This paper focuses on the historical development and dynamics of political and administrative structures in regions of a fragmented empire that cannot be simply described as marginal ‘mouseholes’. Rather, it should be acknowledged that these spaces were part and parcel of a wider area (the Byzantine insular and coastal koine), which encompassed coastal areas as well as insular communities promoting socio-economic contact and cultural interchange. More importantly, they also boasted a peculiar set of material indicators suggesting a certain common cultural unity and identity. The koine coincided with liminal territories and the seas on which the Byzantine Empire retained political and naval rulership. Such liminal territories showed varied – yet coherent– administrative infrastructures and political practices on the part of local elites.

The Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) survey aims to characterise the physical and chemical evolution of high-mass star-forming clumps. Exploiting the unique broad frequency range and on-the-fly mapping capabilities of the Australia Telescope National Facility Mopra 22 m single-dish telescope1, MALT90 has obtained 3′ × 3′ maps towards ~2 000 dense molecular clumps identified in the ATLASGAL 870 μm Galactic plane survey. The clumps were selected to host the early stages of high-mass star formation and to span the complete range in their evolutionary states (from prestellar, to protostellar, and on to $\mathrm{H\,{\scriptstyle {II}}}$ regions and photodissociation regions). Because MALT90 mapped 16 lines simultaneously with excellent spatial (38 arcsec) and spectral (0.11 km s−1) resolution, the data reveal a wealth of information about the clumps’ morphologies, chemistry, and kinematics. In this paper we outline the survey strategy, observing mode, data reduction procedure, and highlight some early science results. All MALT90 raw and processed data products are available to the community. With its unprecedented large sample of clumps, MALT90 is the largest survey of its type ever conducted and an excellent resource for identifying interesting candidates for high-resolution studies with ALMA.

Submillimeter dust continuum emission traces high molecular column densities and, thus, dense cloud regions in which new stars are forming. Surveys of the Galactic plane in such emission have the potential of delivering an unbiased view of high-mass star formation throughout the Milky Way. The location of the APEX telescope on the Chajnantor plateau in Chile is ideally suited for mapping the inner Galaxy. ATLASGAL, The APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy at 870 μm, is a survey of the Galactic plane using the Large APEX Bolometer Camera (LABOCA), in the Galactic longitude and latitude ranges of  ±60 and  ±1.5°, respectively. This survey is providing an unbiased sample of cold dusty clumps in the Galaxy at submillimeter wavelength and a variety of molecular line follow-up observations have been started to characterize the physical and chemical conditions in the newly found clumps. Here, first results from this survey and its follow-up programs are described.

Observations show that expanding H ii regions may trigger star formation. We discuss several aspects of this type of star formation, and try to estimate its prevalence. We show how LMC H ii regions may help us to understand what we see in our Galaxy.

Submillimeter continuum emission traces high molecular column densities and, thus, dense cloud regions in which new stars are forming. Surveys of the Galactic plane in such emission have the potential of delivering an unbiased view of high-mass star formation throughout the Milky Way. Here we present the scope, current status and first results of ATLASGAL, an ongoing survey of the Galactic plane using the Large APEX Bolometer Camera (LABOCA) on the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope at the Chajnantor plateau in Chile. Aimed at mapping 360 square degrees at 870 μm, with a uniform sensitivity of 50 mJy/beam, this survey will provide the first unbiased sample of cold dusty clumps in the Galaxy at submillimeter wavelengths. These will be targets for molecular line follow-up observations and high resolution studies with ALMA and the EVLA.

SPIRE, the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver, is Herschel's submillimetre camera and spectrometer. It comprises a three-band imaging photometer operating at 250, 350 and 500 μm, and an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) covering 194–672 μm. The design of SPIRE is described, and the expected scientific performance is summarised, based on modelling and flight instrument test results.

We show how the expansion of classical Galactic Hii regions can trigger massive-star formation via the collect & collapse process. We give examples of this process at work. We suggest that it also works in a turbulent medium.

Various physical processes are believed to trigger star formation on the borders of Galactic HII regions. Among these, the collect & collapse process is particularly attractive as it allows the formation of massive objects (single stars or clusters). In order to identify specific cases of this way of triggering star formation we are carrying out a multi-wavelength study of Galactic HII regions that exhibit signposts of massive-star formation at their borders. Hereby, we present two typical examples of such sources and discuss the results in the framework of the collect and collapse process, which seems to be at work as the major triggering agent in these two cases.