The History of Byzantium

We look at all your questions about the siege of 1453. As well as the Palaiologan era in general.If you want to hear more about Trebizond then check out Byzansimp's Youtube series Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Leonora Neville joins us to make the case for getting rid of the term Byzantium for good. She wants to replace it with a different term and a different understanding of Roman history.Professor Neville is the John W and Jeanne M Rowe Chair of Byzantine History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She specialises in the 9-12th centuries of the Empire’s history. And her research has focussed on gender, civic religion, and religious aspects of political culture as well as historical memory and historiography.She has written several excellent books which have been vital to this podcast. Her guide to Byzantine historians is essential reading for students. Her book on Byzantine gender helped direct my episodes on ‘Women in the Roman world’ and her book on provincial authority was extremely helpful in understanding Kekaumenos. She is also a Senior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks and an editor of several book series. Find out more at the University of Madison-Wisconsin website.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Timestamps:Gregory of Nazianzus: 6m 10s - 21m 12sJohn Chrysostom: 21m 12s - 38m 12sTribonian: 38m 12s - 52m 40sAnthemius of Tralles: 52m 40s - 1h 02mTheodore the Studite: 1h 02m - 1h 15m Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.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 EmpireRoutledge (2022)Man to Man: Desire, Homosociality and Authority in Late-Roman Manhood The Ohio State University Press. (2014) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I talk about what will happen with the podcast next. Send your questions to thehistoryofbyzantium@gmail.com This Sunday the 20th July I will be hosting 3 Zoom calls for Patrons at 1, 5 and 9pm UK time. 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.  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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Period: 1425-48 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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