The Institute for Byzantine Research

The Institute for Byzantine Research (originally the Centre for Byzantine Research) was founded in 1960 for the purpose of promoting research in Byzantine history and civilization. Its activities as a research centre focus on a number of projects devoted to the study of Byzantine history. The projects focus on infrasture research and provide an umbrella for a wide range of studies fields and disciplines, exploiting various resources, whether literary, archival or archaeological. Furthemore they investigate relations and contacts among the peoples of medieval Europe, especially of the Balkans and, more broadly, of the eastern Mediterranean throughout the Middle Ages and the mechanisms of the state and the church, the economy, the society and the culture. The Institute's main programmes are six, two of which date from the time of its foundation.

The Institute participates in the international research community of Byzantine studies either with its own long range projects and its scholarly publications or by addressing crucial historical questions raised today concerning the medieval period of Europe's history, its culture, its interface with the northern and the eastern societies and its identity.

The Institute is also active in a number of other areas. It regularly organizes congresses in collaboration with public agencies (e.g. Ministry of Culture) and symposia and colloquia on fields related to Byzantium and Byzantine history, sponsored by private cultural foundations. Scholars and visiting researchers from Greece and abroad are frequently invited to give lectures and talks which are attended by students and academics from outside the Institute. Further, the Institute publishes an annual journal, Symmeikta, to which the researchers, the external research associates and invited scholars. Lastly, the Institute runs two historical research seminars whose purpose is to impart specialist knowledge and training to younger scholars and students, particularly in the fields of archival research, palaeography and codicology.

Activities of research teams

1. Archival, palaeographical and diplomatic research
2. Byzantine History Data Bank
3. Byzantium and the World of the Slavs and the Balkans
4. Historical Geography of the Helladic Regions
5. Byzantium and the West
6. Everyday and Social Life in Byzantium

Infrastructure and services provided

1. The D.A. Zakythinos Library
The common Library of the Institutes of Byzantine Research and of Neohellenic Research has been founded to provide the researchers with the necessary bibliographical support. Thus, the main bulk of titles reflects the specialised research orientations of the on-going research programmes, but the Library's acquisitions comprise also a large number of books and audio-visual material of wider scientific interest. An important part of the gathered material is due to book-exchange and donations from various Institutions as well as from individuals.

The Library comprises 35.000 titles (books, offprints, journals, maps and audio-visual material), out of which 245 series of periodicals. The Zakythinos Library is accessible through Internet connection and a document ordering service is also available.

2. Μicrofilm reader for microfilms and microfiches
The I.B.R., together with the I.N.R., is equipped with a microfilm reader machine for reading microfilms and microfiches and for printing photocopies from them. The machine covers the needs of both Institutes, as well as those of researchers from the academic community who use the microfilm collections.

3. Service to foreign research visitors
An area of service which has been opened up by the three NHRF humanities Institutes in the period 2000-2004 has been that of consultation and academic and technical support of fellowship programmes sponsored by major public benefit foundations. One such initiative has been the collaboration of the three NHRF Institutes with the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation in the selection and hosting of its foreign fellowship recipients in Greek studies. The Onassis fellowship holders are hosted for the period of their research in Greece in a specially provided office space in the NHRF, whose library and other technical support they enjoy while they work under the direction and supervision of the three directors who act as consultants for their research. This arrangement with the Onassis Foundation contributes both to the enhancement of the Institutes' substantive goal of promotion of Greek studies internationally and is also a source of income in the form of the compensation paid by the Onassis Foundation to the NHRF for this service.