In our 10th Byzantine Story we look at the life of a provincial magnate. Our way into this world is a text called ‘Advice and Anecdotes’ written by a man named Kekaumenos. He lived in the period after Basil II’s death (1020s-1070s) and was a General and governor.
He wrote this text at the end of his life to give advice to those who had to navigate the Imperial system. It gives us invaluable insights into provincial life and the pressures a man in his position faced.
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The Incidental Music used is “Future Idyll” from Purple-Planet.com
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The History of Byzantium 
Welcome back! It’s great to have you again — I was very sorry to hear all the things you had to deal with this year. I’ll have to admit, this episode’s topic surprised me but it turned out to be very interesting (and, as usual, amazingly done ;)).
Thanks so much for the kind words. You said the topic surprised you. Can I ask how/why?
I guess I wasn’t aware we had any text whatsoever from outside of Constantinople (and, as a consequence, that there was anything at all worth saying about it) – it’s a testimony of how Constantinople-centric are the usual accounts that even after reading a few books on Byzantium these kind of things manage to surprise me. So thank you for making these sometimes-overlooked pieces of history available to us!
Thanks so much. I will do
Very much enjoyed this episode, as I have this entire podcast. You actually inspired me to do my own history podcast, Tales from Imperial Russia. If you ever have time, please give it a listen.
Hey Robin, I was trying to email you about a subscription that expired last year but could not get the email to send. Do I have the wrong email? thehistoryofbyzantium.com? Thanks again for all your hard work and an amazing ride through history.
Oh, wow. I just realized that is not even an email. That is the website. I feel silly. What is the right email to use?
If you read the original post about the move to Patreon, he says to email at “thehistoryofbyzantium at gmail.com” :).
I have emailed you, Robin