History of Modern Greece

Genghis Khan was just wrapping up his campaign in Northern China when his caravan carrying silks and goods along the Silk Road suddenly met a hostile force in Central Asia. This episode follows the rise and terrible fall of a short-lived empire in the Middle East called the Khwarezmian Empire. Here we see Genghis Khan bring the entire wrath of the Mongols into the Middle East along with all the te...

In our third episode on the Mongolian mini series, we see exactly what Genghis Khan's army is capable of as he launches his first full-scale war against an outside empire. The Mongolians start the campaign as nothing more than a mighty Steppe army, but with the capture of Chinese cities and engineers, Genghis incorporates all of the Chinese technology into his army, making him the most feared...

In this episode, we see Temujin face off against two of his greatest rivals on his journey to becoming the Great Khan. And both of them were his allies from his earlier life, including his Blood Brother, and his father's best Friend. After this series of battles, Genghis Khan will have no more rivals in Mongolia and will be able to focus all of his efforts on attacking his enemies to the sout...

In our very first episode on the Mongols, we leave our current narrative around the Empire in Nicaea and Constantinople, and we travel East. Crossing the Middle East, we discover the Mongolians completely annihilated their enemies and laid entire cities to waste. But where did it all begin? We go back in time to the very foundation of the Mongolians, to a small river north of the Eurasian Steppe,...

In our final episode on the trilogy of John of Brienne, follow his journey after the disappointing 5th Crusade, from the minor rivalry that grew into a war between Kings, Popes, and Emperors. We see how viciously Frederick treated his father-in-law and the treatment he bestowed upon the Princess of Jerusalem. However, the final battle in John of Brienne's magnificent life was not against his...

We are going to take a small detour from the history of modern Greece to wrap up the story of the Fifth Crusade. When we left the Fifth Crusade, John of Brienne had returned to Europe to gather more men for the cause. But while he was trying to gain support, the crusader holdings in Egypt fell. And still the Holy Roman Emperor had not arrived, did he? Well, this crusade follows the story of the Ro...

In our second episode covering the revival period of the Bulgarian Empire, we find out what happened to the man who replaced the dreaded Roman Slayer, and how a banished Prince gathered the aid of the Kievan Russ and came back with a vengeance, to rid the realm of his usurper cousin and deal a brutal blow to the Despotate of Epirus.  The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the events from Anci...

As we return to the Empire in Nicaea, we follow the reign of Emperor John Vatatzes. After rebuilding the Byzantine Navy, he launched an invasion of Thrace and expanded Nicaea into Europe. While John spent most of his reign on the battlefield, his son Theodore grew up in the Empire in exile. Because of his prolific writing, we have an insight into his thoughts and ideas. We can see how he viewed th...

This is our second episode on the Despotate of Epirus, and after covering the amazing foundation of the state by Michael Komnenos Doukas, everyone thought the state would simply dissolve after its founder was assassinated. But, with the arrival of his Half-Brother, the despotate grew to greater heights. Theodore built up the power of the Despotate and sought to retake the capital city, Constantino...

In our second episode of John of Brienne, the King of Jerusalem, we follow him on his adventures to Egypt. The Austrians and the Military Orders have followed him to the city of Damietta. This city, at the mouth of the Delta, was the key to gaining a foothold in the Delta Nile. Once the crusaders had control of Cairo, the entire Ayyubid Caliphate was doomed to collapse. But first they needed to wa...

We always love to slow down and go into greater detail whenever we find an interesting character from history. Well, this is one of those times.  John of Brienne went from being a small-time lord in France to the King of Jerusalem, to the leader of the 5th Crusade, and ended up as the Emperor of the Latin Crusader Empire in Constantinople. What a record… what a life…. What a story. The History of...

Once it became clear that Baldwin was dead, his brother was crowned Emperor. Henry had a much more successful reign than his predecessor... that being said, there were many challenges facing the Latin Crusader Empire. When they first took Constantinople, they were the strongest military force in the region, but as time progressed, the Romans formed their own resistance states, and the Bulgarians c...

After spending six episodes covering the events happening in the Roman renegade states, we finally get to see what happened inside the walls of Constantinople. The 4th Crusaders had to elect an Emperor... the first Latin emperor in over 700 years. The choice was narrowed down between two leaders, Baldwin of Flanders and Boniface of Montferrat. The election created a rift between the two that would...

After Alexios and David Komnenos succeeded in creating the largest and richest of the three Byzantine Successor states, their luck started to turn. Overconfidence, civil war, and an embarrassing hostage situation crippled any ambition of the Komnenos brothers to conquer the Capital city... Constantinople. However, the Empire of Trebizond maintained a strong force on the Black Sea, and this control...

To tell the story of the third successor state that popped up after the Sack of Constantinople, The Empire of Trebizond, we must take a deep dive into the History of the Kingdom of Georgia. The reason for this is that the Kingdom of Georgia, under their leader Queen Tamar, financed and organized the two grandchildren of Andronicus into capturing the city of Trebizond. Georgia is a kingdom in the C...

In this episode, we move a little north of Constantinople to Bulgaria. During the years of turmoil at the Capital, the Bulgarians rebelled against Isaac Angelov and broke away, forming the Second Bulgarian Empire. At first, it didn't look too promising, but then the third crusade happened, which bought the Bulgarians more time and freedom, and then the Fourth Crusaders sacked the capital. All...

In this episode, we visit the rouge imperial state that popped up in the Balkans after the conquest of Constantinople. This state is called the Despotate of Epirus, as it was the rightful inheritor of the Roman Empire. Michael Komnenos Doukas was a bastard cousin of the Emperor in Constantinople... but now he had the chance to really make a name for himself and carve out a piece of the old empire...

In this episode, we meet our first main character from Season Four. Theodore Laskaris started his career in Constantinople when he married the daughter of the Roman Emperor Alexios the 3rd. But after the city was sacked, the noble members of the Imperial fled in all directions. Theodore found himself in Nicaea, where he started a resistance against the Latins. After many successes, he was crowned...

After the sack of Constantinople, the ousting of the Royal Family, and the occupation of the Ancient Roman Capital, the Greek world was turned upside down. The Latin Crusaders now ruled over the Greek capital, and three offshoot empires sprung up around the Imperial City. The Greek people were all but defeated, and the Turks, Latins, Bulgarians, and Venetians swallowed up all that was known as the...

In our 1st episode of the 4th season of The History of Modern Greece, we discuss what stood out from the third season, and the impact of the crusades on the Greek World. We talk about our favorite male and female characters, as well as the heroes of the Crusades, such as Saladin, Bohemond, and Richard the Lion Heart. However, we also discuss how the 4th Crusade really shattered the Greco-Roman wor...

Once the Venetians and the Frankish Crusaders breached the city walls, the greatest sacking of a Roman city took place in all their history. The atrocities committed against the citizens of Constantinople are one of the greatest crimes against humanity in the Western World. Artifacts over a thousand years old were stripped and melted down... giant statues older than the Roman Empire were destroyed...

For over a year now, a Latin Crusading Army has been camped outside of the Roman Capital City, Constantinople, and it quickly became apparent that there was no way they were going to leave. They hadn't the money to continue nor the support of the army to retreat in shame. The timer had run out, and the Crusaders were forced to turn against their Greek adversaries. The war had begun, and the V...

The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's events from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Greek War of Independence in 1821-1832, through to the Greco-Turkish War from 1919 to 1922 to the present day. Website: www.moderngreecepodcast.com Music by Mark Jungerman: www.marcjungermann.com Check out our 2nd Podcast: www.antecedors.com Laugh Love Law Real conversations. R...

The Crusaders are lured away from their objective in Egypt by a tempting offer made by the son of the deposed Roman Emperor. If the Crusaders make a little side quest and restore the old Emperor to his throne, they will be rewarded with thousands of gold and silver coins, and all of their money troubles will be over forever. The only problem was Alexios was full of crap and unable to deliver on an...

The 4th Crusade was called almost immediately after Richard the Lionheart's successes. Its intention was to deal a knock-out punch to the Ayyubid Dynasty and retake the Holy City of Jerusalem. But there is a problem: no one wants to go. When the Pope finally rallied enough Crusaders to go on Crusade, they spent all of their money on a fleet hired from the Venetian Republic, but the trouble wi...