Dynasty and Court Culture in the Byzantine World and Beyond

This book brings together a series of innovative studies on dynastic power and court culture across the Byzantine world and its wider contexts. It explores how late antique Roman, Byzantine, Sasanian, and Mongol courts became dynamic spaces; in these settings, authority was negotiated, identities were shaped, and cultural practices were produced and performed. From new and established voices alike, these chapters examine a wide range of themes, including imperial family structures, gender and female influence, ritual and ceremony, religious and material culture, and the built environment of power. By situating Byzantine court culture within broader comparative frameworks, these scholars show political authority was embedded in interpersonal relationships, symbolic practices, and spatial settings.