Christian culture in the Balkans in the Middle Ages: Byzantine Empire, the Serbs and the Bulgarians from the 9th to the 15th century

The political and spiritual restoration of Byzantium in the 9th century was accompanied by a spreading of administrative rule, power and influence of the Empire deep in the heart of the Balkans. The political dominance of the Byzantine Empire found its most significant expression in the final Christianization of the Balkans and the direct spiritual ties established thereby between those parts and Constantinople, ties to the Byzantine cultural heritage and the political ideology of the Empire. The new, Christian Balkans, shared for centuries similar political, cultural, spiritual and ideological principles, deeply imbedded into the foundations of all Balkans states. The multidisciplinary project "Christian culture in the Balkans in the Middle Ages: Byzantine Empire, the Serbs and the Bulgarians from the 9th to the 15th century" investigates all aspects of Christian culture, in the broadest sense of the word, which developed in the Balkans during the high Middle Ages. Starting from the creation of a new, Christian culture in the triangle Byzantine Empire – the Serbs – the Bulgarians, political, cultural and spiritual relations in the Balkans in the Middle Ages will be researched, and clear methodological principles for a more up-to-date perception of all elements of a common Christian culture of the region formulated.