Boğaziçi University Byzantine Studies Research Center opened its doors to researchers aiming to become one of the leading academic centers in Byzantine history and research worldwide. The Center will study The Byzantine history, culture, art and archeology, and thus will shed light on the history of medieval Istanbul, Anatolia and The Balkans as well as The Ottoman history and culture.

Boğaziçi University Byzantine Studies Research Center is the first institution to open within a state university in Turkey to conduct studies on Byzantine civilazation. Patriarch Bartholomew I and US Consul General, Charles F. Hunter were among the guests at the opening ceremony held at Boğaziçi University on November 24, 2015.

Harvard University Professor of Byzantine History, Dimiter Angelov gave a speech titled “The Holy Land, My Mother Anatolia: Theodore Laskaris and The Mediterranean World in the 13th Century” , followed by Maria Mavroudi, History Professor at University of California, Berkeley with a speech titled “Byzantine Philosophy and Science at the Court of Mehmed The Conqueror”.

During the opening ceremony, Bogazici University Rector Prof. Dr. Gulay Barbarosoğlu underlined the fact that “Istanbul carries the distinction of being a world city since the Byzantine era and up until now, did not have a research center studying the Byzantiane historical and cultural heritage. The absence of such an entity was the prime motivator as well as becoming a point of attraction, creativity and research.

The foundations of the center dates back to 1999, during the International Conference on“Byzantine Istanbul: Monuments, Topography and Everyday Life” hosted by Boğaziçi University which was the first major conference held on Byzantine studies in Turkey since 1955. The center will lead the way to further studies in this field.

Prof. Nevra Necipoğlu Director of the center stated that the Byzantine Empire should be percieved as the actual global civilization of the pre-modern world. The political, legal, religious, cultural, artistic and architectural treasures of The Byzantine Empire which ruled over a vast geography for eleven centuries did not end with the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 but continued to this day. Despite the fact that Turkey inherited the Byzantine civilization in the geographical, historical and cultural sense, academic studies on Byzantium have been neglected due to a prejudicial and biased mentallity which rejected the Byzantine cultural heritage.

Prof. Necipoğlu said that there was a need for such a center for quite some time indicating that Byzantine Istanbul Conference held at Boğaziçi University in 1999 was the turning point in paving the way for advancements in this research field subsequent to continuous and determined efforts of our University. She continued “ After 25 years of continuous efforts, the center we are launching today will be the meeting point for Byzantine studies experts, graduate students and post-doctoral scholars from Turkey and abroad. The center’s doors will always be open to young researchers and academic exchange programs will be carried out. Additionally, the center will bring new perspectives to the Bizantine field of study and differentiate us from the similar centers in the world through research conducted jointly with experts working on Medieval Islam, Seljuk and early Ottoman history and art as well as Byzantine. The centers aim is to help place Istanbul among the major cities conducting studies on Byzantine.”

Academic collaboration with Columbia University on Byzantine Studies

Prof. Necipoğlu further stated that among the primary objectives of the center is the expansion of summer school and other activities through initiating new programs for Byzantine studies conducted jointly with Columbia University since 2013. In addition, there will be a national conference to be held by the center on 18-19 March 2016; “Byzantine Studies in Turkey: New Research, Different Trends”.

Apart from supporting and enhancing the courses currently offered at Boğaziçi University on Byzantine history, culture, art and architectural history, the center will help develop joint study and research activities with other universities at home and abroad, support further development of Latin, Ancient and Medieval Greek classes offered by the university which are the foundations of Byzantine Studies Expertise, organize seminars on Byzantine paleography, numismatics, sigillography and codicology. The center will collaborate mainly with The Ministry of Culture, The Turkish Historical Society, and The History Foundation as well as NGO’s and other institutions.