The presented research proposal aims to create new knowledge concerning the fate of prisoners of war in Byzantium based on written sources of the 8th-15th c. A preliminary study of the military treatises, historical works, and hagiography reveals valuable material for treating the prisoners of war in the Byzantine Empire. For instance, the Taktika of Leo VI advises the General of the army not to kill the prisoners, especially the eminent, before the end of the war; According to De ceremoniis some Arab prisoners of war were brought to attend an imperial banquet; John Skylitzes tells how the prisoners of war participated in the triumphal parades, et al. 
    The treatment of the prisoners of war in Byzantium remains a little-studied aspect of Byzantine society and history. The presented project aims to present the fate of the prisoners of war based on the written sources of the middle and late Byzantine period that covers Byzantine-Arab wars, Crusading movement and its subsequent period. The subject will be studied from Byzantine, Arabic, and Georgian perspectives. In particular, Byzantine (historical texts, military manuals, the book of ceremonies, and others), Arabic (historians: Harun-ibn-Yahya, al-Maqdisi, al-Tanuhi, etc.), and Georgian (“Kartlis Tskhovreba” and other) writings essential in this regard, will be considered, that determines the interdisciplinary character and novelty of the project.  
        The fate of prisoners of war in Byzantium has important implications for our understanding of the broader social and political structures of the Byzantine Empire. The treatment of captives was closely tied to issues of diplomacy, military strategy, and social hierarchy and shed light on the complex relationships between the aristocracy and other social groups. Generally, the fate of prisoners of war in Byzantium was a complex issue that varied over time and depended on factors such as the status of the prisoner, the nature of the conflict, and the policies of the ruling emperor. In addition, captives played a significant role in cultural exchange and mutual influence. 
    The presented proposal should be understood in the context that the study of Byzantine and, in general, medieval historiographic works, not to search for solid historical facts and dates but to reveal social and cultural details, is a current trend in modern scholarship.