Claudia Sode

Prof. Dr. Claudia Sode is a Professor in the Department of Byzantine Studies at the University of Cologne's Institute for Classical Studies. Her research focuses on Byzantine seals, digital humanities, and medieval religious practices. She leads projects like 'Unlocking the Hidden Value of Seals' and 'Creating a Sustainable Digital Infrastructure for Byzantine Studies.' Her work bridges cultural exchanges between Byzantium and East Asia, as seen in studies of gold coins in Chang'an and Sino-Byzantine connections. Sode has published extensively on imperial administration, liturgical texts, and frontier societies, with key contributions to understanding late antique urban identity and Seljuk-Byzantine relations.

Current research includes analyzing seals as identity markers and integrating digital tools for manuscript studies. Past projects like 'Das Alt-Jerusalemer Orationale' explore liturgical manuscripts, while her work on Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus examines imperial ceremonial practices. Sode's interdisciplinary approach combines material culture analysis with textual and historical methods, addressing topics from baptismal rituals to cross-cultural leadership in medieval border regions.