12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire

Episode 13 - Basil II

Contributed by Lukas

By the time Basil II was crowned at age two, the Macedonian Dynasty had led the Byzantine Empire to seemingly endless military victories and unprecede...

Episode 14 - Alexius

Contributed by Lukas

When the 24 year old Alexius Comnenus came to the throne, the glories of the Empire seemed long gone. Its "invincible" army had been smashed at the ba...

Norman Centuries Podcast Teaser

24 Sep 2009

Contributed by Lukas

Lars Brownworth's new podcast called Norman Centuries is also available.

Reading Suggestions

12 Feb 2008

Contributed by Lukas

Lars Brownworth gives some reading suggestions on the Byzantine Empire.

Episode 17 - Conclusion

29 Jan 2008

Contributed by Lukas

With the death of Constantine XI, the Byzantine Empire drew to a close. But that was not the end of the story. From the Orthodox Church, to the Russ...

Episode 16 - Constantine XI

24 Sep 2007

Contributed by Lukas

The 14th century was not a kind one for Byzantium. The Fourth Crusade had left it a hollow shell of itself, fatally crippled in the face of Turkish a...

Episode 15 - Isaac

13 Aug 2007

Contributed by Lukas

Isaac Angelus was never meant for the throne. He should have lived out his life in comfortable obscurity, but instead found imperial power thrust upon...

Episode 12 - Basil I

02 Dec 2006

Contributed by Lukas

Basil I was hardly a promising candidate to usher in a new golden age to the Byzantine Empire. A poor, illiterate Armenian peasant, he was kidnapped ...

Episode 11 - Irene

09 Nov 2006

Contributed by Lukas

When the weak, ineffectual emperor Leo IV died in 780, he left the empire divided and in the hands of an orphan from Athens; the beautiful and graspin...

Episode 10 - Heraclius

12 Oct 2006

Contributed by Lukas

In the years following Justinian's death, the empire was rocked from within and without. Barbarians pushed in on every border and the empire's ancient...

Episode 9 - Justinian - Part 3

17 Jul 2006

Contributed by Lukas

With the reconquest of Italy seemingly complete and the Persian threat momentarily neutralized by the plague, Justinian could at last afford to rest. ...

Episode 8 - Justinian - Part 2

30 May 2006

Contributed by Lukas

With the return of relative calm after the reign's turbulent beginnings, Justinian could turn to his most ambitious project, the reconquest of the Wes...

Episode 7 - Justinian - Part 1

11 Mar 2006

Contributed by Lukas

As the 6th Century dawned on the tottering Byzantine State, the future seemed to hold only decline and decay, and yet unexpectedly, it was to see a re...

Episode 6 - Zeno

19 Feb 2006

Contributed by Lukas

By the middle of the 5th Century the Roman Empire was on the verge of collapse. Its emperors were mere puppets, its armies were in chaos, and enemies ...

Episode 5 - Julian

25 Jan 2006

Contributed by Lukas

A shy, awkward, Pagan philosopher with no ambitions and no experience is appointed Caesar. How could such an unlikely 23 year old become the head of a...

Episode 4 - Constantine - Part 2

29 Dec 2005

Contributed by Lukas

Constantine has achieved supreme power and made one of the most momentous decisions in history, that of founding a new capital and rescuing a faith se...

Episode 3 - Constantine - Part 1

30 Nov 2005

Contributed by Lukas

From the chaotic background of the tetrarchy, a vulnerable staff officer would navigate the treacherous waters of the empire and eventually emerge as ...

Episode 2 - Diocletian

09 Aug 2005

Contributed by Lukas

The Emperor Diocletian was to erase civil war within Byzantium for the next thousand years but walked away from it all to become a cabbage farmer. Who...

Episode 1 - Introduction

27 Jun 2005

Contributed by Lukas

What is the Byzantine Empire? Why would a Byzantine citizen call himself Roman and not know what the Byzantine Empire was? In this introduction to Byz...