Local Identity and Political Belonging in Ioannina in the 13th–14th Centuries

This study examines the interaction between Romanitas and regional forms of belonging within the historical context of identity construction in the Byzantine Empire, using the example of Ioannina as an analytical framework. The main objective of the research is to reveal the transformation of the institutionalised discourse of Romanitas in Ioannina in a multidimensional manner, particularly in the context of refugee movements in the Epirus region and historical turning points such as the Battle of Achelous in 1359, in line with the Byzantine Empire's integrative policies. Methodologically, contemporary chronicle texts that constitute the dominant historical narratives of the period were evaluated using systematic content analysis methods; the data obtained were contextualised from a historical-comparative analysis perspective. The findings reveal that the conception of Romanitas, reproduced at the intersection of the Orthodox belief system and Hellenophone linguistic identity, shaped the formation of social consciousness not only at the religious and cultural levels, but also through institutional structures and normative legal understanding. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the regional variations of the Byzantine identity paradigm and offers an original historical analysis that re-evaluates the relationship between Romanitas and local identity in the case of Ioannina, thereby proposing a conceptual re-reading that contributes to the Byzantine identity literature in a micro-historical context.