Luca Zavagno

Luca Zavagno is a historian specializing in Byzantine Studies. He focuses on the Byzantine Empire's urban and socio-economic landscapes during transitional periods and has authored several publications on the subject.</p>
==Education==
Luca Zavagno received his PhD in History from the University of Birmingham, UK, in 2007. His dissertation was titled "The Byzantine City (5th - 9th centuries): De-Constructing and Re-Constructing the Urban Environment between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages", supervised by Prof. Chris J. Wickham and Dr. Roger White. His main focus was Byzantine History, and a secondary focus on Medieval History.
==Research and Academic Contributions==
Luca Zavagno's research delves into the intricacies of the Byzantine Empire, with an emphasis on urban landscapes and socio-economic dynamics during transitional periods. His major themes and discoveries include:
 Urban Transitions: Zavagno's work "The Byzantine City from Heraclius to the Fourth Crusade, 610–1204" explores the political, administrative, and economic trajectories of Byzantine cities from the 5th to the 12th centuries[1].
 Insular Byzantium: His research on the large islands of the Byzantine Mediterranean has focused on the role of islands like the Balearics, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Crete, and -above all- Cyprus should be regarded as fluid entities, falling beyond the political reach of Constantinople yet remaining within its political and cultural grasp while at the same time integral part of a Byzantine economic koine encompassing large Mediterranean islands (as well as coastal hubs). This repetedly emerges in his works like his monograph entitled "Cyprus between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages," and "The Islands of the Eastern Mediterranean. A History of Cross-cultural Encounters" (co-edited with O. Caykent) which provides insights into cross-cultural interaction within Byzantine and Medieval insular worlds[2].
 Archaeological Collaborations: His collaborations, such as with the “Kudar Amalfi Coastline survey"(https://kudar.ku.edu.tr/research-amalfi/), combine historical narratives with archaeological findings in order to reconstruct the o the changing maritime facades of the settlements dotting the Amalfitan peninsula (Amalfi, Atrani, Minori, Maiori, and Cetara in the transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages.[4].
==Academic Affiliations==
 Joint Associate Professor, Departments of History and Archaeology, Bilkent University (2022-present).
 Erasmus+ Staff Exchange Visiting Scholar, University of Bologna (2021).
 Associate Professor, Department of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Eastern Mediterranean University (2014-2016).
 Visiting Professor in Byzantine Art History, University Ca’ Foscari of Venice (2013-2015).
 Member of the Landscape and Underwater Survey “Amalfi Coastline 2018” (Director: Dr. Matthew Harpster, KUDAR(Koç University).
 Member of the Scientific Committee, Centro di Studi Longobardi, Italy http://www.centrostudilongobardi.it/il-centro-studi.html.
==Honors, Awards, and Grants==
 Visiting Fellowship in Byzantine Studies, Notre Dame University, USA (2023).
 Fellow, “Kolleg-Forschergruppe ‘Migration und Mobilität’,” AltGeschichte Institute, University of Tübingen, Germany (2022).
 Erasmus+ Mobility Program- Staff Exchange, University of Bologna, Italy (2021).
 TÜBİTAK 2223-D Event Organization Support (2021).
 British Academy Newton Fund Mobility Grant (2017-2018).
 Summer Fellow, Centre for Byzantine Studies, Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University, USA (2011 and 2016).
 Stanley J. Seeger Visiting Research Fellowship, Institute of Hellenic Studies, Princeton University (2012).
==Publications==
Monographs:
 “The Byzantine City from Heraclius to the Fourth Crusade, 610–1204: Urban Life after Antiquity.” Palgrave-MacMillan, 2021.
 “Cyprus between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (ca.600-ca.850 A.D.), An Island in Transition.” Routledge, 2017.
 “Cities in Transition: Urbanism in Byzantium between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.” British Archaeological Reports-Archaeopress, 2009.
Edited Volumes:
 “The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City: From Justinian to Mehmet II (ca. 500 - ca.1500)”, co-edited with N. Bakirtzis. Routledge, 2023.
 “The Islands of the Eastern Mediterranean: a History of Cross-cultural Encounters,” co-edited with Ö. Çaykent. I.B. Tauris, 2014.
 “People and goods on the move. Merchants, Networks and Communication Routes in the Medieval and early Modern Mediterranean”, co-edited with Ö. Çaykent. MKCH BookSeries, 2016.
==Memberships==
 Byzantinist Society of Cyprus (CBMS).
 Associate Member, The Mediterranean Seminar, University of Santa Cruz, USA.
 SAMI - Società degli Archeologi Medievisti Italiani.
Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham
Category:Historians
Category:Academics
Category:Research