Unboxing the paperback of Belisarius & Antonina! On sale now. Particularly proud of this one because it's my first book ever to come out as a paperback. 🥹

Today we remember the fall of Constantinople! New Rome, the city of Constantine, the Queen of Cities. It was the center of an ancient civilization, not just a capital. It was a center point and beacon of the Roman world. On May 29, 1453 it fell, conquered by the Turks!

Today we remember the fall of Constantinople! New Rome, the city of Constantine, the Queen of Cities. It was the center of an ancient civilization, not just a capital. It was a center point and beacon of the Roman world. On May 29, 1453 it fell, conquered by the Turks!

On MAY 11, 330AD the world changed! Constantine the Great re-founded the city of Byzantion, transforming it into a new imperial capital. Over time Constantinople blossomed into a grand city truly worthy of the title New Rome, eventually becoming the center of the Roman world!

On MAY 11, 330AD the world changed! Constantine the Great re-founded the city of Byzantion, transforming it into a new imperial capital. Over time Constantinople blossomed into a grand city truly worthy of the title New Rome, eventually becoming the center of the Roman world!

I discussed the Fourth Crusade on my FIRST ever PODCAST appearance! We talked about the long path to 1204, the context, what led to it. To hear our conversation, please check out the episode! (Links to Spotify and Apple below) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Foei...

In reality, exactly the same thing would have happened! The same exact Old World diseases would have spread among the natives. The Ottomans also viewed land ownership and usage the same way Europeans did, so the same settler conflict with the natives would have been inevitable!

Today is Easter. During the medieval period in Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia would have been a spectacle of piety at Easter! Relics of the Passion were venerated there during Easter week. There were imperial processions to the Hagia Sophia. Imagine that?

Those poor old walls of Constantinople… It’s bricks receding like an old man’s hairline…

Those poor old walls of Constantinople… It’s bricks receding like an old man’s hairline…

Why did medieval people value history? “History is agreed to be as profitable as the other useful things in life, inasmuch as it brings mortal affairs back to life or gives them youthful vigor, and does not allow them to be swept away and concealed in the depths of oblivion.”

Why did medieval people value history? “History is agreed to be as profitable as the other useful things in life, inasmuch as it brings mortal affairs back to life or gives them youthful vigor, and does not allow them to be swept away and concealed in the depths of oblivion.”

OTD: April 15, 1071 The fall of Bari to the Normans under Robert Guiscard, which marked the end of Roman territory in Italy. It was significant, as it opened up the Balkans to future Norman invasion just as Anatolia was invaded by the Turks. This hindered the imperial response.

OTD: April 15, 1071 The fall of Bari to the Normans under Robert Guiscard, which marked the end of Roman territory in Italy. It was significant, as it opened up the Balkans to future Norman invasion just as Anatolia was invaded by the Turks. This hindered the imperial response.

At St. Marks’s Basilica in Venice there is a porphyry statue of the Four Tetrarchs looted from Constantinople in 1204, surrounded by marble spolia. There is a white fragment on the bottom right of the purple statue, a piece of which was found in Istanbul in the 20th century!

A “Byzantine” style depiction of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.

OTD: April 13, 1204 The Fourth Crusade begins a comprehensive and ruthless sack of Constantinople, irreparably shattering though not ending the Eastern Roman Empire. Constantinople would never be the same again, the last beacon of antiquity was extinguished.

The Basileus Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos

An incredible portrait of the last ever Roman Emperor (1449-1453), Constantine XI Palaiologos, was recently found at the Monastery of Taxiarches of Aigialeia in Greece. We now have a glimpse of his possible appearance, and here is a faithful AI reconstruction to help us imagine!

An incredible portrait of the last ever Roman Emperor (1449-1453), Constantine XI Palaiologos, was recently found at the Monastery of Taxiarches of Aigialeia in Greece. We now have a glimpse of his possible appearance, and here is a faithful AI reconstruction to help us imagine!

An anonymous Western source from 1437 observed that the Emperor in Constantinople governed “a territory that could be crossed in eight days by horse, and in barely two days in its width, but when they are at war they control only the coastal forts.” Essentially a city-state!

Eastern Roman history is like a buried treasure, when discovered it is so easy to become enthralled and absorbed. But it’s also easy to just pass by it without paying it much attention!

Eastern Roman history is like a buried treasure, when discovered it is so easy to become enthralled and absorbed. But it’s also easy to just pass by it without paying it much attention!

“The Byzantine Empire was the medieval heir of Ancient Greece and Rome, the continuation of the Roman Empire in Greek territory…the story of Byzantium is a real-life adventure of electrifying ideas, high drama, colorful characters, and inspiring feats of daring.” -Colin Wells, Sailing From Byzantium

The last chariot race held in the Hippodrome of Constantinople occurred in 1200AD….the ancient tradition had died long ago in the rest of the Roman world which once spanned the entire Mediterranean.

Gondor in Lord of the Rings is based on the medieval Roman Empire & Constantinople. Tolkien wrote in Letter 131: “In the south Gondor rises to a peak of power, almost reflecting Númenor, and then fades slowly to decayed Middle Age, a kind of proud, venerable, but increasingly impotent Byzantium”

An anonymous Western source from 1437 observed that the Emperor in Constantinople governed “a territory that could be crossed in eight days by horse, and in barely two days in its width, but when they are at war they control only the coastal forts.” Essentially a city-state!

A rare and incredible thing! An imperial portrait of the last ever Roman Emperor (1449-1453), Constantine XI Palaiologos, has been found at the Monastery of Taxiarches of Aigialeia in Greece! We now have a glimpse of what the heroic fallen Emperor possibly looked like. 🫡

“The beauty of Greece lies mainly in contrast, the contrast between stark promontories and blue sea-gulfs and between barren mountains-sides and fertile valleys.” -Steven Runciman

Agios Lazaros is a medieval Roman church in the town center of Larnaca in Cyprus. Agios Lazaros is among the best examples of “Byzantine” architecture on Cyprus. It was built during the reign of Emperor Leo VI in the 9th century & extensively modified in the Ottoman period.

Maps showing the size of the medieval Roman (“Byzantine”) Empire under John II Komnenos (1118-1143) compared to modern France and Germany.

All over the Ottoman Topkapı palace in Istanbul is Roman marble spolia. Plausibly much of it came from the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, which was demolished by the Ottomans. Porphyry was a material the Romans only had in antiquity & was often recycled

Sideview of the Arch of Constantine - the reconstruction of it is pretty faithful and it really brings it to life. The monument is interesting because it had no Christian imagery on it. Image credit: HistoryIn3D

The Hagia Sophia was formally inaugurated in Constantinople by the Emperor Justinian and the Patriarch on December 27, 537AD. It was the pinnacle of Greco-Roman engineering. Happy 1487th birthday to the Hagia Sophia!

Truly amazing work by HistoryIn3D to make this reconstruction of the Arch of Constantine the Great in Rome. The colors, stone texture, and realistic setting really bring it to life!

It’s incredibly strange that while Ancient Greece and Rome are included as part of the history of Western civilization, the direct continuation of the Greco-Roman world, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, is often excluded and disconnected. It makes really makes no sense!

If you are the Roman Emperor in Constantinople in 1452, what do you do to fix this situation?

The Constantinople H-1B crew

“In the days of Justinian, ships around Constantinople were terrorized for over 50 years by a whale whom locals called Porphyrios, presumably from the dark-wine color of its skin.” The angry whale sank ships and terrified others, some changed routes. It was like the Moby Dick of the Roman Empire!

A depiction of Constantinople in the 6th century, with the Hagia Sophia and the Column of Justinian visible. It was a majestic product of late antiquity, and went on to be the shining city upon a hill of medieval Christendom!

A depiction of Constantinople in the 6th century, with the Hagia Sophia and the Column of Justinian visible. It was a majestic product of late antiquity, and went on to be the shining city upon a hill of medieval Christendom!

Aerial section of the Hagia Sophia in the 6th century by artist Julia Lillo

“In the days of Justinian, ships around Constantinople were terrorized for over 50 years by a whale whom locals called Porphyrios, presumably from the dark-wine color of its skin.” The angry whale sank ships and terrified others, some changed routes. It was like the Moby Dick of the Roman Empire!

Gondor in Lord of the Rings is based on the medieval Roman Empire & Constantinople. Tolkien wrote in Letter 131: “In the south Gondor rises to a peak of power, almost reflecting Númenor, and then fades slowly to decayed Middle Age, a kind of proud, venerable, but increasingly impotent Byzantium”

Aerial section of the Hagia Sophia in the 6th century by artist Julia Lillo

The Constantinople H-1B crew

If you are the Roman Emperor in Constantinople in 1452, what do you do to fix this situation?

An Anatolian Greek New Years tradition! Aetakia, Double Eagle cookies. The oldest family member, holding an eagle, would say: “As beautifully and proudly as the eagle flies, so beautifully and proudly may our family fly." Then family members kissed his hand and took a cookie!

Wishing a Happy New Year to all the Roman history lovers out there! May the next year be fulfilling for all….and also full of learning about Constantinople and those Romans that went on nearly a millennium after 476!

Wishing a Happy New Year to all the Roman history lovers out there! May the next year be fulfilling for all….and also full of learning about Constantinople and those Romans that went on nearly a millennium after 476!