Michael Hughes
DPhil Student
Research Topic: The Blachernae Palace: Power, Place, and Performance in Byzantine Constantinople
Supervisor: Catherine Holmes and Ida Toth
My research is focused on a new, wide-ranging analysis of the Blachernae Palace throughout the Byzantine period and its role in Constantinople as architectural ensemble, religious site, political centre and stage for power performance. The Blachernae's evolving place in Byzantine politics was the subject of the thesis produced for my MPhil in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies (Oxford, 2026).
I was a key organiser of the Oxford University Byzantine Society's 28th International Graduate Conference: Decline & Flourish – New Paradigms of Decline and Renewal in Late Antiquity and Byzantium (28th Feb to 1st March 2026).
