Episode Details

In this series introduction, we discuss the collapse of the Theme System and the corrupt, fragile state of the Balkans in the late 12th century. The western-Byzantine rivalry would finally come to a head with the several invasions of the Western Balkans, and ultimately, the seizure of Constantinople in the 4th Crusade, events which will set in motion the stories of this series.

Have a question or comment? Contact me at BetweentheSeas@zohomail.com

Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Fine, John VA Jr. The Late Medieval Balkans. University of Michigan Press, 1994.

Frost, Robert. The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania Volume 1: The Making of the Polish Lithuanian Union, 1385-1569. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe 500-1453. Praeger Publishers, 1971.