The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (now known as Little Hagia Sophia)

The first five years of Justinian’s reign (527-532) are so incident-filled that it will take us a few episodes to get through them.

In part three we return to Constantinople and see Justinian begin to reform his Empire. We take a look at his building projects, his new legal code and the laws he enacted. Particularly those aimed at pagans and heretics. We get to know his chief advisers John the Cappadocian and Tribonian and hear a little more about Theodora.

Period: 527-532

Download: Episode 19 – 527-532, Part 3: The Kindling

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The Equestrian Statue of Justinian as recreated by Byzantium1200 (www.arkeo3d.com/byzantium1200)

The first five years of Justinian’s reign (527-532) are so incident-filled that it will take us a few episodes to get through them.

In part two we stay on the Eastern front as the Persians counterattack. King Kavadh then passes away allowing a peace deal to be reached. We then move to the Danube to see how Imperial troops were coping with the raids of the Bulgars and Slavs. Then we move onto more Christian diplomacy from Justinian and update on how the Vandal and Gothic leadership are responding to the Empire’s military success.

Period: 527-533

Other resources:

Constantinople is being digitally recreated here. You can actually do a fly-over of the whole city here.

To listen to Byzantine style Orthodox music you can go to Ancient Faith Radio or to buy music go to Conciliar Press.

For the Persian view on the Byzantine era go to Sasanika an online resource book for Sassanian history.

Download: Episode 18 – 527-532, Part 2: The Eternal Peace and the Danube frontier

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The disposition of forces at the Battle of Dara (530).

The first five years of Justinian’s reign (527-532) are so incident-filled that it will take us a few episodes to get through them.

In part one we stay on the Eastern front for the Battle of Dara. We revisit the way cavalry had come to dominate warfare and the motives for King Kavad’s attacks on Byzatine territory. We follow the war as it goes badly for Justinian and see his attempts to reorganise his armies. Then we introduce Belisarius, the General who would go on to become Justinian’s most able commander. He is made Master of Soldiers for the Eastern Army and in 530 comes face to face with a much larger Persian army on the plain outside the fortress of Dara.

Period: 527-530

Map: The map shows the disposition of forces at the Battle of Dara (530). The Huns are the tiny squares inside the “goal mouth.”

(Author: US Military Academy Atlas for Ancient Warfare, Source Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Dara-battleplan.png)

Other resources:

To see a moving representation of the battle visit “The Art of Battle” website here.

To see a re-creation of the battle on the BBC TV show Time Commanders click here.

Download: Episode 17 – 527-532, Part 1: The Battle of Dara

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Mosaic of Theodora from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna

We continue the narrative on the Eastern frontier as Lazica and Iberia try to form an alliance with Byzantium and leave the Persian orbit. King Kavad responds by trying to get Justin to adopt his favourite son. In the West Theodoric dies and his daughter and grandson begin their struggle to stay in power. Then we head back to Constantinople to see Justinian fall in love with a former prostitute Theodora. We follow her life story from stage to palace and learn about her influence on the new regime.

Period: 526-528

Map: This map shows the north eastern corner of the Byzantine-Persian border. You can see the Kingdom of Lazica clearly but the Caucus mountains to the north, Iberia to the East and Armenia to the south are all important to note. You can also see the mountain-dwelling Tzani just inside Byzantine territory. You can see a larger version of the map here.

(Author: Konstantinos Plakidas, Source Website: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Cplakidas)

Download: Episode 16 – Theodora

The Lazican Border

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Mosaic of Justinian from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna

We get a thorough introduction to Justinian, Justin’s nephew and presumed heir. We look as Justinian’s education and the kind of worldview he was developing. We follow his rise up the ranks from Palace guard to potential Caesar. Then we swing West to see the deteriorating relations with Theodoric’s Italy. After that its East to see how King Kavad responded to the new Emperor and finally down to the Yemmen to see a holy war unfolding.

Period: 518-525

Download: Episode 15 – Justinian

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A Tremissis (1\3 of a Solidus) with the likeness of the Emperor Justin (from Wikipedia)

We restart the narrative with the death of the Emperor Anastasius and the accession of Justin, Count of the Excubitors. The new Emperor is decidedly orthodox and begins a persecution of the monophysites and heals the schism with Rome. We also introduce our sources for the period with particular attention paid to Procopius of Caesarea.

Period: 518-520

Download: Episode 14 – The Emperor Justin

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Byzantine horse archers from Ancient Warfare Magazine Volume IV, Issue 3 (www.ancient-warfare.com)

We finally end our tour of the Empire by examining the Byzantine state. By focussing on the government, the church and the army we see how the Empire is shaping up since the fall of the West and how it is set up to deal with the world we explored in the previous five episodes.

Part 2 is the church and the army. We look at the administration of the church and its affects on society. Then we look at the size and disposition of the army and wrap up the tour.

Period: 518

Download: Episode 13 – The State (part 2): The Church and the Army

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One of Anastasius’ coins (a semissis)

We finally end our tour of the Empire by examining the Byzantine state. By focussing on the government, the church and the army we see how the Empire is shaping up since the fall of the West and how it is set up to deal with the world we explored in the previous five episodes.

Part 1 is the government as we look at the Emperor, his ministers and the wider civil service.

Period: 518

Download: Episode 12 – The State (part 1): The Government

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The Roman Empire c400 AD

In this episode we move across the Bosporus into the Eastern Provinces and explore Anatolia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. We then take a look at the neighbours of the Empire and see what the Persians are up to before moving on to the Arabs, Armenians and other peoples from the Caucus mountains.

Period: 318-518

Map 1: The Roman Empire c400 AD. Although a century earlier than our story this map lets you see the Eastern Provinces in great detail.

(Author: Konstantinos Plakidas, Source Website: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Cplakidas)

Map 2: The map below shows the Roman-Persian frontier in late Antiquity.

The Roman-Persian frontier in late antiquity

(Author: Konstantinos Plakidas as well)

Download: Episode 11 – The Eastern Provinces

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Istambul and the Bosporus

We explore the capital of the Byzantine Empire: Constantinople. We look at the origins of the city and trace its development from Greek city to Imperial centre. Then we see why it had such a strategically valuable location. After that we visit the city itself in the 6th century from the Great Palace to the streets.

Period: 320-518

Image: Istanbul and the Bosporus

(Author: Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-21752, Source Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Istambul_and_Bosporus_big.jpg)

Map: The map below shows Constantinople during the Byzantine years. You can revisit this map in the future as it will be relevant throughout the life of the podcast.

(Author: Konstantinos Plakidas, Source Website: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Cplakidas)

Download: Episode 10 – Constantinople

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Constantinople in the Byzantine era

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