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Tag Archives: Byzantium
“Better Turks than Latins!” – The Aftermath and the New City
Mehmet had now achieved the goal that for centuries had been the sacred duty of the faithful to capture the Christian capital. Born during a plague that had killed two of his brothers, he was the third son of a … Continue reading
Posted in The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Tagged Aya Sofya, Byzantine, Byzantium, Constantinople, Emperor, Greek Orthodox, Istanbul, Mehmet, mosque, Patriarch, Sultan, Turkey, Turks
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BBC’s Chronicle – The Fall of Constantinople
Here is a little gem and a blast from the past. John Julius Norwich (who wrote the excellent and accessible trilogy on the history of Byzantium) tells the dramatic story of the fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire, followed … Continue reading
The Fall of Constantinople 29 May 1453
Having said his farewells and taken the sacrament I would like to think that Constantine was at peace. He had done all he could and fought bravely with this soldiers and allies. He must have realised on that warm May … Continue reading
Posted in The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Tagged Alexius Comnenus, artillery, Byzantine, Byzantium, Caesar, Constantine, Constantinople, Emperor, Genoese, Istanbul, Mehmet, Palaeologus, Sultan, Turkey, Turks, Venetians
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The Final Hours and Last Eucharist
The fifth … We come now to the last hours of Byzantium. The defenders were weary after defending the city since April 5th. The Emperor’s hope lay with a relief fleet from Venice, but this had failed to appear. On … Continue reading
Posted in The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Tagged Byzantine, Byzantium, Chios, Constantine, Constantinople, Emperor, Genoa, Genoese, greeks, Istanbul, Mehmet, naval battle, navy, Palaeologus, Pope, Roman Empire, Romans, Sultan, Turkey, Turks, Venetians
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Move the Navy by Road!
Number four … As you know I have been away in Albania and Macedonia trying to walk (part) of the way to Byzantium. I have felt very bad about not posting but there was little time and even less internet … Continue reading
Posted in The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Tagged Bosphorus, Byzantine, Byzantium, Constantinople, Emperor, Mehmet, naval battle, navy, Turkey, Turks
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The Siege of Constantinople – An Update
The Sultan decided to concentrate his fire to achieve a greater effect. Remember some of his cannon were so large they they could only fire a round every few hours. He needed what modern commanders would call ‘concentration of effort’. When all cannon were in place the bombardment then continued unabated until the night before the Fall, that is for another forty eight days. Just think what it would have been like to live with the threat of cannon firing at your home all the time. Given that the citizens of Constantinople had never experience this before, you have to recognise how amazing the human spirit is to adapt so quickly in a fight for survival. Continue reading
Posted in The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Tagged artillery, Byzantine, Byzantium, cannon, Drake, Emperor, Genoese, Golden Horn, Istanbul, Mehmet, naval battle, navy, Ottomans, sailors, Salamis, seige, Spanish Armada, Sultan, Turkey, Turks, Xerxes
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The Siege of Constantinople Begins
On this day, 5 April in 1453, the Ottoman Turkish Sultan, Mehmet I (1402-1421) arrived to join his army establishing its siege of Constantinople. Continue reading
Posted in The Fall of Constantinople 1453
Tagged Byzantine, Byzantium, Constantinople, Emperor, Mehmet, Sultan, Turkey, Turks
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New Book: Greek Fire and its contribution to Byzantine might
We have all heard of Greek Fire. We know of the contribution that it made to certain naval victories for the Byzantines, wreaking terrible destruction on those on the receiving end. Little however is known about the weapon. How was … Continue reading
Byzantine ‘flat-pack’ church to be reconstructed in Oxford after spending 1,000 years on the seabed
Centuries before the Swedes started flat-packing their furniture, the Holy Roman Emperor Justinian had his own version, sending self-assembly churches to newly conquered parts of his empire. From the Independent. Now one of the “Ikea-style” churches, which spent more than … Continue reading
What did those Byzantine Emperors look like?
I found a way of having images of all the emperors in one place! Visit the Et Tu Antiquities website for a poster.
Getty Villa Moves ‘Heaven and Earth’ for Byzantine Art Exhibition
The Getty Villa in Los Angeles presents Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections from April 9 through August 25, 2014. This major loan exhibition surveys the artistic, spiritual and cultural splendor of the Byzantine Empire. By … Continue reading
Five questions on an Irish poet’s famous paean to Byzantium
Istanbul has arguably inspired more poetry, novels, travel accounts and essays than any other city. But the world’s most widely read depiction of the city came from a man who never set foot in it: the Irish poet William Butler … Continue reading
Irony And Humor In The Semantically Subversive Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire arose after the death of the Roman Emperor Constantine. To make the empire more manageable, it was split into eastern and western halves, with Rome as the seat of the west and Constantinople as the capitol of … Continue reading
History of Byzantium by John Scylitzes
Full of beautiful Greek handwritten text, and lively, colourful images, this famous work by John Scylitzes is available to view digitally on the World Digital Library. If you are very brave you can download the full 138 Mb pdf. This … Continue reading
Event: AD 312 Constantine’s Victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge – British Museum, 3 November 2012
This sounds like a cracker! The Roman Society and the Association for Roman Archaeology will mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge with a series of four lectures exploring the significance and legacy of the battle, the … Continue reading
Posted in Academic Papers, Byzantine Events, History
Tagged British Museum, Byzantine, Byzantium, Constantine
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