International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Ljiljana Marković
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology, Belgrade, Serbia; 
[e-mail]
Byzantium on the Silk Road
The Silk Road represents an early example of not only commercial, but also exchanges in the 
field of culture, literature and art between the Mediterranean and East Asia. Chinese Empire and 
all other countries that have found themselves on the Silk Road had access to cultures that differ 
from their own, which incited the cosmopolitan spirit. Although the Silk Road as a term officially 
began to be used only in the 19
th
century, it was already used in a similar form at the time of the 
Byzantine Empire. Byzantium was the central place of exchange of goods coming from the east after 
conquering new territories in Asia, which were located on the Silk Road. The Silk Road actually had 
its peak in terms of exchange of goods with the West during the Byzantine Empire era. Having in 
mind the special contribution that Byzantium made in the field of literature and art, but also in the 
preservation of classical literature, efforts that were later taken over by representatives of humanism 
and renaissance in Western Europe, it is of outmost importance to study the influence that Byzantine 
literature and art had on countries that were part of the Silk Road. In addition, during the exchange 
of goods between the countries of the Mediterranean and East Asia the coins have been put into use 
whose more detailed study can lead us to a better understanding of the political map and cultural 
characteristics of the above mentioned countries. This paper is primarily intended to highlight the 

---

657
valuable influence that Byzantine culture, literature and art had on the countries of the Silk Road. 
It is my intention to emphasize the characteristics of the money that was used in the exchange of 
goods, i.e. the patterns and ornaments that can be found at the Anvers and the Reverse of coins, as 
this is the only way to understand all the peculiarities that characterized the Byzantine Empire and 
the countries that found themselves on the Silk Road.
Marko Grubačić
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology, Belgrade, Serbia; 
[e-mail]
Visions of Heaven and Hell in Byzantine and Buddhist (Japanese) Tradition
This contribution deals with the issue of how the images of heaven and hell are presented 
in Byzantine and Japanese Buddhist art. It contemplates, above all, form, style and theme-motive 
connection - but only in the sense and only to the extent that, due to the differences and similarities 
between the languages of art, canons and civilizational codes, such comparisons can be considered 
as possible and methodologically correct: as the most attractive sign of feeling of life, which 
dramatically warns, invokes, redeems or conceives tragedy of historical experience, but also as a 
sign of the state of mind and consciousness of different social communities.