January 16th, 2025
The Material Culture of the Medieval Black Sea
The first half-dozen contributions to the Medieval Black Sea Project’s “Material Culture of the Medieval Black Sea have been uploaded, with more to come: https://medievalblackseaproject.princeton.edu/essays-and-videos/
If you would like to contribute an essay or a video, please contact us at medievalblackseaproject@gmail.com.
March 27th, 2024, 4:30pm
“The Greater Sea”: The Black Sea and Medieval Eurasia
David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
Wed, 3/27 · 4:30 pm—6:00 pm · 010 East Pyne
Program in Medieval Studies; Eberhard L. Faber 1915 Memorial Fund in the Humanities Council; Medieval Black Sea Project, Center for Collaborative History
Join us for the annual Medieval Studies Faber Lecture with David Abulafia (University of Cambridge) on March 27 at 4:30 pm.
A reception will follow the lecture.
This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP HERE.
Exploring Centuries of History Through Coins: Black Sea Migrations Conference visits PUL
On September 22, 2023, Princeton University Library (PUL) welcomed numismatists, historians, and coin enthusiasts from around the world for a unique and captivating conference— “Black Sea Migrations in the Long Thirteenth Century: Bodies, Things, Ideas.” This conference provided an opportunity for attendees to explore a fascinating exhibition of coins from the 13th century that shed light on the complex history of the Black Sea region.
“The project was founded as a response to a crisis,” explained Teresa Shawcross, Associate Professor of History and Hellenic Studies. “Current geo-political instability in the Black Sea region is resulting in the destruction or dispersal of cultural monuments, museum collections, and other important witnesses to the history of the basin’s inhabitants and visitors.”
She added, “While many events have been organized on campus in response to current affairs, we felt that our community needed to be made more aware of the long and complex history of the region — as well as of the need to safeguard its rich material culture.”
The conference and exhibition came to fruition as a result of Shawcross’ collaborative efforts with Curator of Numismatics Alan Stahl and Byzantine Numismatics Cataloger and Linked-Open-Data Coordinator Elena Baldi.
Elena Baldi shows conference goers a variety of coins in a display in the Scheide Library in PUL Special Collections. Photo credit: Brandon Johnson
“When the planning of the conference started, we were contacted by Professor Shawcross, who asked if we would like to collaborate,” said Baldi. “Professor Stahl thought of a small exhibition to show the coins of our collection that were related to the conference topic, the Black Sea in the long 13th century.”
The centerpiece of the visit was the exhibition curated by Baldi, who selected coins that provided a glimpse into the intricate history of the region. “In order to set up the display, I looked at the populations that were settled and interacted, commercially and politically, with each other in the Black Sea area, during the 13th century,” Baldi explained. “There was a lot going on — the collapse of the Byzantine empire, the creation of rump states, the rise of the Latin Empire and its fall less than 60 years later, the Mongol/Arabic populations were settling around the Black Sea at that time, as well as Genoese and Venetians. All of these reigns and empires produced coins.”
The exhibition represented the mosaic of cultures and influences that shaped the region during that era. Baldi revealed, “I was able to show at least one example of all the peoples around the Black Sea. I wish our collection was even more complete. For example we only own four small coins of the Golden Horde in particular and these date to the end of the ‘long’ 13th century, rather than the whole period in which they ruled and settled the northeastern parts of the Black Sea.”
Among the standout coins in the exhibition, Baldi pointed out her favorite, a coin with a lion from the Sultanate of Rum.
Beyond their aesthetic and historical value, Baldi believes that the coins have the potential to be used in different educational contexts. “I think coins can be used in different classes since they all tell a story,” Baldi said. “For example, the Latin States never produced coins of the actual ruler, but imitated coins of previous Byzantine emperors. Trebizond produced coins of the same standard as the Sultanate of Rum and the Ilkhanids, while the rump state of Nicea continued with the typologies and denominations of the collapsed Byzantine empire.”
The conference also sparked curiosity and opportunities for further research. “Can we identify new typologies for the Latin States? Why does the Sultanate of Rum show animals and people on their coins, even though they are Muslim states? What do mixed hoards found in Crimea tell us?” Baldi asked, noting various avenues for future research.
Elena Baldi showcases the coins in the exhibition, including those from the Republic of Venice, the Golden Horde, and the Kingdom of Georgia. Photo credit: Brandon Johnson.
Shawcross added that all of the coins related to the Medieval Black Sea are in the process of being digitized and made freely available to scholars around the world.
“The result will be an invaluable resource for teachers and researchers not just on this campus, but on other campuses,” Shawcross said. “Many of these coins are known only from a handful of examples and are otherwise inaccessible even to specialists. In cases where we hold multiple examples, the catalog provides information that allows one to make comparisons and see the bigger picture.”
Published on December 4, 2023
Written by Brandon Johnson, Communications Strategist
Media Contact: Barbara Valenza, Director of Library Communications
September 22-23, 2023
211 Dickinson Hall | Princeton University
Conference | Black Sea Migrations in the Long Thirteenth Century: Bodies, Things, Ideas
We invite you to learn more about our upcoming conference by visting: https://medievalblackseaproject.princeton.edu/conference-2023-4/
Recent Publications in Medieval Black Sea Studies
Book Display: Princeton University Library, 1st-5th December
The Princeton University Library invites the seminar attendees to the History Reading Room in Firestone Library (Floor A: turn left out of the main staircase) to view recent publications in Medieval Black Sea Studies. The books will be on display from Thursday, December 1 to Monday, December 5. Come browse!
Dave Jenkins, Librarian for Classics, Hellenic Studies and Linguistics
Thomas Keenan, Librarian for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Deborah Schlein, Near Eastern Studies Librarian
Alain St. Pierre, Librarian for History, History of Science, and African Studies
Call for Proposals
The Medieval Black Sea Project
Princeton University
Due date of preliminary proposals: December 15, 2022
Material Culture of the Medieval Black Sea
The Medieval Black Sea Project investigates the history and culture of the Black Sea during the Middle Ages. As part of this project, we are examining material objects produced by or transmitted by the people who inhabited the sea and the broader region between the 4th and 15th centuries. We invite researchers to contribute a short essay on a relevant object, which will be published on the project’s multi-media digital platform.
Our aim is to assemble case studies on objects relating to both “major” and “minor” arts, such as architecture, painting, sculpture, ceramics, manuscripts, textiles and jewelry – as well as technological evidence and medieval music and texts. These case studies will complement the Project’s seminar series (2022-2023) and conference (2023-2024) as well as the other resources published on the website. We hope in this way to ask new research questions and reveal historic patterns as well as, more generally, to raise awareness of the region’s rich history and the resources available for its study.
Each essay should be a short academic text (750 words + short bibliography) or a video (max 10 mins + bibliography) exploring the objects selected together with their histories and contexts. We have provide a link below with suggestions for a selection of objects to choose from, but we are also open to alternatives.
Publications will be citable e-publications incorporated within a multi-media digital platform hosted by Princeton University. All are welcome to apply, including faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students and members of the wider community. Our Project seeks to support diversity, equity, and inclusion of researchers from all backgrounds. It will not endorse any specific political views.
Please submit preliminary proposals using the attached form to Teresa Shawcross, Lillian Datchev, and Earnestine Qiu at medievalblackseaproject@gmail.com by December 15, 2022. If you would like to contribute but need guidance on selecting an object, feel free to reach out to us and we will work with you to identify possibilities.
We are pleased to announce a new seminar series. We invite you to attend the upcoming seminar.
For more information on the seminar series and to register, visit:
Sponsored by: Center for Collaborative History | Department of Art & Archaeology | Department of Religion | Humanities Council | Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies | Program in Medieval Studies | Program in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies | The Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies | University Center for Human Values
