Empress Pulcheria: A woman truly ahead of her time.
One might wonder what the early fifth century Byzantine world would have been like if Aelia Pulcheria was not around and her younger brother Theodosius II was led by […]
Portrait of an Emperor: John VIII Palaiologos.
An Italian Renaissance painter from Florence, by the name of Benozzo Gozzoli, was commissioned to paint a three-walled cycle of frescoes in the Chapel of the Palazzo Medici- Riccardi. The […]
A conversation with Byzantine luminary Averil Cameron.
Averil Cameron is one of the leading English-speaking scholars of late antiquity and Byzantium. She has made Byzantium, in particular, interesting and relevant to a generation of academics, students and […]
Do not forsake us Emperor Jovian: The shameful peace of the year 363 AD.
Despite some small variation, this map of the Roman–Sassanid frontier represents the peace treaty that was arranged between Jovian and Sharpur II in 363. The Roman Empire is on the […]
The Last Pagan Emperor
Julian is such an interesting character that it is impossible to ignore him, even though some tend to treat him as a blip or anomaly in Romano-Byzantine history. This highly […]
They raised him on their shields in a moment of great happiness and triumph!
The astounding success of Julian’s rise in five short years, from a bookworm to Caesar, was genuinely celebrated by his army and citizens. He had excelled, against all expectations placed […]
The Peacock, in all its splendour and glory.
The peacock has a long history of being worshipped as a pagan deity or used as a symbol by royalty and the wealthy. Its use in the art of medieval […]
Byzantium and Europe: Croatia, between a rock and a hard place.
For centuries Byzantium’s influence over the Croats waxed and waned, first beginning in the early seventh century. Heraclius was the first emperor to enlist the aid of the Croats, […]
My Five Favourite Byzantine Emperors
Imagine yourself sitting in a lecture hall with a small body of students studying Roman history and as a whole they are asked to name a few of their favourite […]
Robin Pierson’s Grand Strategy: The history of Byzantium podcast.
About three years ago, when Mike Duncan stopped producing his ‘History of Rome’ podcast, thousands of podcast listeners mourned in silence. A lot of like-minded listeners toyed with the idea […]
The Rise of Julian: Caesar in Gaul.
When Julian first took command of his Gallic armies at the end of 355, he was almost twenty-four years of age. Young and inexperienced, he was irritated at first, to […]
Julian the Apostate
By the end of Constantine’s reign, there were an estimated twenty-four million Christians living in the Roman Empire. These numbers alone sound impressive, particularly given the fact that thirty years […]
Rare Byzantine grape seeds found in Israel has given us hope of a new Negev wine?
In the middle of February this year, a colleague brought to my attention an amazing discovery unearthed in Israel. Immediately I thought, it was another floor mosaic, pottery or hoard […]
Constantius II, the Byzantine autocrat (Part 1).
Constantius is arguably the most interesting of the three sons of Constantine I. He lived long enough, unlikely his brothers Constantine II and Constans, to have an immediate impact on […]
Fishing Byzantine style !!!
Constantinople was a hub of activity with markets and stalls and among these markets was fish produce caught by fishermen. With such a ready-made meal a stone throw away in […]
A very short history of Merchants and Trade in Constantinople.
Constantinople was renowned for its merchants and markets from the 5th to the 10th centuries. The city attracted in large numbers foreigners who came to buy and sell in its […]
