Volume 118, Issue 3

In what is now its last folio, codex Laurentianus Plutei 57.40, a major witness of Michael Psellos’ epistolary and rhetorical works dated to the beginning of the 12th century, transmits a short text titled “Epigramma for a woman who is in labour but cannot give birth”. The text is otherwise unattested. Yet, one can recognise elements known from texts meant to be written on birthing amulets that circulated in various languages and regions throughout Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and beyond. What is unique in this short text is that it intentionally departs from the traditional discourse of amulets: known amuletic formulas are rewritten in ways that associate them with other genres - starting with the term “Epigramma” in the title. Furthermore, interest in it stems from the fact that it is one of the very rare testimonies for a birthing amulet that has survived from the Byzantine period. In this article, the text is edited for the first time. Moreover, the article attempts to trace the underlying amuletic formulas and analyse the process of rewriting.

Referring to Thietmar of Merseburg’s account of the embassy sent by Bolesław the Brave of Poland to Byzantium following his conquest of Kyiv in 1018 - an event recorded in two different forms in two versions of Thietmar’s chronicle - this article explores the significance the Polish ruler placed on establishing relations with the Byzantine Empire. The study argues that Bolesław’s efforts to forge these connections should be interpreted not only in the context of Polish-Byzantine relations, but rather within the broader framework of ideas associated with Byzantium in the political culture of the Latin West at the turn of the first millennium. It demonstrates that for the Polish rulers, as for many other rulers in Latin Europe, Byzantium, with its ceremonies and symbols, served as an important reference point for concepts of legitimate rulership.

The perfume burner from the Treasury of San Marco in Venice has been subject to a range of different interpretations over the years. This study builds upon the solid links established by previous scholarship with the cultural environment of the Constantinopolitan court in the time of Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1145- 1180). The aim is to further clarify certain aspects of the iconographic programme by referencing a series of rhetorical and cultural conventions widespread among the learned élites of the period. In this sense, the comparison with a group of silver dinnerware and the previous hypotheses proposed for interpreting its iconography prove fundamental in determining that the obscurity and ambiguity of the depictions were sought after and appreciated by the Middle Byzantine public.

The present paper discusses the goals of Byzantine foreign policy in the Caucasus in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. This period is characterized by renewed imperial aspirations of reconquest and their subsequent defeat by the Arab momentum. Thus, we observe two phases in the Byzantine approach towards the Caucasus: One free of Arab pressure and one under it. Initially, after reconsidering the status of the region in the Arab-Byzantine Peace Treaty of 689, this paper examines Justinian II’s Caucasian campaign and proposes that its main priority was the integration of the region into the Empire. This is supported by Justinian II’s administrative, military, and ecclesiastical/religious manoeuvres and the ceasefire between the Empire and the Caliphate. After the violation of the treaty, we examine the Byzantine participation in the Armenian struggle against the Arab conquest and discuss the imperial aspirations of keeping the Armenians out of the Arab sphere of influence. Finally, we contrast the imperial initiatives in the region during the two phases and draw conclusions regarding the Arab influence on the outcome of Byzantine foreign policy in the Caucasus.

Blemmydes’ Epitome physica is a complex and stratified text which relies upon many different sources, which have been rephrased and incorporated into a new text. Identifying them may help us to uncover the library Blemmydes had at his disposal while composing his textbook. A few relevant examples from chapter 31 will be analysed in this paper.