Abstract:

We demonstrate the application of the “multiplex networks”-approach for the analysis of various networks which connected individuals and communities in the politically highly fragmented late medieval Balkans (1204-1453 AD) within and across border zones. We present how we obtain relational data from our sources and the integration of these data into three different networks (of roads, state administration and ecclesiastical administration) of various topologies; then we calculate several indicators for influences and overlaps between these different networks which connect the same set of nodes (settlements). We analyse changes and continuities in the topologies of the various networks for three time-steps (1210, 1324 and 1380 AD) and demonstrate the role of these networks as frameworks for social interactions. Finally, we combine all three networks into one network which shows properties observed for the “small world” model. Thus, we demonstrate possibilities for capturing historical complexity with the help of the “multiplex networks” approach.

Note: Colour versions of all figures are available in the online-version of this paper

Key Words: Network Analysis, Byzantine History, Multiplex Networks, Late Medieval Balkans

Fragmentation, Borderlands and the Concept of Multiplex Networks

The centuries after the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204 were characterized by the political fragmentation of the former imperial sphere of Byzantium; attempts to establish hegemony by one of the local powers were followed by phases of disintegration of these polities until the Ottomans restored “imperial unity” (Laiou 2006). While political border zones frequently changed, religious denominations tried to preserve or expand their spheres of influence within the entire Balkans; furthermore, local and regional trading networks criss-crossed the region and integrated it in the late medieval “World system” (Abu-Lughod 1989). Therefore, political, religious and economic spheres of influence of the various centres of power were not congruent, but influenced each other.

The concepts of network analysis allow us to understand relations between different communities and authorities in a novel way; recent research has made clear, that various fields of relationships between individuals, communities and polities also span different networks. Munson and Macri examined different kinds of relationships between Maya centers and analyzed the “intersection of antagonistic, diplomatic, subordinate, and kinship” networks (Munson and Macri 2009). Maoz in his analysis of the “Evolution of International Networks” modelled networks of alliance, trade, common membership in international organisations and enmity between states (Maoz, 2011).