This volume begins with a substantial investigation of the murder of several members of the imperial family during the summer of 337, following the death of Constantine. Two other major articles are devoted to well-known Byzantine illustrated manuscripts, the ninth-century Sacra Parallela and the fourteenth-century collection of theological works by the emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, both now in Paris. A third art-historical paper presents a detailed analysis of the architectural decoration of the church of the “Red Monastery” near Suhag in Egypt. Other studies treat the mystery of the Incarnation as well as the earliest version of the Life of the Virgin and its relationship with the cult of Marian relics in Constantinople.

The volume concludes with three papers from a colloquium on the hymnographer Romanos the Melode.

How are markets in antiquity to be characterized? As comparable to modern free markets, with differences in scale not quality? As controlled and dominated by the State? Or as a third way, in completely different terms, as free but regulated? In Trade and Markets in Byzantium seventeen scholars address these and related issues by reexamining and reinterpreting the material and textual record from Byzantium and its hinterland for local, regional, and interregional trade. Special emphasis is placed on local trade, which has been understudied. To comprehend the recovery of long-distance trade from its eighth-century nadir to the economic prosperity enjoyed in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the authors analyze the variety and complexity of the exchange networks, the role of money as a measure of exchange, and the character of local markets. This collection of groundbreaking research will prove to be indispensable for anyone interested in economic history in antiquity and the medieval period.