Volume 3 includes seals with place names from west, northwest, and central Asia Minor and the Orient. Each section begins with a short essay on the region's history. Each seal is illustrated and accompanied--where appropriate--by commentary on date, its owner, peculiarities of orthography, and special features of iconography.

The vast collection of 17,000 Byzantine lead seals in the Harvard collections has long been recognized as an important source for the study of the Byzantine provinces. This volume is the fourth in the series of catalogues of geographical seals, and presents photographs, descriptions, and commentaries on the seals from the East.

Volume 2 includes seals with place names from south of the Balkans, the islands, and the south of Asia Minor. Each section begins with an essay on the region's history. Each seal is illustrated and accompanied--where appropriate--by commentary on date, its owner, peculiarities of orthography, and special features of iconography.

Volume 5 in the Byzantine Seals catalogue includes seals with place names from the East, Constantinople and its environs, and seals with uncertain readings. These seals contribute significantly to historical geography, the evolution of the Byzantine imperial administration, development in the Greek language, and decorative vogues.

The combined Dumbarton Oaks and Fogg collection of Byzantine seals contains some 17,000 specimens. Volume 6 in the catalogue presents more than 250 seals of emperors and patriarchs of Constantinople, illustrated and accompanied--where appropriate--by commentary on specimen date, owner biography, peculiarities of orthography, and iconography.

The postal system of the Byzantine Empire, the cursus publicus or dromos, was a pony express-style system of routes and relays, capable of moving messages at up to 100 miles (160 km) per day. In this fascinating book, Jason Fossella describes the infrastructure, operations, and administration of the dromos. Drawing on sources as varied as papyri, seals, inscriptions, and ancient histories, the author examines how the dromos was integrated into Byzantine society and influenced the development of Byzantine diplomacy, ceremony, and religion, demonstrating that it played a key role in the development of Byzantine imperial power.