Saturdays are for the Byzantines: Recent Episodes

profwren1

A new Byzantine history podcast.

View Details

Today we examine the impact the Timurids had on our story of Byzantine history.

View Details

In today's lecture, we take a look at a new player in the Byzantine theatre, the Ottoman Turks.

View Details

Taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming, I discuss the state of Education in America with my friends Andrew and Steven.

View Details

Today we detail the period of time between the sack of Constantinople of 1204 and the reinstatement of the Byzantine Empire in 1261.

View Details

Today we look back at the books we covered on the podcast during 2021.

View Details

In today's lecture, we detail the events of the Fourth Crusade.

View Details

In my first video essay, I provide my thoughts in the aftermath of the Rittenhouse trial.

View Details

In today's lecture we examine the reign of Manuel Komnenos and find out if his time on the throne was drama free.

View Details

In this week's lecture, we take a look at the reign of John Comnenus, the son of Alexios.

View Details

In today's lecture we go over the events leading up to the battle of Manzikert, the battle itself, and what the results mean going forward for the Byzantines.

View Details

In our first lecture back from break, we discuss the remarkable reign of Alexios Comnenus.

View Details

Just a short video announcing my return to our Byzantine history series!

View Details

In today's lecture, we focus on the reign of Basil II, the Bulgar Slayer. Basil was the longest reigning emperor going all the way back to Augustus.

View Details

Today we look into the background of St. John of Damascus, as well as his writings on iconoclasm.

View Details

In this week's lecture, we discuss the golden age of Byzantine history beginning roughly in 963 until the reign of Basil II.

View Details

This week's lecture focuses on the period of Byzantine reconstruction from 717-843. We begin discussing Iconoclasm as a heresy and examine the interesting reign of Irene.

View Details

In today's lecture, we analyze the period of Byzantine contraction from 641-717, focusing on the reign of Constans II, the Thematic reforms, and the chaos following the reign of Constantine IV.

View Details

Today we go over some religious and linguistic things from the time period we are covering. Enjoy!

View Details

In today's lecture, I guess you could say, we discuss the origins of Islam and the early expansion of the Islamic state. Apologies for the poor audio quality, I did not realize my microphone was not connected to GarageBand, so the audio is coming from my computer microphone. The audio will be back to the regular quality in the next episode.

View Details

Heraclius' status as a tragic hero is analyzed in today's lecture, provided the professor can stop sneezing enough to talk.

Here is a link to the documentary I mention during the lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iKaySkQZjo&t=38s

View Details

Today we analyze the Miaphysite heresy and how it caused a split between the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

View Details

In today's lecture we examine the somewhat rapid transition between several Byzantine emperors, several of which resulted from mutiny and rebellions.

Here is the Treadgold text I use: https://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Byzantium-Warren-Treadgold/dp/1352009870/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=concise+history+of+byzantium&qid=1619919925&sr=8-3

View Details

In today's lecture, roughly speaking, we take a look at Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis, some of his building projects, and what Justinian's legacy is.

View Details

Today we take a look at some early references to the Slavic peoples, roughly where they came from, and we talk about some aspects of different groups' language and religion.

View Details

In today's lecture, I guess you could say, we analyze the Gothic resurgence and the Byzantine's response to it as we wrap up the Gothic Wars. I also want to issue a correction here: when I refer to the Battle of Taginae, I am actually referring to the Battle of Mons Lactarius. I wrote down the wrong name in my notes.

View Details

Today we take a look at the little known Liturgy of St. James.

Here are the two links I reference in the video:

Shorter video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOKoJS7ABVc

Longer video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX23jIhacC0&t=4s

View Details

In today's lecture, I guess you could say, we examine the origins of the monastic tradition and what impact they have on our civilization.

View Details

In today's lecture, roughly speaking, we examine the end of the first part of the Gothic wars. We then preview how the Goths are able to make a revival coming up during the ensuing decade of history.

You can get the copy of Justinian's Wars that I am reading at this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Wars-Justinian-Hackett-Classics/dp/162466170X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=justinian%27s+wars&qid=1618183135&sr=8-1

View Details

This video is a response to a comment from a viewer, Jay Uno, where we discuss what happened to Hellenistic paganism in the Rome.

View Details

Today we discuss the development of horse archers in the Byzantine army. When we think of Roman armies, we usually think of Caesar's late Republican legions. However, as time goes on and situations change, the Byzantines change their focus to meet their military needs.

View Details

Today's lecture is the first in a multi-part miniseries on the Wars of Justinian. Today we cover the Vandal War and part of the Gothic War, up until the taking of Naples.

View Details

In today's episode we discuss the history of the term "Byzantine", where it comes from, and how it becomes popularized.

Check out Admiral Price's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/AdmiralPrice

Check out Eastern Roman History's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGRhKKPf80FgqDS-qStL0WQ

View Details

Today we get a primer for Justinian, who will be the subject of the next several lectures.

View Details

Today we introduce the historical character Procopius and debate whether he is a historian or a tabloid writer.

View Details

Today we discuss a viewer's question about how people in the Holy Roman Empire thought about themselves.

View Details

Today we discuss an interim period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of Justinian.

View Details

In today's lecture, we discuss the Fall of the Rome and analyze its causes.

View Details

Today we analyze the Byzantine economy during the early 6th century and how that impacted the reign of Justinian.

View Details

In this video we take a closer look at who St. Leo the Great was.

View Details

Today we analyze the various Hunnic invasions of Rome and if they caused the fall of Rome.

View Details

Today we take a brief look into St. Augustine's life and examine his great book, City of God.

View Details

In today's lecture, we analyze the story of the Vandal's invasion of Rome and the establishment of the Vandalic Kingdom.

View Details

In this episode we take a look at who St. Jerome was.

View Details

Today we discuss another Church heresy from the time period, Monophysitism. This video is the second in our series of short videos to break up the longer lectures from the weekend. 

I want to set a tentative schedule of Tuesdays and Thursdays for our short videos. I may change it over time, but we will see what happens.

View Details

This week we analyze the events which resulted in the Visigothic invasion of Italy, culminating in the 410 sack of Rome.

View Details

In this video, we briefly dive into the Nestorian heresy. We discuss its origins, beliefs, and how it was condemned at the Council of Ephesus.

View Details

In this episode, we will analyze what caused a number of barbarian tribes to invade/to migrate into the Roman Empire. We will focus heavily on the Huns, and I will make the case as to why the Huns could have caused the Fall of Rome without ever invading the empire.

View Details

In this episode we examine the emperor Theodosius and St. Ambrose and how their paths cross.

View Details

This episode analyzes the events leading up to the Battle of Adrianople and the battle itself.

View Details

We discuss the brief reign of Julian the Apostate, as well as the Cappadocian Fathers of the Church.

View Details

In this episode we discuss Constantine's legacy from a religious, military, civil, and familial perspective, as well as the foundation of Constantinople as the capital of the Roman Empire.

View Details

In this episode, we conclude our conversation regarding the Emperor Constantine and Christianity. 

View Details

In this episode, we examine Constantine's relationship with Christianity, namely the Edict of Milan and the Donatist heresy.

View Details

This episode will examine the rise of the soon to be Emperor Constantine, as well as his epiphany with Christianity.

View Details

Episode 1 of the podcast series Saturdays are for the Byzantines. In this episode, we discuss the reign of Emperor Diocletian as context for the upcoming reign of Constantine the Great.