Monkish networks of mobility in Trans-Ottoman space. The Danubian Principalities and the Ottoman Southeast Europe between the 14th and the 17th century

The project investigates the interdependence between mobility and the formation of power in the Orthodox space of Southeast and Eastern Europe, between the 14th and 17th centuries. The main goal is to shed light on the mobility of religious knowledge in its religious-political concretization as resource for political power. Methodologically, the analysis is based on several influent actors from the monastic sphere, whose itineraries are followed from Antioch to Moscow, taking into account their network, environment and political-religious constellation. This shows how transregional polycentric communication spaces are established.

The problem is illustrated by the example of Wallachia and Moldavia, which bundled the mentioned itineraries (synchronously and diachronically seen) and functioned as hubs of mobility flows. Especially through this function and their interdependence with other centres of the so-called 'orthodox world', they were in fact able to develope as independent dominions.

The project Wege der Mönche – Wege der Macht. Mönchische Mobilität und Herrschaftsbildung am Beispiel der Walachei und der Moldau als Knotenpunkte im transimperialen Raum (14.–17. Jahrhundert) is linked to preliminary work from this project.