Tag Archives: Muslim

Reviews of Fetih 1453

Posted on April 26, 2012 by proverbs6to10

We highlighted this new movie a few weeks ago and it caused a reasonable amount of debate in the comments section which was probably inevitable. To add to this we now have some artictic reviews which may continue the discussion! … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio & TV Programmes, The Fall of Constantinople 1453 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Byzantium and Islam Age of Transition March 14–July 8, 2012

Posted on March 14, 2012 by proverbs6to10

This new exhibition in New Yorks’ Metropolitan Museum looks like it will be a cracker. If you are in the city over the next few months do visit and tell us what you think. From the Met’s site …. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Byzantine Events, Byzantine Travel, Byzantium in the News, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Turkey: epic movie highlights Ottoman conquest

Posted on March 10, 2012 by proverbs6to10

This is bound to cause more controversy! From The Boston Globe Turkey is on a roll these days, uplifted by economic growth and regional diplomacy. Now comes a film to boost the feel-good mood, an epic about the 15th century … Continue reading →

Posted in Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

From Byzantine Constantinople to Ottoman Konstantiniyye: Creation of a Cosmopolitan Capital and Visual Culture under Sultan Mehmed II

Posted on September 17, 2010 by proverbs6to10

An article from Harvard University by Gulru Necipoglu Introduction: The conquest of Constantinople engendered Mehmed II’s lifelong ambition to revive the ruinous city’s ancient status as the prosperous capital of a world empire. This essay interprets the sultan’s negotiation of … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Istanbul, The Fall of Constantinople 1453 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bettany Hughes – The Day Jesus Died

Posted on April 4, 2010 by proverbs6to10

I had no plans to post today, nor to add more about Bettany so soon, but this programme first shown on Good Friday shows how good she is as a historian and documentary maker. Given a full one hour slot … Continue reading →

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Nineteenth Annual Runciman Lecture – Byzantine Architecture reconfigured in early Islamic Syria

Posted on February 18, 2010 by proverbs6to10

Professor Robert Hillenbrand The Great Hall at Kings’ College, London was packed again this year as over 250 people enjoyed the lecture by Professor Robert Hillenbrand. The subject matter of “Byzantine Architecture reconfigured in early Islamic Syria” did not at … Continue reading →

Posted in Byzantine Events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Why ‘Istanbul’?

Posted on February 12, 2010 by proverbs6to10

Few cities in the world compare with İstanbul, so rich in culture and history. What other reason need one give for living here? “But is it safe?” friends at home occasionally ask. “And isn’t the real name Constantinople?” This question … Continue reading →

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The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge and Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades by Jonathan Phillips

Posted on January 10, 2010 by proverbs6to10

Malise Ruthven admires two books that ask how modern conflicts have come to be clothed in the language of medieval holy wars   The historian Marc Bloch, who died a martyr’s death when shot by the Nazis, observed that “once … Continue reading →

Posted in Modern Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Appear on 60 Minutes Segment on Orthodox Christianity

Posted on December 18, 2009 by proverbs6to10

CBS News Anchor Bob Simon of the program 60 Minutes, discusses Orthodox Christianity with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the Halki Orthodox Theological Seminary. New York, NY – His All Holiness Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 300 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary & Politics, Radio & TV Programmes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Book: The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire

Posted on December 6, 2009 by proverbs6to10

By Edward Luttwak (Belknap/Harvard, 498 pages, $35) In A.D. 395, Roman Emperor Theodosius I split his realm between his two sons, giving the Western empire—with Rome at its heart—to Honorius, and the eastern half—Byzantium—to his brother, Arkadios. Honorius seemed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Modern Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Are Minarets the ‘Bayonets of Islam’?

Posted on December 6, 2009 by proverbs6to10

Recent events in Switzerland have sparked a big debate. Here is just one I found online… In a public gathering in 1998, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the ruling Islamist party and current Prime Minister of Turkey, recited: “The mosques are our … Continue reading →

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Will Turkey’s EU membership dream come true?

Posted on October 4, 2009 by proverbs6to10

This is one of the big issues that faces Europe over the next decade; how to deal with Turkey. Is it part of Europe or is President Sarkozy right when he says he will not “tell French schoolchildren that the … Continue reading →

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Lifting the Veil on the Debate over Veils – from the Huffington Post

Posted on July 26, 2009 by proverbs6to10

I was surfing looking for some interesting angles on Byzantium and found this piece about the controversy over the veil which includes a discussion on its origin in the Byzantine Empire. Given that this debate is one that affects many … Continue reading →

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The Importance of Turkey

Posted on April 11, 2009 by proverbs6to10

This week Turkey was in the news as President Obama chose to make his first state visit to the secular republic which is the inheritor of the Ottoman Empire. It was significant, as despite his many visits to countries in Europe following the G20 meeting, Turkey was chosen by Obama for the full pomp and circumstance, and significance that goes with it of a state visit. Continue reading →

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