Even though the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade in April 1204 marked a turning point in the history of Southeastern Europe and the entire Eastern Mediterranean world, changing—often radically—the political, cultural, religious, economic and social circumstances in this vast region, a wave of changes beginning exactly one century before this significant event had already transformed the political system in Southeastern Europe, that is, in the Byzantine Empire᾽s European hinterland. Continue reading “Creation of a new political elite in the Eastern Roman (‘Byzantine’) World through a process of political marriages – A high-point of ‘Byzantine’ diplomacy” →