Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchBOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: The Inheritors of Rome
I wanted to let you know that my latest book, The Inheritors of Rome, is now available in both paperback and ebook on Amazon and will be available th…
4 months ago
Byzantium's Golden Age
Season 1 Episode 130
In the century from 860 to 960 Byzantium was reborn as the greatest power in western Eurasia. Its armies were invincible, spearheaded by regiments of…
8 months, 1 week ago
Byzantium's Battle for Survival
Season 1 Episode 129
In today’s episode, I’d like to switch from the Abbasid Caliphate to the Byzantine Empire. The fortunes of both were of course connected and the Cali…
8 months, 3 weeks ago
The Abbasids: Golden Age or Age of Collapse?
Season 1 Episode 128
Many historians call the Abbasid caliphate ‘the Golden Age of Islam’ but in this episode I want to analyse the contradiction in this description sinc…
9 months, 1 week ago
The Rise and Fall of the Umayyads
Season 1 Episode 127
First, let me wish you a Happy New Year and I hope you had a good break if you took time off. This episode tells the story of one of the greatest emp…
9 months, 3 weeks ago
Eirene: The Monstrous Empress of Byzantium?
Season 1 Episode 126
In this episode, we’ll hear about one of the most chilling rulers of Byzantium – the empress Eirene. She was Byzantium’s only empress to take on the …
10 months ago
The Forgotten Heroes of Byzantium
Season 1 Episode 125
In the first half of the eighth century, Byzantium stemmed the Arab advance into Europe. Critical to this achievement were two emperors: Leo III and …
10 months, 2 weeks ago
Byzantium: The Empire That Refused To Die
Season 1 Episode 124
In this episode we turn east to consider Byzantium. We last spoke about the eastern Romans, or the Byzantines, in episode 113 when I described the em…
11 months ago
The Origins of the Holy Roman Empire
Season 1 Episode 123
The final political legacy of the Roman Empire in western Europe was the Holy Roman Empire.
Amazingly, this curious political institution lasted unti…
11 months, 2 weeks ago
The Vikings
Season 1 Episode 122
The Vikings transformed European history, impacted the worlds of both Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate, and even, some 500 years before Christophe…
11 months, 4 weeks ago