Byzantine Studies
12 Threads
Located on the highest hill in #Constantinople, the Church of the Holy Apostles was one of the largest and most important religious buildings in the city during the #Byzantine peri...
Today, 570 years ago, Ottoman Janissaries poured over the Theodosian Walls. The Genoese fled when their leader, Giovanni Giustiniani, was injured. The Emperor threw himself into...
Justinian's two top generals in the 530s were Belisarius and Sittas. One went all over the Mediterranean, the other became a specialist in Armenian military affairs. Here, a brief...
A generation after the disaster at Pliska, war again loomed over the Haemus Mountains. During these preparations a secret embassy arrived in the capital, imploring Emperor Theophi...
Today, 570 years ago, Ottoman Janissaries poured over the Theodosian Walls. The Genoese fled when their leader, Giovanni Giustiniani, was injured. The Emperor threw himself into th...
We know very little about the Akritai, soldiers who defended Byzantium’s Anatolian frontier during its long wars with the Caliphate. However, the Akritai revival in later centuries...
Hot Take: Basil II’s conquest of Bulgaria saved the Byzantine Empire.
The ring of Michael Attaleiates (c.1022-1080). Michael was a famous lawyer & historian during the tumultuous 11th century. His work “The History,” is an invaluable text in understa...
The Battle of Satala, which took place in summer 530, is one of the less known battles of the reign of Justinian. The Roman army at Satala was commanded by Sittas, who was for a ti...
Was the Byzantine Empire really just the Roman Empire? In a word, yes. In this thread, I explore some arguments for and against that answer, as well as alternatives to the use of t...
In the 10 years between Manzikert & the reign Alexios Komnenos Byzantine rule in Anatolia effectively disappeared. Since this cataclysmic decline began with the disaster at Manzike...
WAR AND CLIMATE The Byzantine-Persian War of 602-28 was one of the most earth-shaking events of Late Antiquity, but our sources are extremely scant. Surprisingly, climate data hel...
