Yearly Archives: 2024

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 victories to legitimise his seizure of power and the fates reward him beyond all expectations.

Period: 1255-61

Stream: The Providence of God

Download: The Providence of God

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

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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 Emperor.

Period: 1237-54

Stream: The Rise and Rise of Nicaea

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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 Nottingham Trent University in the UK. His new book The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East is available now.

In it he offers a panoramic account of the Mongol invasions of the Middle East during the thirteenth century, examining these wars from the perspectives of the many different societies impacted by their conquests, including of course Byzantium.

Stream: The Mongol Storm

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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 parts of the Roman world.

Period: 1204-15

Stream: Episode 291 – Michael Doukas of Epirus

Download: Episode 291 – Michael Doukas of Epirus

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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: Laskaris’ forked beard on his coins (Dumbarton Oaks)

Stream: Episode 290 – The Despot, Theodore Laskaris

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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 Dečani Monastery in Kosovo

Period: 1204-07

Above: Statue of Kaloyan in Varna, Bulgaria

Stream: Episode 289 – Kaloyan, Tsar of Bulgaria

Download: Episode 289 – Kaloyan, Tsar of Bulgaria

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