The History of Byzantium

The new Emperor Justin II comes to power with the conviction that the Roman Empire should not be paying tribute to anyone. But after cancelling subsidies to the Avars, the Ghassanids and the Persians he finds himself with war and disaster on all sides. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was Justinian a good Emperor? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A series of natural disasters and domestic disturbances mar the final years of Justinian's reign. We also meet the Avars, bring silk to Byzantium and give Belisarius one last chance to shine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The men Justinian puts in charge of his military operations keep getting older or more unlikely as the 550s unfold. However they bring success in Italy, the Balkans, Lazica and then most surprisingly in Spain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the sack of Antioch, the Italian conquest falling apart and the Plague, the years 540-45 were like a nightmare for Justinian. The next five years would continue to bring bad news as war continues on every front and members of the Imperial family begin to die. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The Plague arrives at Pelusium and spreads to Alexandria where it rages for four months. By Spring 542 the Egyptians have to begin sending out the grain fleets. They export the Plague with them and Constantinople endures a nightmare summer of death. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A clarification on the fundraising sale of Episode 28. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Khosrou leads the Persian Army across the border into Syria and begins extorting money from every city he passes. The Byzantine army is nowhere to be found as the army approaches the Empire's third largest city: Antioch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at what else was going on in the Empire during the 530s including: monophysites, tax and administration, buildings, Africa and possibly a meteor strike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belisarius is content to leave John to die in Ariminum but the Chamberlain Narses arrives and begs to differ. Conflicts over how to complete the conquest of Italy lead to disaster at Milan and a long delay in finally reaching Ravenna. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Athalaric, Prince of the Goths dies in 534 his mother has to choose whether to flee East or try to cling to power. Amalasuntha makes the wrong choice and calls in her cousin Theodahad. When he has her killed he hands Justinian the chance to invade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We examine the Corpus Juris Civilis and the Hagia Sophia. The two achievements of Justinian's reign which outlasted both him and the Byzantine Empire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Nika Revolt quelled, Justinian orders Belisarius to retake the province of Africa. In the Summer of 533 an armada sets sail and lands east of Carthage. Belisarius leads his army cautiously up the coast as King Gelimer rallies his army. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In January 532 a seemingly typical riot at the races escalates into a full blown rebellion against Justinian. Trapped up in the Palace while Constantinople burns, the Emperor must decide whether to flee or to fight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part three we return to Constantinople and see Justinian begin to reform his Empire. We take a look at his building projects, his new legal code and the laws he enacted. Particularly those aimed at pagans and heretics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first five years of Justinian's reign (527-532) are so incident-filled that it will take us a few episodes to get through them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first five years of Justinian's reign (527-532) are so incident-filled that it will take us a few episodes to get through them. In part one we stay on the Eastern front for the Battle of Dara. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We continue the narrative on the Eastern frontier as Lazica and Iberia try to form an alliance with Byzantium and leave the Persian orbit. King Kavad responds by trying to get Justin to adopt his favourite son. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We get a thorough introduction to Justinian, Justin's nephew and presumed heir. We look as Justinian's education and the kind of worldview he was developing. We follow his rise up the ranks from Palace guard to potential Caesar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We restart the narrative with the death of the Emperor Anastasius and the accession of Justin, Count of the Excubitors. The new Emperor is decidedly orthodox and begins a persecution of the monophysites and heals the schism with Rome. We also introduce our sources for the period with particular attention paid to Procopius of Caesarea. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 2 is the church and the army. We look at the administration of the church and its affects on society. Then we look at the size and disposition of the army and wrap up the tour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We finally end our tour of the Empire by examining the Byzantine state. By focussing on the government, the church and the army we see how the Empire is shaping up since the fall of the West and how it is set up to deal with the world we explored in the previous five episodes. Part 1 is the government as we look at the Emperor, his ministers and the wider civil service. Hosted on Acast. See acast....

In this episode we move across the Bosporus into the Eastern Provinces and explore Anatolia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. We then take a look at the neighbours of the Empire and see what the Persians are up to before moving on to the Arabs, Armenians and other peoples from the Caucus mountains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the capital of the Byzantine Empire: Constantinople. We look at the origins of the city and trace its development from Greek city to Imperial centre. Then we see why it had such a strategically valuable location. After that we visit the city itself in the 6th century from the Great Palace to the streets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.