Author Archives: thehistoryofbyzantium

Episode 335 – 10 Influential East Romans with Anthony Kaldellis. Part 1

As we look back at Byzantium I turned once more to Professor Anthony Kaldellis. I asked him to present a list of ten influential East Romans who were not featured heavily in the political narrative.

Anthony Kaldellis is a Professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Chicago. He is the author of over a dozen books on Byzantium including the definitive history (The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium). Find out more here.

Pic: Gregory of Nazianzus, fresco from the Chora Church

Timestamps:

Gregory of Nazianzus: 6m 10s – 21m 12s

John Chrysostom: 21m 12s – 38m 12s

Tribonian: 38m 12s – 52m 40s

Anthemius of Tralles: 52m 40s – 1h 02m

Theodore the Studite: 1h 02m – 1h 15m

Stream: 10 Influential East Romans with Anthony Kaldellis. Part 1

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Episode 334 – State Builders from the Steppe with Eric Halsey

I talk to Eric Halsey about his new book State Builders from the Steppe: A History of the First Bulgarian Empire.

In it he chronicles the rise and fall of the Bulgars as they arrive in the Balkans and forge a state that would be a thorn in the Byzantine side.

I thoroughly recommended the book. It’s well researched, easy to read and it’s nice to hear about a subject so intimately entwined with Byzantine history from a different perspective.

Find the book on Amazon or check out the Bulgarian History podcast where Eric takes the Bulgarian story all the way to the present.

Stream: State Builders from the Steppe with Eric Halsey

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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

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Reddit AMA live now

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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