A podcast telling the story of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire from 476 AD to 1453. www.thehistoryofbyzantium.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Random History - The Comedy (or Tragedy) of Our Species


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Random History - The Comedy (or Tragedy) of Our Species
Ryan VanDyke
Exploring various topics of history and government with a feeble attempt at humor. Don't worry I lack the storytelling ability of a Dan Carlin, the commitment to a fast pace and consistent release schedule of a Mike Duncan. Nor do I have the calm and reassuring voice of a Robin Pierson. What I do have is some spare time and boredom and want to talk about random things in history.
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The History of Byzantium


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Antakya Appeal with Andrea de Giorgi and Katherine Pangonis
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This is a special episode to urge listeners to donate to the ongoing relief effort in Turkey and Syria. I interview two expert guests about the situation with a particular focus on the city of Antakya (Byzantine Antioch). Andrea De Giorgi is a Professor of Classical Studies at Florida State University. He specializes in Roman urbanism and visual cu…
A personal appeal from a listener who has family in Antakya. This is an appeal for you to donate to one of the various charities who are rushing to the scene at this moment to help the survivors. You have a number of options. You may have campaigns being run in your country by reputable organisations. So here in the UK the Disaster Emergency Commit…
dec.org.uk/appeals/ To help specific groups directly: The White Helmets are volunteers who have been operating in Syria for many years. They help evacuate people from dangerous areas and offer medical help. https://www.whitehelmets.org/en/ AKUT Search and Rescue Association. They are a non-governmental organisation offering emergency and disaster r…
We discuss what happened once the Latins started looting. How were the Byzantines treated? What was taken and what has survived? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 260 - The Fourth Crusade (Part 2)
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1:34:46
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The Latins assault the city and Alexios Angelos Komnenos flees. Alexios Angelos becomes Emperor and empties the treasury into the Crusaders' hands. But when he runs out of money the two sides face an inevitable confrontation. Period: 1203-4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 259 - The Fourth Crusade (Part 1)
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Pope Innocent calls for a new Crusade to retake Jerusalem. A group of French Knights decide to form an expedition to Egypt and make a deal with Venice to transport them. But when they can't pay the bill the mission goes awry and ends up at Constantinople. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
Alexios Angelos faces down one internal rebellion after another as the Roman Empire continues to contract. The biggest threat to his throne comes from disgruntled aristocrats and the people of Constantinople. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 257 - What Could Be More Trustworthy than a Brother?
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Isaac Angelos does his best to secure his position and confront the Bulgarians. But he is overthrown by his brother at the head of a coalition of aristocratic families. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
As soon as news reached the West that Jerusalem had fallen a new Crusade was called. The German, French and English Kings all led armies East but only Frederick Barbarossa went by land. He led a large army across the Balkans towards Constantinople and Isaac Angelos had to decided whether to treat him as friend or foe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com…
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 254 - Saladin the Strategist with Ben Duval
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I speak to author Ben Duval, author of the book: "Saladin the Strategist: How the Crusaders Lost the Holy Land." We go through Saladin's career starting with how he captured Egypt. Then how he built the coalition which defeated the Crusaders. Finally we watch on as he traps them at Hattin and then sweeps across the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Buy the boo…
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 253 - The Second Bulgarian Empire
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Isaac Angelos begins his reign by defeating the Normans and making as many alliances as he can to secure his position. Unfortunately he rejects an offer from two Vlach Chieftains Peter and Asen. They turn on the Romans and found the Second Bulgarian Empire north of the Haemus Mountains. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…
Andronikos continues to terrorise his relatives. Many leave Byzantium seeking help from foreign courts. One arrives in Sicily and calls on the Normans to help him. They launch an invasion and sack the city of Thessalonica. Period: 1184-85 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 251 - A Lion Pouncing on a Large Prey
28:56
28:56
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When Manuel Komnenos died he left an 11 year old son as his heir. The Regency Council set up to protect him fails. Manuel's cousin Andronikos seizes the throne instead and begins a reign of terror. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We talk about why the Romans didn't have more success in fighting the Turks. Was there a better way to fight the nomads? Or was it not really about tactics but strategy? Period: 1070-1180 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We look around the Roman provinces in Anatolia to review their defensive situation and the lifestyle of its people. We also briefly talk about Turkic people who lived in Byzantium. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We take a look around the parts of Anatolia which were controlled by Turkic peoples between 1080 and 1180 AD. We don’t have a huge amount of written sources to draw on but hopefully there’s enough information available to give you a better picture of what’s been happening there. We also discuss the two different groups of Turkic peoples in Anatolia…
On my last update I told you that because of my forthcoming fatherhood – I would be switching to a season by season format from now on. Where there are periods of silence followed by a run of episodes altogether. That is still the case. But I am making an exception for 3 episodes which I’m going to release now. This triptych of episodes covers life…
Hello everyone, as you may remember our last episode was an interview with author Gordon Doherty. Gordon generously offered to give away a copy of his book – Strategos: Born in the Borderlands to one of you. We set a competition and a winner has been chosen. I will leave it to Gordon to tell you about the best entries he read and to announce the wi…
I have big news. A History of Byzantium baby is on the way. The purple room in the Palace is being prepared for the Autumn and I can assure you that the names Justinian and Theodora will not be under consideration. Of course I’m very excited. But it means I think we need to change the way the podcast is scheduled. I plan on being as involved as pos…
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 247 - Writing Byzantine Fiction with Gordon Doherty
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37:56
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I talk to historical fiction author Gordon Doherty about his Byzantine book series 'Strategos.' We talk about inspiration and research but also what advice he'd give to aspiring writers. We also give you the chance to win a copy of the first book in the Strategos trilogy. Find out more about Gordon and his other book series (including more Roman er…
Providing an update on the direction of the current seriesBy Ryan VanDyke
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 246 - Travelling to Turkey with Şerif Yenen
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While I'm away on the third 'History of Byzantium' tour I thought it was time to talk to the man behind them - Şerif Yenen. Şerif has been a tour guide in Istanbul for decades and has published many excellent books on the subject. He has also gone online to share his love for travel through podcasts and Youtube videos. I talk to Serif about his car…
April 2022 Update Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I answer listener questions about Manuel's reign. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 244 - Not Completely Unreasonable
29:46
29:46
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Manuel deals with the aftermath of the Battle of Myriokephalon. He is left out of an Italian peace conference and must negotiate a peace of his own in Anatolia. He continues his efforts to position Byzantium as a friend of the Latins. And we look at his church and financial policies. Period: 1176-80 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i…
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The History of Byzantium


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Episode 243 - The Battle of Myriokephalon
47:00
47:00
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Manuel launches a Crusade against the Turks of Iconium. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.