Within the frame of the project, historical narratives telling about relics, icons, architectural monuments, religious rituals, miracles and other details related to religious function in Byzantium will be explored. In particular, the writings of middle Byzantine historians (8th-13th c.), selected in advance, will be examined. Besides research, the project implies translation of these passages into the Georgian language. Some changes, exclusions or inclusions of texts/authors, comparative studies considering Georgian or other material, identification of typological parallels depend on the process of research. We choose the period from 8th to 13th centuries as it is marked by iconoclasm (c. 680-850) and less studied in comparison to late antiquity.

Principal investigator: Eliso Elizbarashvili