Κ. Takirtakoglou – “The Arab conquest of Syria in the 7th century and the reconstruction of the defence network during the reconquest efforts in the 10th century” (22/11/2023)

This lecture examines the connection between the Arab conquest of Syria, the uninterrupted conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Caliphate on the border between them (al-tuġūr) and the great Byzantine counter-attack of the 10th century. After pointing out the problems of the sources, the similarities and analogies in the strategy, operational action and tactics of the two rivals in the conflicts between them on the Syrian front (Bilad Al-Sham) during the two periods under consideration are analysed. It focuses on: a) the influence of geography in the planning of both Byzantine and Arab strategy; b) the reasons why during this period both powers seem to have avoided the siege of enemy positions and their preference to accept enemy surrenders through capitulation agreements; and c) the real reasons behind the phenomena of non-resistance of local populations to enemy forces.

A. Tantsis – “The city and architecture in Syria and Jordan during the Byzantine period: challenges in research” (06/12/2023)

In the archaeological sites of Syria, Jordan and the wider region, our knowledge of the cities and settlements of the Byzantine period grows. The impressive ruins of the cities in the Roman provinces of Arabia and Palestine, the Decapolis and the desert castles reveal many facts, which help us to understand the relationship between urban organization and the architecture of the individual buildings of the period. However, issues of interpretation and dating remain open and affect the assessment of the historical course of the communities in the area as well as the correct evaluation of their development in the area.

C. Stavrakos – “Lead Seals from Syria: an archaeological and historical approach” (10/01/2024)

Byzantine seals are a direct, absolutely reliable historical source which highlights or completes the picture of Byzantine society not only in the capital but also in the provinces. There are not a few cases in which they provide us with information completely unknown from other sources. The lecture will highlight the importance of Byzantine seals as a historical source for Syria, while relating them to the geostrategic importance of this region. The most beautiful pieces will be presented selectively, but also those of greatest interest from a historical and archaeological point of view.

S. Thatharopoulou – “…ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου κατ’ ἀνατολὰς ἡλίου”: monuments in the desert, in cities and small towns at the turn of the 7th and 8th century” (* IV Vasilion, 10.33) (24/01/2024)

The Holy Land was a bone of contention between Byzantium and its neighbours, who claimed the eastern provinces of the Empire throughout the first half of the 7th century. The second half of the 7th century finds the provinces of Arabia and Third Palestine definitively outside the Byzantine edifices. Little impact is made on the local Christian population by the change of dominance. Inscriptions and archaeological data attest to the continuous use, repair, renovation and reconstruction of Christian religious buildings in the 7th and 8th centuries in towns, rural settlements and isolated locations, documenting the long-standing presence of the local Christian element in the region. However, methodological approaches to the past and questions of dating still leave open the questions of the end of the use of these buildings and subsequently the evolution of Christian communities from the 9th century onwards.

F. Karagianni – “Topographical observations and comments on the mosaic map of the church of St. George in Madaba” (14/02/2024)

The mosaic map that is found in the Church of St. George in Madaba, Jordan, is dated to the 6th century, is one of the most interesting mosaics in the whole region of the Holy Land and has therefore been the subject of many studies dealing with its interpretation, its use, its position in the context of the original building, its dating and individual topographical issues. This lecture is an attempt to summarise historical, archaeological and topographical data and focuses on individual research issues that aim to shed light on aspects of the history of this important work of art of the early Christian period.

M. Papadimitriou – “Epigraphic evidence for the donation of structural equipment to churches in the cities and the countryside in the Early Byzantine provinces of Syria A and B” (06/03/2024)

The mosaic inscriptions of the EKBMM Catalogue are geographically distributed in monuments of Central and Northern Syria. The architectural origins of the inscriptions are identified to christian churches and jewish synagogues in the cities and countryside. The inscriptions were studied in the context of their subject matter, geographical dispersion and orientation. The attempt to “reintegrate” the inscriptions on the floors of the buildings – their structural bodies – through the comparative evaluation of their data with the corresponding data of other inscription groups of related architectural origin, demonstrates thematic convergences and differentiations of the Early Byzantine province of Phoenicia.

A. Tantsis – “The pilgrimage of the Prophet Elias at Tell Mar Elias in Jordan: a review of the data” (20/03/2024)

At the top of a 900-metre-high hill near the town of Ajlun, on the road connecting Pella and Gerasa, lie the remains of an impressive ecclesiastical complex of buildings. The site had already been identified as a pilgrimage of Prophet Elias as it is located in a short distance from the settlement of Listib, which was identified as the town of Thebes, a possible place of birth of the Prophet. The excavation of the site has revealed data that highlight the pilgrimage site as a focal point of the Christian topography of the region.

A. Semoglou – “The routes of the worship of Saint Thecla in the Eastern Mediterranean during Late Antiquity” (27/03/2024)

The lecture presents and analyses the different aspects of the pilgrimage iconography of the female protomartyr Thecla of Iconium, whose worship was extremely widespread, even more than the Virgin Mary’s worship at least until the Council of Ephesus, in Late Antiquity in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean. Specifically, we focus on three types of early works of art of Late Antiquity: a. those that highlight Thecla and her relationship with Paul as an ideal teaching image, b. those that promote her as a typological representation of baptism, and c. finally, those that identify her as a martyr.

K. Durak – “Syria: the bridge between the Byzantine and the Islamic worlds in the early medieval period” (26/04/2024)

Τhis presentation aims to show the multifaceted nature of the Byzantine-islamic relations that can not reduced only to military, or commercial. In the example of the Byzantine-Syrian frontier in the early Middle Ages I will discuss the military, diplomatic and commercial exchanges between the two worlds via Syria. I will attempt to define the geographical unit of Syria and the term Syrian in the Byzantine sources while I will ask whether Syria was a mere stepping stone or a bridge for the exchanges between two distant capitals, Constantinople and Syria.