Treffen auf neutralem Boden. Zu politischen Begegnungen im byzantinischen Mittelalter
Meetings on neutral grounds. Remarks on political encounters in Byzantium

Summary/Abstract: Arrangements of meetings between sovereigns and leaders belonged to the fine art of premodern politics. One of the most important factors for successful negotiations was the careful setting and the right choice of a meeting-place, because sensitivities of the involved parties had to be taken into consideration. The ideal place formed neither the property of one nor of any other sovereign. Even in Byzantine sources search for neutral territory can be detected, although the term ìneutralityî does not exist. Various passages demonstrate, that the concept of constructing or finding neutral spaces for meetings were common in Byzantine political thought and diplomacy. An impressive example is documented for the year 923, when Romanos I. Lakapenos met Symeon of Bulgaria on a wooden platform, a perfect imagination of a neutral place, in the Golden Horn. Other meetings took place at borders between territories or in the middle of rivers. The idea of neutrality formed an essential part of symbolic communication and performance in Byzantine diplomacy.

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