The Return of the Emperor (Justinian II - part 2)

The Return of the Emperor (Justinian II - part 2)

From Subject to Change by Russell Hogg

April 27, 2026 · 1h 3m · Season 1 · Episode 104

About this episode

This episode continues the story of Justinian II's misfortunes and his unexpected exile.

Part 1 of the podcast told the sad story of how some shocking misjudgements on the part of Justinian saw him dragged to the Hippodrome where a man with a pair of pliers cut off his nose, cut out his tongue. But in a misjudgement every bit as big as Justinian’s instead of putting him in a sack and throwing him in the Bosphorus his successor exiles him to the Crimea. I mean everyone knows you can't be emperor unless you are bodily intact so there is no chance he is coming back is there? Is ther...

People in this episode

Host: Russell Hogg

Topics covered

  • Justinian II
  • Byzantine history
  • exile
  • political misjudgment
  • historical narrative

Keywords

  • Justinian II
  • Hippodrome
  • exile
  • Crimea
  • Bosphorus
  • Byzantine Empire
  • historical misjudgment

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Return of the Emperor (Justinian II - part 2)

Places: Crimea, Bosphorus

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