Byzantine Exceptionalism: New Perspectives

The debate about the place of Byzantium in the premodern world is far from finished. Was Byzantium simply Rome and thus incomprehensible in comparison with anything else? Was it instead just another medieval state, among many? Was it “other” or were its neighbors “other” to it? This panel uses archaeological, art historical, and historical perspectives, as well as new vantage points, including Rome, Muscovy and Egypt, to look at the place of Byzantium in the medieval world. This discussion will help medievalists, Byzantinists, and others think through their characterization of not just Byzantium but their own objects of study.