Podcast – The History of Byzantium
A weekly podcast
Podcast – The History of Byzantium
Episodes
Podcast – The History of Byzantium
A weekly podcast
Episodes of Podcast – The History of Byzantium
Mark All
Pic: Silver basilikon coin of Andronikos II and Andronikos III When Andronikos’ son dies he ponders whether to disinherit his Grandson Andronikos III. This prompts two bouts of civil war as the younger generation try to force change on their el
The Union of Lyons had unleashed bitter division within Byzantium. We follow Michael and his son Andronikos as they try to make peace with the various factions that had opposed them. Period: 1281-1310 Pic: Andronikos II Palaiologos from the man
Left Pic: Michael VIII Palaiologos from ‘Rulers of the Byzantine Empire’ by Kibea. Right pic: Statue of Charles of Anjou by Arnolfo di Cambio c. 1277 The Pope responds with despair to the news of Constantinople’s fall. He calls for a Crusade to
With Constantinople back in Roman hands we explore the one vantage point we’ve ignored: the last Latin Emperor Baldwin II. Dr John Giebfried returns to give us Baldwin’s biography. Pic: Seal of Baldwin II John completed his PhD in Medieval Hist
Map: The Nicaean Empire in 1257 from The Byzantine Hellene by Dimiter Angelov Theodore Laskaris II beds down his father’s conquests in Europe. But his early death sees his family sidelined by Michael Palaiologos. The new Emperor needs some vict
Picture: Silver Coin (Aspron trachy) of John III Vatatzes With the Bulgarians and Turks hobbled by the Mongols the field is clear for Nicaea. John Vatatzes annexes a huge swathe of European territory and is widely recognised as the true Roman E
We talk to Dr Nicholas Morton about the arrival of the Mongols into the Byzantine world. Their confrontation with the Seljuks of Anatolia will have serious consequences. Dr Morton is Associate Professor in Middle Eastern and Global history at N
Michael Komnenos Doukas would have had a forgettable career if it wasn’t for the chaos which followed Manuel Komnenos’ death. But the twists of fate allowed him to found a new state in Epirus (Western Greece) which would eventually seize huge p
We follow Theodore Laskaris as he escapes from Constantinople and establishes a new state at Nicaea. Crowned as the new Roman Emperor he must face down rivals on every side including the Turks. Map: The Empire of Nicaea Period: 1204-12 Picture:
With Baldwin and Boniface dead the Bulgarians run riot across Thrace. Their Tsar Kaloyan attempts to capture Thessalonica and ponders whether he could become the new Roman Emperor. Picture: St. Demetrius Killing Kaloyan. Mosaic from Visoki Deča
After throwing a huge strop Boniface, the Marquis of Montferrat, is made King of Thessalonica. He sent his men to conquer most of Greece but the Bulgarians were on his tail. Picture: The Acrocorinth where Leo Sgouros took refuge from Boniface P
The Latins agree to stay for another year and to conquer the whole of the Roman Empire. They elect Count Baldwin of Flanders and Hainaut to be their Emperor and all seems well. It only takes a year for everything to fall apart. Picture: Statue
The narrative returns as we head back to 1204 and the sack of Constantinople. The arrival of the Latins had actually splintered the Roman world into at least 13 different states. With a little help from the 2008 film ‘Vantage Point’ we will be
I speak to Rob and Jamie from the podcast Totalus Rankium. Their show is a light hearted ranking of every Roman Emperor from Augustus to Constantine XI. It’s a really fun listen and they include all the amusing stories which I edited out of Byz
Professor Kaldellis’ new history of Byzantium is out now in the USA and on Kindle everywhere. In the final episode in this series he answers more of your questions. Amongst the topics we cover are citizenship, class, counter-factuals, academia
50 episodes ago Dr Maximilian Lau came on the podcast to talk about John II Komnenos. Max kindly shared his book with me before publication to guide the podcast through John’s reign. Now he is back on the show to catch up on the next century of
Professor Kaldellis’ new history of Byzantium is out now in the USA and on Kindle everywhere. He has kindly agreed to talk to us about it across 4 episodes! In this first conversation we discuss the new Roman government that Constantine establi
Tom Holland is the author of half a dozen brilliant books on the ancient world. He has now written three on the Roman Empire. The latest ‘Pax’ takes the story from the death of Nero to that of Hadrian. It’s the golden age of Roman power and yet
American author Robert Bruton takes us through his Master’s thesis on the role of climate change and plague in the decline of Roman fortunes in the 6th century. He is also writing a trilogy of historical fiction novels about the life of Belisar
I talk to Katherine Pangonis about her new book – Twilight Cities: Lost Capitals of the Mediterranean. In it she travels to Tyre, Carthage, Syracuse, Ravenna and Antioch to tell their stories and experience what remains. It’s a fantastic book f
We take a look at the pros and cons of the Komnenian system. Then trace why it was causing enough resentment to lead to provincial separatism. We then move on to discuss the army and the bureaucracy and the people of Constantinople. Looking at
More questions to tackle this week. Comparing the sack of 1204 to the sack of Rome in 410. Questioning the Byzantine system of succession and the routes of their decline. And pondering whether other Emperors rose to power like Alexios Angelos –
Professor Anthony Kaldellis has just completed a new history of Byzantium which will be published in October 2023. So I cheekily asked him if he would list his 10 greatest Emperors. Graciously he agreed to apply his immense knowledge to this fr
I answer more questions about the Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople. What was the reaction of other nations? Did people see it as sign of the end times? What did the Byzantines think of the Templars and Hospitallers? What were the r
I answer more questions about the Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople. We talk about why the Roman response was so feeble and if anything else could have been done? Along with questions about the tombs of the Emperors, statues, coins
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