The Institute for Byzantine Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) was founded in March 1948 by Georgije Ostrogorski. The same year marks the beginning of the International Association of Byzantine Studies (Association Internationale des Études Byzantines – AIEB), which emerged from the first international Byzantine studies congress after the II World War. Since its foundation, the scholarly activities at the Institute were based on team work of the associates, engaged in various scientific projects. Besides researchers with full time employment, the associates of the Institute were colleagues from other closely related institutions. Apart from Georgije Ostrogorski first associates of the Institute were Ivanka Nikolajević, Franjo Barišić, Lidija Tomić, Mila Rajković, Bariša Krekić, as well as employees Zdenko Marinković and Borislav Radojčić. The associates of the Institute, with full or part time engagement, were Jadran Ferluga, Božidar Ferjančić, Sima Ćirković, Jovanka Kalić, Ninoslava Radošević, Ivan Djurić, Dušan Korać and Radivoj Radić. Younger associates of the Institute were Sanja Mešanović, Ida Toth, Nada Zečević, Srđan Rajković, Dejan Dželebdžić, Vlada Stanković, Marko Drašković and Miloš Živković.
The Institute for Byzantine Studies has made a significant contribution to the development of Byzantine studies in the world, especially in the research fields concerning Byzantine state institutions and ideology, Byzantine society and, most importantly, Byzantine–Serbian relations.
For more than seventy years of its existence, the Institute has been closely tied to the Department of Historical Sciences of the SASA and its members, having always been the organizational core of all scholarly events concerning Byzantine studies. It has remained a unique research and scholarly organization of this profile in the country (Yugoslavia as well as Republic of Serbia).
The Institute has been managed by four directors so far: Georgije Ostrogorski (1948–1976), Božidar Ferjančić (1976–1998), Ljubomir Maksimović (1998–2022) and Bojana Krsmanović (2023–).
Scholarly activities of the Institute have been of interdisciplinary character since the very beginning. Practically since its foundation the Institute has pursued four main research directions: a) the history of Byzantium and Byzantine-Southern Slavic relations, b) Byzantine sources for the history of the peoples of Yugoslavia c) Byzantine literature and the Medieval Greek language, d) Byzantine and post-Byzantine art. Two projects have also been launched within the same framework, in cooperation with similar institutions abroad, the initial results of which have already been published: Actes de Chilandar I (with The Institute for Byzantine Studies in Paris, 1995) and The Byzantine Province in Change. On the Threshold between the 10th and the 11th Century (with The Institute for Byzantine Studies in Athens, 2008). From 2002 to 2005, so-called target projects were introduced and developed (including the already mentioned cooperation with foreign partners): Actes de Chilandar II; Donors’ Inscriptions on Frescoes from the XIIth to the XIIIth Century; The Internal Transformation of Byzantium from the Xth to the XIIth Century; Byzantine Sources for the History of the Peoples of Yugoslavia, vol. V. In the year 2006 a five-year cycle of combined projects was initiated: The Last Century of Byzantium and Serbia (project leader R. Radić), The Byzantine World in Changes (Xth-XIIth Centuries) (project leader Lj. Maksimović), Wall Painting and Inscriptions of the XIVth and XVth Centuries (project leader G. Subotić). The principal research activities of the Institute were pursued within the interdisciplinary framework of the project Tradition, innovation and identity in the Byzantine world (from 2011 to 2017 project leader Lj. Maksimović, from 2017 to 2019 B. Krsmanović), which brought together scholars from Belgrade and abroad.
The Institute was the chief organizer of several national and international scholarly events: 12th International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Ohrid 1961; 23rd International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Belgrade 2016 . Belgrade was also the host of the 2nd International Congress of Byzantine Studies in 1927.
National conferences of Byzantine Studies have been taking place every five years, for more than two decades. The first was organized in Zadar in 1990 (Yugoslav conference of Byzantine Studies), the second was held in Studenica (1995), the third in Kruševac (2000) and the last four conferences were held in Belgrade (2005, 2010, 2015, 2021). These national conferences always bring together researchers of all generations dealing with Byzantine studies as well as scholars from other closely related fields.
Since the very beginning the Institute has participated in the organization of various events in academia and science, which were the result of bilateral cooperation. During the past few years, such events were related to the Bulgarian – Serbian (2008) and French – Serbian (2010) cooperation.
The Institute is well known for its publishing activities. For half a century now, the Institute has maintained two series of publications: (a) Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta − ZRVI (b) Special editions, some of which were published in collaboration with other national and international institutions. The third series Sources has recently been established.
Director: Bojana Krsmanović, Principal Research Fellow (bojana.krsmanovic@vi.sanu.ac.rs)
Secretary: Dragana Ilić (inst.byz@vi.sanu.ac.rs)
Scientific Council of the Institute for Byzantine Studies
President: Ljubomir Maksimović, Member of the SASA, Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade (ljubomir.maksimovic@sanu.ac.rs)
Members:
Administrative Board of the Institute for Byzantine Studies
President: Mirjana Živojinović, Member of the SASA (mirjana.zivojinovic@sanu.ac.rs)
Editorial Board of Zbornik radova Vizantološkog instituta
Editor in chief: Bojana Krsmanović (bojana.krsmanovic@vi.sanu.ac.rs)
Secretary: Jovana Šijaković (zrvi@vi.sanu.ac.rs)
The Institute for Byzantine Studies of the SASA has an established tradition of cooperating with similar research institutions in the world. Some of our publications are among the results of that cooperation: Actes de Chilandar I (with The Institute for Byzantine Studies in Paris, 1995) and The Byzantine Province in Change. On the Threshold between the 10th and the 11th Century (with The Institute for Byzantine Studies in Athens, 2008). Based on the bilateral agreement of Serbia and Greece on the cultural and scientific cooperation, the Institute for Byzantine Studies of the SASA and the Institute for Byzantine Research in Athens have carried out a joint project (2005–2006) on the Serbian-Byzantine relations prior to the Turkish conquest. Researchers of the Institute have taken part in the project L’image de l’autre (2006–2008) coordinated by the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade (Department for Byzantine Studies) and University of Sorbonne–Paris IV.
Collaboration with institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences has been developing through number of projects: with the the Institute of Balkan Studies and the Center of Thracology on projects The Balkans as a Global Crossroads: Encounter and Exchange (2014–2016), Voices and Images of the Medieval Balkans (4th–16th Century) (2017–2019), Secular and Religious Life in the Medieval Balkans (2020–2022) and Everyday life and cultural transfers in the Balkans (6th–16th centuries) (2023–); with the Institute for Literature on the project Bulgarian-Serbian and Serbian-Bulgarian mutual relations in the 14th century in the context of Byzantine civilization (2017–). The Institute has also established cooperation with the scientific institutions in Austria (Institut für Mittelalterforschung der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Abteilung Byzanzforschung), Romania (Institute for Southeast European Studies of the Romanian Academy) and Hungary (Eötvös József Collegium – ELTE). From 2019, together with Hungarian colleauges, it organizes an international conference Byzanz und das Abendland in Budapest.
The ongoing principal project of the Institute Tradition, Innovation and Identity in the Byzantine World was of an international character, engaging colleagues from Germany, Austria and Greece. The editorial board of ZRVI likewise has strong international presence with distinguished scholars from countries with well-established Byzantology tradition (Austria, Russia, Greece, France, and Germany). Associates of the Institute further contribute to international cooperation through membership in boards of notable foreign journals, academic associations and institutions.
Since its foundation, the Institute for Byzantine Studies has hosted a number of foreign researchers and University professors, who gave lectures or participated at scholarly meetings. Associates of the Institute have been a part of the Yugoslav (now called Serbian) Committee for Byzantine Studies. The president of honour of the Committee Ljubomir Maksimović is currently vice-president of honour of the Association international des études Byzantines (AIEB).
