Following the conference, James Baillie, a member of the conference’s Organizational Committee, published a reflection on the Medieval Caucasus Network website titled "Studying Non-Elites in the Medieval Caucasus: Reflections," offering a summary of the event and its themes. Read it here.
The SHOC Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, in association with the Medieval Caucasus Network and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, is happy to announce that registration for the international conference 'Studying Non-Elites in the Medieval Caucasus' is open. We welcome anyone, including academics, students and members of the public, with an interest in the history of the Caucasus or in methodologies for studying the experience of non-elite groups, such as women, peasants, or enslaved people.
The conference features two days of papers on a variety of topics, from the Caucasian slave trade, to the place of women in medieval Armenian society, to the bioarchaeology of the medieval Caucasus. The keynote speakers are Nik Matheou (University of Edinburgh) and Irina Arzhantseva (Insitute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences). Speakers hail from Belgium, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Czechia, the Russian Federation, Georgia, Armenia, and Egypt. The final programme is available here.
Lunch will be provided both days and dinner will be provided on March 14th at 19:30 for all speakers and session moderators. Other conference attendees are their partners are welcome to join at their own expense. Please direct questions to mcnconference2026@gmail.com.
Registration costs 10 euros for members of the public, students, and PhD candidates, and 20 euros for postdoctoral and permanent staff members. The registration link may be found at https://www.vub.be/en/event/studying-non-elites-in-medieval-caucasus. Registration and payment are not necessary for speakers or for members of the conference's Scientific and Organizational Committees.
Live Stream Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/32219033212102?p=4VDhIBws5N4h6usIfg
Meeting ID: 322 190 332 121 02
Passcode: 2Yo6aK7u