The Adriatic Sea 500–1100

‘The sublime objects of liminality’: the Byzantine insular-coastal koine and its administration in the passage from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages (ca. 600–ca. 850)

“…19 This paper will focus on the historical development and dynamics of political and administrative structures in regions of a fragmented empire that cannot be simply described as marginal 'mouseholes' (as pointedly defined by Richard Hodges). 20 Rather, it should be acknowledged that these spaces were part and parcel of a wider area (the Byzantine koine), which encompassed coastal areas as well as insular communities promoting socio-economic contact and cultural interchange. 21 More importantly, they boasted a peculiar set of material indicators (such as lead seals, coins, and globular amphorae) suggesting a certain common cultural unity and identity.…”