A short history of Byzantium: No. 25 Emperor Valens: A reign under siege!
Valens was beset by serious problems from the moment he was first appointed by his older brother Valentinian, to ruleContinue Reading
Tag: 4th century
Valentinian I: The last of the triumphant Roman emperors in the west.
Valentinian is sometimes described as a brooding and violent man. Ammianus Marcellinus, in particular, does not mince his words describingContinue Reading
A short history of Byzantium: No. 24 Brothers in power, migration and pending disaster!
The events of the second half of the fourth century are some of the most dramatic in the annals ofContinue Reading
A short history of Byzantium: No. 22 The Last Pagan Emperor
Julian is such an interesting character that it is impossible to ignore him, even though some tend to treat himContinue Reading
A short history of Byzantium: No. 21 They raised him on their shields in a moment of great happiness and triumph!
The astounding success of Julian’s rise in five short years, from a bookworm to Caesar, was genuinely celebrated by hisContinue Reading
A short history of Byzantium: No. 18 Constantius II, the Byzantine autocrat (Part 2)
The real danger to the Roman empire often came, not from its citizens, nor the Christians, as some would likeContinue Reading
A short history of Byzantium: No. 17 Constantius II, the Byzantine autocrat (Part 1).
Constantius is arguably the most interesting of the three sons of Constantine I. He lived long enough, unlikely his brothersContinue Reading
A short history of Byzantium: No.7 Nova Roma (Constantinople).
In around 1000 AD, Constantinople was arguably the greatest city in the Mediterranean world, if not the entire world. Trade,Continue Reading
Sean Munger’s Five Favorite Byzantine Emperors
By special guest writer by Sean Munger . Over the course of Byzantine history, which lasted more than 1100 years, theContinue Reading
Rearview Mirror 