It was one of the coldest winters the region has experienced: in the year 763, large areas of the Black Sea froze, and icebergs were seen in the Bosphorus. Contemporary historians recorded this unusual weather phenomenon during the winter of 763/764 in their accounts of Constantinople, now Istanbul. Now, an international and interdisciplinary study conducted […]
Byzantine Empire
Posted inMiddle Ages
The Turbulent Life of Andronicus I Comnenus, who Managed to Become Emperor by Escaping after 12 Years in Captivity
It’s tough to imagine a life more turbulent and extravagant than that of Andronicus Comnenus, Byzantine emperor and the last of his dynasty. Charismatic, contradictory, lover of worldly pleasures, expert military man, his strong character and lack of scruples led him to experience extreme situations, including twelve years of captivity, numerous military campaigns, scandalous love […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
How the Republic of Venice was Born within the Byzantine Empire as a Defense Against the ‘Barbarians’
As it’s known, the Most Serene Republic of Venice, that mighty maritime state born in the 8th century (independent since the 9th) and lasting until the late 18th century, was governed by a series of institutions (Great Council, Senate, and Council of Ten) under the supreme command of the Doge. Although the Doge was elected […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Scrinium Barbarorum, the Department of the Eastern Roman Empire in Charge of Barbarian Affairs
Some time ago we dedicated an article to the frumentarii and agentes in rebus, who constituted what we might consider the Roman Empire’s secret services, although in reality that body performed more functions – including postal and supply duties – because, after all, we’re talking about another era. Julian the Apostate abolished it, leaving only […]
Posted inAntiquity
Mesrob Mashtots, the Armenian Monk of the 5th Century AD who Invented Alphabets
Čanačʿel zimastutʿiwn ew zxrat, imanal zbans hančaroy (To seek wisdom and discipline, to understand insightful words…) This quote is from the Book of Proverbs (1:2), one of the books of the Old Testament traditionally attributed to Solomon. It is also said to be the phrase chosen by the monk Mesrob Mashtots to translate the Bible […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
Empire of Trebizond, the Greek State that Survived the Fall of Constantinople
When the Ottomans, led by Sultan Mehmed II, captured Constantinople on May 29, 1453, bringing an end to the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire, they virtually controlled all the territories that had once been part of it. However, a Byzantine Greek state remained independent on the northeast coast of the Anatolian Peninsula. The Sea, […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Rare Byzantine gold coin found in Norway, probably brought from Constantinople by Harald Hardrada
A metal detectorist discovered in the county of Innlandet, in inland Norway, a rare histamenon nomisma (literally standard coin), a Byzantine solid gold coin, minted in Constantinople around the year 960 AD. The coin was found in the mountains of Vestre Slidre municipality and has been exceptionally well-preserved given its appearance, as it looks practically […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Pouches Full of Vandal and Ostrogothic Coins Lost by Pilgrims Discovered in the Ancient City of Marea in Egypt
Researchers from the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw have examined thousands of coins discovered in the ancient city of Marea, located 45 kilometers southwest of Alexandria. Their findings are reshaping the established understanding in literature about monetary circulation in Egypt at the end of antiquity. Marea, known as Filoksenite during the Byzantine […]
Posted inMiddle Ages, Modern Era
The Last Descendants of the Byzantine Emperors Settled on the Caribbean Island of Barbados
The French adventurer Victor Hughes, featured in Alejo Carpentier’s novel The Century of Lights, recounts in a passage some of the wonders he has seen in his travels, including “in Barbados, the tomb of a nephew of Constantine XI, the last emperor of Byzantium, whose ghost appears on stormy nights to solitary wanderers…“. He refers […]
Posted inMiddle Ages
How two Byzantine princesses scandalized Europe by using a fork
A few years ago I was invited to dinner by some Bengali friends and when we sat down what was my surprise to see that there was a knife but no fork, even though the menu was based on rice and chicken. They used their hands to eat it and, wherever you go, do what […]
