The History of Byzantium

Robin discusses 'Byzantium and Italy' with Marco Capelli. Marco is the brilliant host of Storia d'Italia - a podcast telling the story of the History of Italy - in Italian. This interview is in English. Please do tell any Italian speakers you know about Storia d'Italia (italiastoria.com). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Family Update Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we talk to the man whose research has guided our last few podcasts Dr Maximilian Lau.Dr Lau is Adjunct Professor of Economic History at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, and also a Research Associate in History at St Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford. He has been studying 12th century Byzantine history for many years now and the fruits of that labour can be found in his forthcoming book “Rebuilding New Rome. The Foreign Policy of John II Komnenos.”The book is written and will be out next year and Dr Lau very generously shared it with me in advance. It’s been incredibly helpful in part because of its quality but also because it follows a format similar to our narrative episodes. It is a chronological account of John’s military and political activity with a discussion of the sources as each incident unfolds. As Dr Lau explains in the interview – John’s reign often gets short shrift in popular Byzantine books because our Roman sources cover him fairly briefly. But there are plenty of other sources to work with and Dr Lau has synthesised them to create a new history of John's reign.Period: 1118-1143 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last time we watched as John Komnenos attempted to untangle the Gordian knot which Anatolia had become. After campaigning against the Danishmends – John moved on to Cilicia and Antioch. The Emperor attempted to enforce his rights without angering the Latins. A trick which he failed to pull off. Today John will be forced to go through the whole process all over again. But when he reaches the gates of Antioch this time he won’t take no for an answer.Period: 1138-1143 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John II Komnenos is finally free to campaign in Anatolia. If he can keep the Turks quiet then he can make it to Antioch where his real goal lies. But once there will he risk outraging Latin opinion by assaulting the city or will he negotiate a deal to bring the city back into the Empire?Period: 1127-1138 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John II Komnenos takes charge of the Empire and campaigns immediately in Anatolia. But he is soon beset by the complications of the new position Byzantium finds itself in. Serbians, Steppe tribes, Hungarians and Venetians all demand his attention. Enemies and allies are crowding the chess board and John must make each move very carefully. Period: 1118-1127If you want to send in feedback to the podcast:- Either comment at https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/- Or on the facebook page.- Leave a review on Itunes.- Follow me on Twitter or Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I have now finished all of the videos of Istanbul. So do subscribe to the History of Byzantium Youtube channel if you’d like to see them. The first few will go up next week.  I have also completed our next Byzantine Story. It will be available in the next hour. It’s about a provincial magnate named Kekaumenos whose life gives us the invaluable perspective of a Roman outsider. Someone who viewed the Emperor and his bureaucracy with some suspicion.  For anyone interested in daily life in other parts of the Empire this is a must listen. It will be available on the bonus episodes feed at Patreon and to anyone who is still subscribed at thehistoryofbyzantium.com. If your subscription ran out in the last year email me and I’ll add it to your feed for free.  You can also buy the episode on its own for $7 but remember from October the only place to get any bonus episodes will be Patreon. Go to patreon.com/historyofbyzantium to find out more. The feeds at Patreon are also advert-free.   You’ll be pleased to hear that I am now going back to the narrative. I’ll be back soon with the reign of John Komnenos, son of Alexios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone,  I don’t normally talk about personal things on the podcast. But my father has been diagnosed with cancer. It’s serious and it’s all happened very quickly. I am still working away on the next Byzantine Story but further disruption to the schedule is inevitable. Thanks for your understanding.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As you may know I have already produced three episodes about Women in the Roman World which are available for you on the Ad-Free Bonus Feed at Patreon.I now present three more episodes about Women in the Byzantine World. And these episodes are very much a continuation of that series. In part one we talk about how the arrival of Christianity affected Roman women. We also hear a couple of Saints' Lives. These tales give us a rare glimpse of how women appeared in popular culture.This first episode is free but parts 2 and 3 are only available on the Ad-Free Bonus Feed at Patreon. The Incidental Music used is “Introspection” from Purple-Planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone, I am back with three bonus episodes for you about Women in the Byzantine World. These episodes should be available within an hour or so of this update.  Since women get much less attention than they deserve in our narrative I’ll put the first of these episodes out for free for everyone to enjoy. Parts 2 and 3 though are only available on the Ad-Free Bonus Feed at Patreon or at thehistoryofbyzantium.com.  Since I’m very late with these bonus episodes they will be available to anyone whose subscription at the website ran out in the last year. So if you had a subscription which ran out any time from July 2020 and you haven’t renewed or switched to Patreon just email me and I’ll add the episodes to your account manually. That email is thehistoryofbyzantium@gmail.com. These 3 episodes are a continuation of another 3 parter I recorded a couple of years ago called Women in the Roman World. If you like what you hear in part 1 of the new series but want to hear more about women’s lives in the Greco-Roman world then do check out those episodes. Either at Patreon or at thehistoryofbyzantium.com. But just to remind you episodes will no longer be available from the website from October.  I am now moving on to work on another Byzantine Story and then it will be back to the narrative.  Take care and thanks for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.