Heraclius, a very gifted and active emperor, seemed practically a model ruler after the tyrannical Phocas. Continue reading “Roman Emperor Heraclius: a medieval “Alexander the Great””
Roman Emperor Heraclius: a medieval “Alexander the Great”
Justinian ascends to the Imperial throne – The “Sedition of Nika”
The Emperor Anastasius died in 518 A.D. at the ripe age of eighty-eight, and his sceptre passed to Justinus, the commander of his body-guard, whom Senate and army alike hailed as most worthy to succeed the good old man. Continue reading “Justinian ascends to the Imperial throne – The “Sedition of Nika””
Polybius’ description of Pontus and Byzantium
The sea known as the Pontus is very nearly twenty-two thousand stades in circumference and has two mouths exactly opposite each other, one communicating with the Propontis and the other with the Palus Maeotis, which itself has a circumference of eight thousand stades. Continue reading “Polybius’ description of Pontus and Byzantium”
The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople
This post is mostly a photographic presentation of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople (today Istanbul), Turkey. Continue reading “The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople”
The last ‘Byzantine’ Turks (15th cen. A.D.)
As a result of the battle of Ankara in July of 1402, the Ottomans suffered a crushing defeat by Emir Timur, which caused a brief period of anti-Ottoman restoration in Anatolia and the Balkans. Continue reading “The last ‘Byzantine’ Turks (15th cen. A.D.)”
Eastern Roman (‘Byzantine’) Empire and the Western Türks during the 6th century A.D. – Silk Road geopolitics
Since the 550s, following the collapse of the Rouran Empire (in Chinese characters 柔然, pronounced róu rán), the Türks (in Chinese characters突厥, pronounced tūjué), a nomadic people, came to prominence (552 AD) to the north of China, then further, after defeating the Hephthalite Empire (in Chinese characters 嚈哒, pronounced yàndā), fast becoming a highly influential military power in the middle section of the Silk Road network. Continue reading “Eastern Roman (‘Byzantine’) Empire and the Western Türks during the 6th century A.D. – Silk Road geopolitics”
Novo Scriptorium 