Research at Berlin Byzantine Studies focuses on a variety of subjects: on the origins and history of inter-religious dialogues, particularly the historical relationships between Jews, Christians, and Muslims from Late Antiquity until the Early Modern Period – having in mind that all external observations regarding early Islam are preserved in either the Greek or Syriac languages, from a byzantine perspective. This includes the Bible and Qur’an, too, in the diverse fields of translation and religion as well as their respective literal contexts, such as the anti-Jewish and anti-Islamic polemics of the Church Fathers. Inter-cultural translation can also be considered in this field, e.g. Greek texts in Hebrew script, as a link between Abrahamic religions. Finally, Byzantine music belongs to the epicenter of Byzantium, as it is the mutual heritage of Greeks, Russians, Serbians, Bulgarians, Georgians, Armenians. For this reason, it will be offered here at the Berlin Byzantine Studies, not only in research and theory, but actively taught as well. Byzantine Historiography and its Jewish-Hellenistic model constitutes a further focal subject of the Chair.

 

In summary, the main areas of research of Berlin Byzantine Studies are as follows:

• The concept of Byzantium – Byzantine Studies as a Bridging Subject
• Byzantium and Islam – Theological Arguments and Polemical Disputes
• From the Oriens Christianus of the Late Antiquity to the mainly islamic Near East
• The Relationship between Jews, Christians and Muslims since Late Antiquity
• Orthodox Theology in Hymnology and Psalmology
• Byzantine Historiography and its Jewish-Hellenistic Model

 

 

Link to the Research Projects of the Institute for Greek and Latin Philology

Link to the Dissertations of the Institute for Greek and Latin Philology