ABSTRACT
The Byzantine Empire still occupies a marginal position in the field of epigraphic studies.1 Just a glance at the proceedings of the international conferences on Greek and Latin epigraphy reveals the lack of interest – to put it euphemistically! – in this period. The international conference on Greek and Latin epigraphy held in Berlin in August 2012 included only a few papers on late antique inscriptions. Compared to Classical Antiquity or the Middle Ages, viewed from above or below, the fourth to the sixth centuries (or the third to the seventh centuries, in a more extensive perspective) represent a period of extinction or creation, a last stage or a new era. At international congresses on Byzantine Studies, epigraphy is mentioned from time to time to provide an overall assessment of the last major works produced since the previous congress. However, the congress held in Sofia in August 2011 achieved significant progress by organizing a round-table specifically dedicated to epigraphy and by creating an epigraphic commission within the Association Internationale des Études Byzantines.2
