The 21st conference of the AABS was held at the University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, June 2–5, 2023.
The Biennial General Meeting of the Association was held during the Conference at 12:30 on Monday 5 June.
Byzantium was an empire on, and of, the ancient Mediterranean and Black Seas. The ‘late’ Romans inherited a political, military and cultural system centred on waterborne trade and interconnections. Constantine’s new capital city swiftly replaced Rome as the Mediterranean entrepot of goods from east and west, building on the foundations of the connections and harbours of Byzantium, the ideal Greek emporium. The papers of this conference engage with the theme of Byzantium: Empire of the Sea, on any level of analysis, from history and hagiography, to letters, art, iconography or harbour architecture. Presenters consider the origins of Byzantium in the Roman empire, as a Greek colony; study aspects of the functioning ‘later’ Roman empire centred on Constantinople from the 4th to 15th centuries, and the navigation of its histories; and explore the legacy of Byzantine travel and trade in the Black Sea, on the Aegean islands, in the Italian maritime republics, or along the rivers, bays and coasts to the north, west and south of the Bosporus. Thank you for joining us, and we hope you have a wonderful and enriching conference experience.
The Conveners, Amelia R. Brown and the Executive Committee of the Australasian
Association for Byzantine Studies.
Keynote speaker: Professor Georgia Frank, Colgate University
Download the full programme pdf.
Download the call for papers pdf.
Images: Creative Commons Licence 1.0, from East Church, Qasr Libya, ancient Theodorias, ca. 539: Pharos, Dolphin, Ship panels on Livius.org