeeding and weaning practices. This paper reviews the documentary evidence for Byzantine weaning and compares it to isotopic data for eight Greek Byzantine skeletal samples from the sites of Eleutherna, Kastella, Messene, Sourtara, Stylos, Nemea, Petras and Servia (6th–15th centuries AD). The documentary evidence suggests that Byzantine children were weaned at a relatively late age. The age patterning of the stable isotope data is not as clear as normally seen at single sites. However, the presence of a higher proportion of elevated values in juveniles aged three years or less suggests that weaning was completed by the fourth year—a pattern consistent with the written sources. The data available from this study allow us to make some tentative suggestions about cultural and temporal differences in weaning, and to recommend directions for further research. A comparison of the Byzantine data presented here to data published for Roman-era sites from the Mediterranean and Western Europe suggests that the Byzantines maintained a Roman-era practice of relatively late weaning. In contrast, medieval data for Western Europe and the few measurements made on post-Byzantine Greek material suggest more variation, with some groups weaning late and others weaning earlier, by two years of age.     

Houses,streets and shops in Byzantine Constantinople from the fifth to the twelfth centuries

This paper presents an analysis and reinterpretation of current evidence for houses, streets and shops in fifth- to twelfth-century Byzantine Constantinople, focussing on archaeological evidence. Previously unidentified townhouses and residential blocks are located. These show greater similarities to Roman-period domestic architecture than might be expected. Changes in the architectural style may be related to social change in the seventh century. Berger’s reconstruction of the early Byzantine street plan is shown to be archaeologically untenable. This has implications for the identification of formal planning and the boundaries of urban districts in the Byzantine capital. The limited archaeological evidence for streets and shops is also discussed.     

萨珊波斯帝国在拜占廷金币传入过程中的影响

地处东西两大文明交汇点的萨珊波斯帝国,不仅本身创造出灿烂辉煌的文明,也为东西商贸文化交流做出了巨大的贡献。本文以中国出现之拜占廷金币及其仿制品为线索,考察萨珊波斯帝国在罗马帝国（及拜占廷帝国）与东方之间的联系作用,证明它在拜占廷金币向东传播、流向中国的过程中有着非常重要的影响,是古代东西经济文化交流的重要媒介之一。     

BYZANTINE AND UMAYYAD PERIOD POTTERY AT BARSINIA (2006 SEASON OF EXCAVATION)

Abstract

Until recent pottery studies of the ancient Classical and Early Islamic rural sites in northern Jordan were of less interest to archaeologists. This article focuses on the Byzantine and Umayyad period pottery that has been discovered during the first season of excavation at Barsinia in the north-western part of Jordan. Fifty-two indicative pottery sherds were sorted according to their date and function into two main groups: the early Byzantine pottery (fourth–sixth centuries) and the Late Byzantine–Umayyad pottery (sixth–eighth centuries). Since Barsinia is one of the small rural archaeological sites, and such sites were rarely mentioned in ancient literary sources, the study of material remains at such locations is essential for elucidating regional development and trade. It also sheds more light on the relation between the site and the surroundings through the comparative study of the pottery objects.     

Chemical characterisation of glass mosaic tesserae from sixth-century Sagalassos (south-west Turkey): chronology and production techniques

Little is known about the origin, supply pattern and production technology of Byzantine glass mosaic tesserae. In this study, we have analysed forty-eight glass tesserae from Sagalassos (Asia Minor) of different colours and from two archaeological contexts that were stratigraphically dated to the sixth century CE. The main aim was to identify the raw materials, colourants and opacifiers as well as secondary working practices that are reflected in the composition (EPMA, LA-ICP-MS analyses) and the microstructure (XRD, SEM-BSE) of the tesserae. The set of samples retrieved from the Roman Baths complex at Sagalassos is compositionally very homogeneous, representing possibly a single commission, and can be tentatively dated to the late Roman period. In contrast, the assemblage associated with the construction of a Byzantine church around the turn of the sixth century CE is more diverse, suggesting that these tesserae were produced from more than one silica source. This highlights a diversification in the supply and manufacture of glass tesserae during the Byzantine period.     

The New Post Office Site in Istanbul and the North-Eastern Harbour of Byzantine Constantinople

An unpublished letter of 1906 describes a wall discovered at the New Post Office site in Istanbul. This may have been an Early Byzantine (5th–7th century) quay and, along with geological evidence, suggests that the north-east harbour of Early Byzantine Constantinople (probably the Neorion/Neorium harbour) was much larger than hitherto supposed. The harbour probably silted in the 7th century.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

New books: Books received

In early January 1203, the majority of the leading barons of the Fourth Crusade concluded the Treaty of Zara with Prince Alexios, son of Isaak II, the deposed Byzantine Emperor, thereby agreeing to divert the crusade to Constantinople in order to place the young prince on the throne of Byzantium. The treaty was ratified, despite fierce general opposition and dissension within the crusade, which led hundreds to leave the crusading army either to make their own way to Palestine or to return home. In April 1204, a year after the crusading fleet sailed from Zara to the Byzantine Empire on the pretext of defending the ‘rights’ of the ‘legitimate heir’ to the throne of Constantinople, the crusaders attacked and conquered the Byzantine imperial capital for themselves. Through a new and close examination of the primary evidence, this paper reconsiders the motives of the crusader leaders for their decision to conclude the treaty and then to conquer Constantinople. Although the crusaders proclaimed a range of high-minded motives, which have been largely accepted by modern historians, the real reason for the diversion to the Byzantine capital in 1203 by the Venetians and the French, and their subsequent attack on the city in 1204 was a simpler and, in the crusaders' minds, increasingly pressing concern: the payment of outstanding debts.