Day One—13th March
09.00- 09.30 Welcome and Registration
09.30 Introduction
Bart Lambert (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
09.45 Keynote 1
Nik Matheou (Edinburgh University)- “Run for the Hills”: Seeing Like a Subaltern in the Medieval Caucasus
10.45-11.15 Coffee Break
11.15-13.00 Session 1: Global Theoretical Perspectives on Caucasian Non-Elites
Panel Chair: John Latham-Sprinkle (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Nicholas Evans (Birkbeck, University of London)- ‘Weapons of the Weak? Resistance to Lordship in the Early Medieval Caucasus’
Ana Lomadze (Ilia State University)- ‘Neoplatonic Discourse in Medieval Georgia: A Weapon for or against Non-Elites?’
Samir Khotko (online) (Adyghe State University)- ‘Зерно и люди на экспорт: экономика черкесского вождества в миросистемной ретроспективе (XIV-XV вв.)’ (Grain and People for Export: The Economy of the Circassian Principality in World-Systems Perspective (14th-15th Centuries))
13.00-14.15 Lunch
A complementary lunch is provided for presenters and members of the Organisational and Scientific Committees at the VUB Restaurant (Building R). Other attendees are welcome to join us at their own expense. Details of other nearby restaurants and cafes may be found in the Practical Information section, at the bottom of this programme.
14.15-16.00 Session 2: Perspectives from Settlement Archaeology
Panel Chair: Nicholas Evans (Birkbeck, University of London)
Astghik Babajanyan (Armenian Academy of Sciences) – ‘Unearthing the Villages: Daily Life of Non-Elites in Medieval Armenia’
Patxi Perez Ramallo (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)- ‘Communities at a Crossroads: Diet and Movement in Medieval Armenia’
16.00-16.30 Coffee Break
16.30-18.00 Session 3: Dimensions of Interregional Mobility and Non-Elite Groups
Panel Chair: Bart Lambert (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
Zohrab Gevorgyan (Armenian Academy of Sciences/ American University of Armenia)- ‘Women, Private Property and Power: How Trade Changed the Social Position of Women from Greater Armenia to Cilician Armenia (12th-14th Centuries)’
Tea Karchava (Tbilisi State University)- ‘Non-Elite Actors in the Anti-Ottoman Diplomatic Efforts of Uzun Hasan and Georgia’
Petra Kostalova (Charles University) (online) – ‘Armenians from Lake Van Region- Apostolic Armenians and their Interactions with Others’
Day Two—14th March
09.30-10.00 Welcome
10.00 Keynote 2
Irina Arzhantseva (Higher School of Economics)- ‘Non-Elites in the Early Medieval North Caucasus: An Archaeological Perspective’
11.00-11.30 Drinks Break
11.30-13.00 Session 4: Gender and Manuscript Production
Panel Chair: Emmanuel Van Elverdinghe (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Lusine Sargsyan & Shoghakat Devrikyan (Matenadaran)- ‘Visualising the Non-Elite: Women in Armenian Miniature Painting (13th-14th Centuries)’
Ovsanna Khachatryan (Matenadaran)- ‘Colophons in Medieval Armenian Manuscripts as Sources for the Social History of Non-Elite Groups’
Arpine Asryan (Matenadaran)- ‘Vague Existence: “Maids’” and “Servants’” Existence in 12th-14th Century Armenian Monuments’
13.00-14.15 Lunch- Polyvalent Room, U-Residence, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
A complementary sandwich lunch will be provided for all presenters and attendees.
14.15-15.45 Session 5: Non-Elites and the Formation of Religious Communities
Panel Chair: James Baillie (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Alexander Kavtaradze (Ilia State University)- ‘Finger-Cutters and Sorcerers: Pre-Christian Religious Groups in Caucasian Albania’
Daniel Alford (University of Leicester)- ‘Non-Elites in Šahapivan: Constructing Christian Armenia in the Fifth Century’
Eka Tchkoidze (Ilia State University) (online)- ‘Non-Elite Monasteries in Medieval Georgia’
15.45-16.15 Drinks Break
16.15-17.45 Session 6: Visual Sources and the Promise of Digital Humanities
Panel Chair: Whitney Kite (Mount Holyoake College)
James Baillie (Austrian Academy of Sciences)- ‘Complex Worlds in Structured Thought: Structured Data and Social Divides in the Medieval Caucasus’
Hamest Tamrazyan (EPFL)- ‘Cultural Significance of Medieval Armenian Tapanakars and Their Carvings’
Mohammed Abu al-Kheir & Lamia Abdelkreem (Fayoum University & Istanbul University)- ‘Female Patrons of Islamic Mosques in Dagestan’
17.45 Closing Words
John Latham-Sprinkle (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
19.30 Conference Dinner
Caucasian Experience, Rue du Progrès 5, 1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
We invite all speakers and session moderators to join us for a Georgian meal. The cost of the meal for conference speakers and moderators will be paid by the conference organisers. Family members of speakers and moderators and other conference attendees are also welcome to join us at their own expense (the total cost of the meal will be around 55 euros). If you would like to join us for this meal, please send an email to mcnconference2026@gmail.com by Sunday 8th March.
The restaurant can be easily reached from the conference venue by taking Metro Line 5 from Pétillon (a 15-minute walk from the VUB campus) to De Brouckere station. The restaurant is a 10-minute walk from De Brouckere.
