The Emperor Zeno is now back in charge and has to deal with the members of the conspiracy that ousted him. In the first half of the episode we see how he handled his enemies close to him and in the second we look at his relationship with the Goths. At the very end we take a look at the final outposts of Roman rule in the West.
Period: 477-488
Download: Episode 3 – The Isaurian Emperor
RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium
Please let me know what you think of the podcast.
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The History of Byzantium 
Your podcasts are well researched, written, and produced. And, I think this one was the best one yet! Congrats, Robin!
You are very kind. I think they can still improve 🙂
Robin, fantastic start to your podcast. Thank you for donning the podcast purple and continuing on in the great tradition of THOR podcast. (my commuting friend for the last 2 years) I’m looking forward to developments in the coming weeks as I will be vacationing in Western Turkey this Fall and your great history lessons give a greater depth than I feel get would get from any book. Keep up the good work! Thanks
Robin,
Thank you very much for picking up where Mike Duncan left off. I’m sure he is honored that you have undertaken the endeavor. It was sort of sad when his podcast ended as I always looked forward to the weekly episodes. I thought he might have kept going but then he surprised us all with the birth of his son so I guess I’ll forgive him; this time.
I like that you are emulating Mike as the narrative has a familiar feel to it but I do hope that you will develop a distinct style of your own. I’m sure this will come with time as you get your feet even wetter.
Mike has said that he will be returning to podcasting in the future. It would be fascinating if he continued with the history of Europe after the fall of the western empire. Your two podcasts could then complement each other and give us a fuller view of the historical background of the whole region.
I would make one suggestion however. There is quite a bit of history to Byzantium prior to the Romans arriving. I think it would be good to maybe take a short but retrospective journey into the history of the region which dates back to the 7th century BC.
I suggest this because I don’t feel I have a sense of what Byzantium was really like. Mike, in his podcast, spent a couple of episodes laying groundwork that eventually lead to the founding of the city of Rome. We had the exodus of Aeneas from Troy and his journey which including his layover with Dido. He then spent several episodes dealing with kings of Rome as well as the various tribes of people that made up the region that would later become the seat of the empire.
I wonder if a similar treatment is in order for Byzantium so that we can get a fuller flavor for the area and its people; just a thought.
I think your podcast has GREAT potential. I certainly hope you keep up with it as I am eagerly awaiting your next episode.
Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for the comments, I really appreciate it.
@John – you are not the first to ask for a bit more of an introduction. I may not be able to cover everything you’ve mentioned. But I will definitely take a pause and have a look around Constantinople and the Empire soon.
Hello
Not sure if this is something you can do or if I need to do something myself: can you label the podcast so it neatly files itself on my MP3 and doesn’t bury itself in the murky depths of my ‘unknown album’ folder?
Enjoying things so far.
Could you list some of your primary sources as Mike sometimes did?
I realise Mike is your reference point and I enjoyed his style, curiosity and humility but hope you develop your own style to your own satisfaction. Very envious of anyone with the discipline and focus to take on a major creative project like this. Best wishes with your enterprise!
Thanks so much for telling me about this. I will try and give future episodes an Album label. And a list of sources will come soon…
I have just started listening and am really glad you are picking up where THOR left off. Thanks for explaining not just what the Aryan and Monophysite heresies were, but why they were such a big deal, even the excellent Mike Duncan didn’t do that. Good luck with the podcast, I look forward to the next thousand years!
Oops, I meant the Arian heresy of course!
The picture of this episode looks very much like a bust of Marcus Aurelius. Are you sure that it is Zeno?
No I’m not sure.
You mentioned in this podcast that Aegidius was appointed by the Western Emperor Marcian as magister militum for Gaul. I am quite sure you meant Emperor Majoran, didn’t you?
Yes, well spotted 🙂
Hello, I have just started listening to your podcast and I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. Looking forward to the next episodes.
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Hello, I just discovered your podcast, and I am greatly enjoying it, slowly making my way through the episodes.