The exhibition "Byzantium – Splendour and Everyday Life" of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn and the Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums in Mainz (2010) opened up new perspectives for Byzantine research.

This conference volume takes up the approach of the exhibition and deepens the discussion of its themes in an interdisciplinary framework. The focus is on everyday life within the urban and rural regions of the empire. The contributions in this volume bring together the results of the Mainz conference. They are dedicated to the capital Constantinople, the cities and their surroundings in the Balkans and Asia Minor, as well as everyday life at sea, in monasteries and in the countryside.