Author Archives: thehistoryofbyzantium

Episode 333 – The Bachelorhood of Basil II with Mark Masterson

To mark the 1000th anniversary of his death we revisit the bachelorhood of Basil II.

My guest is Mark Masterson — until recently Associate Professor of Classics at Victoria University of Wellington (retired 2025). His work explores masculinity, desire, and male social bonds in the Roman world.

In his book Between Byzantine Men he discusses an oration written in Basil’s day which may shed light on his intimate life.

Picture: Basil II by J Foliveras

Find out more about Professor Mark Masterson here and check out his two books on male relationships within the Roman world.

Between Byzantine Men: Desire, Homosociality, and Brotherhood in the Medieval Empire
Routledge (2022)

Man to Man: Desire, Homosociality and Authority in Late-Roman Manhood
The Ohio State University Press. (2014)

Stream: The Bachelorhood of Basil II with Mark Masterson

Download: The Bachelorhood of Basil II with Mark Masterson

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Reddit AMA live now

I will be answering questions all weekend (18-20th July) on Reddit

Categories: News | Leave a comment

What Happens Next

Hello everyone,

I hope you enjoy the final episode of the narrative. I’m here to answer the question that people have been asking me for about 10 years now. So what are you going to do after 1453?

Well as I mentioned a while ago the History of Byzantium will continue.

I will take the narrative on a little further. We’ll re-join the siege and find out what happened to all the characters in that story. And talk about the fate of the citizens of Constantinople and what Mehmet did next. And what happened to the Peloponnese. We’ll follow the Ottomans to see how they managed to get the Eastern Mediterranean back under one Empire. We’ll finally catch up on Trebizond. We’ll talk to Anthony Kaldellis one last time. And then I have a bunch of Byzantine Stories I want to get to.

However all of that will probably have to wait until 2026. I am going to go lie in a heap on the floor for a while. And I probably won’t touch the podcast till after my next tour to Turkey in October. So that gives you a couple of months to get your questions in. You can now ask me anything. It can be about the last century of narrative or about what happens next. It can be about anything really – me, the podcast, something that happened in 867 or in 1467. I will then feed them into the episodes I produce. Send them to thehistoryofbyzantium at gmail.com

If you would like to hear from me sooner then this Sunday the 20th July I will be hosting 3 Zoom calls for Patrons. You can sign up at the $1 level and still get on the calls which will be at 1, 5 and 9pm UK time. I am happy to do more Patreon calls down the road so don’t delete the free podcast from your app if you want to hear updates about things like that.

It looks like I will be doing an AMA on Reddit this weekend too. I’ll post the Reddit address on the website as soon as I have it.

Yeah yeah Robin but what are you going to do after all that? I’m still not sure. Most likely going back to the earlier Roman Empire in one form or another. But I have learned to not look too far ahead.

Shameless plug to end today. If you’d like a History of Byzantium podcast t-shirt to commemorate 13 years of this obscure hobby of yours then go to etsy.com/shop/ImperialWares

I look forward to speaking to some of you on Sunday. Thanks for listening.

Robin

Categories: News | Tags: , , , , | 9 Comments

Episode 332 – Not with a Whimper but a Bang

Mehmed II becomes Sultan in 1451 and immediately makes plans to conquer Constantinople.

Period: 1448-53

Stream: Not with a Whimper but a Bang

Download: Not with a Whimper but a Bang

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Podcast | 8 Comments

Episode 331 – The Last Hope

John VIII Palaiologos asks the Pope for an Ecumenical Council to reunite the churches. To his surprise the Pontiff says yes and a huge Byzantine contingent travels to Italy.

Pic: John VIII Palaiologos (from ‘Rulers of the Byzantine Empire’ published by KIBEA)

Period: 1425-48

Stream: The Last Hope

Download: The Last Hope

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Podcast | 4 Comments

Episode 330 – The Life of Manuel II Palaiologos

We explore the life of Manuel II Palaiologos. The last Roman Emperor who we can actually get to know. We go through his life story and his writing to learn more about being the Basileus in an age of decline.

Pic: Manuel and Henry IV of England from the St Albans chronicle by Thomas Walsingham

Period: 1350-1425

This episode is only available at Patreon for those subscribing at the highest pledge tier.

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Podcast | Leave a comment

Episode 329 – Buying Time

Pic: John VII, Manuel II and John VIII (from a 15th-century codex in the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris)

With the Ottoman civil war raging Manuel II Palaiologos tries to improve the Roman position and ensure his sons succeed him.

Period: 1402-30

Stream: Buying Time

Download: Buying Time

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Podcast | Leave a comment

Episode 328 – In the Nick of Timur

Pic: Bayezid held captive by Timur, painting by Stanisław Chlebowski (1878)

Manuel II Palaiologos refuses to play vassal to Sultan Bayezid. So the Ottomans set up a permanent blockade of New Rome. The siege would last for eight years and only a miracle could save the Romans.

Period: 1391-1402

Stream: In the Nick of Timur

Download: In the Nick of Timur

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Podcast | 2 Comments

Episode 327 – Vassals and Pawns

John V Palaiologos faces rebellions from his sons and Grandsons. Forcing the Romans to become both Ottomans vassals and the pawns of Venice and Genoa.

Period: 1371-91

Pic: John V Palaiologos  (from ‘Rulers of the Byzantine Empire’ published by KIBEA)

Stream: Vassals and Pawns

Download: Vassals and Pawns

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Podcast | Leave a comment

Episode 326 – The Rise of the Ottomans, Part 2

We look at the details of how the Ottomans ran their state. Including the creation of loyalty to the ruling dynasty, succession policy, military recruitment and slave trading.

Period: 1280-1371

Pic: Sultan Murad I (16th century miniature)

Stream: The Rise of the Ottomans, Part 2

Download: The Rise of the Ottomans, Part 2

RSS Feed: The History of Byzantium

If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:

– Either comment on this post.

– Or on the facebook page.

– Leave a review on Itunes.

– Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Categories: Podcast | 7 Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.