Byzantium & Friends

Nov 14 2024 123 ep. 64 mins 2k
Byzantium & Friends Podcast artwork

Conversations with experts in the history of Byzantium and surrounding fields, hosted by Anthony Kaldellis.

  History  Education  Religion & Spirituality
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123. The fall of Constantinople, pope Pius II, and the birth of Europe, with Nancy Bisaha

Nov 14 2024 68 mins  
A conversation with Nancy Bisaha (Vassar College) about the origins of the idea of "Europe" as a place of identity and not just geography. One of its first theorists was the Italian humanist Aeneas Piccolomini (later pope Pius II), who was in part reacting to the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. The problem of whom to include and exclude as Europeans was there from the

122. Latin words in ancient and Byzantine Greek, with Eleanor Dickey

Oct 31 2024 62 mins  
A conversation with Eleanor Dickey (University of Reading) on Latin words in ancient and Byzantine Greek. Eleanor has tracked them down and compiled them in a specialized dictionary, where she also offers new arguments about when, how, and why they were borrowed by Greek-speakers. It reaches down to 600 AD, but many of them survived later too, even into modern spoken Greek. The con

121. Ali Pasha of Ioannina, antiquities and archaeology between empire and the nation-state, with Emily Neumeier

Jul 10 2024 53 mins  
A conversation with Emily Neumeier (Temple University) about Ali Pasha of Ioannina (d. 1822), a powerful Ottoman governor of Albanian origin who created a quasi-independent realm at a time when the Ottoman empire was feared to be collapsing. We talk about how he crated his own brand-image, in part by forging closer relations with his Christian Greek subjects and also through archae

120. Dioskouros of Alexandria, Or the making of a Church villain, with Volker Menze

Jun 27 2024 57 mins  
A conversation with Volker Menze (Central European University) about the fifth-century patriarch Dioskouros of Alexandria, what we really know about him, and why he was demonized in the western traditions. A close reading of the Council Acts suggests a different picture: a bishop who thought he was doing right by the established creed and following the directives of the emperor sud

119. Byzantium in science fiction, fantasy, and horror, with Przemysław Marciniak

Jun 13 2024 59 mins  
A conversation with Przemysław Marciniak (University of Silesia) about books of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and alternative history that are either set in Byzantium or have a Byzantine ambiance. We talk about the features that signal a Byzantine setting and what the latter is good. Basically, we chat about books that we liked (or did not like). The conversation is based on P

118. Pathogen paleogenetics and late antique disease: A cross-discipline discussion

May 30 2024 78 mins  
A roundtable discussion of how the study of ancient pathogen DNA intersects with the study of disease in late antiquity. Can laboratory scientists and cultural historians find ways to interface given their different methods, data, concepts, and conclusions? The discussion was organized by Tina Sessa (The Ohio State University) and Tim Newfield (Georgetown University), and moderated

117. Human paleogenetics and late antique migration: a cross-discipline discussion

May 16 2024 94 mins  
A roundtable discussion of how the study of ancient human DNA intersects with the study of migration in late antiquity. Can laboratory scientists and primarily textual historians find ways to interface given their different methods, data, concepts, and conclusions? The discussion was organized by Tina Sessa (The Ohio State University) and Tim Newfield (Georgetown University), and m

116. Africa and Byzantium, with Andrea Myers Achi

May 02 2024 62 mins  
A conversation with Andrea Myers Achi (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) about the enduring connections between Byzantium and a number of African cultures, beginning in late antiquity (e.g., Aksum) and continuing into medieval and modern times (e.g., Nubia and Ethiopia). Andrea organized a exhibition at the Met to illustrate these connections (including also manuscripts, textiles, ic

115. Imaginary Byzantiums in modern Russia, with Eugene Smelyansky

Apr 18 2024 61 mins  
A conversation with Eugene Smelyansky (Washington State University) on the invention of ideologically useful versions of Byzantium in modern Russia. We talk about the much more limited engagement with Byzantium in imperial Russia and the reasons behind some of the current obsessions with it. The conversation is based on Eugene's just-published book on Medievalisms in Russia: The Co

114. Byzantium and the early Rus’, with Monica White

Apr 04 2024 61 mins  
A conversation with Monica White (University of Nottingham) about the earliest contacts between Constantinople and the first Rus'-Varangian raiders, traders, and mercenaries to cross the Black Sea. Who were these people, what did they want, and how did contact with east Roman culture change them? The conversation is based on a number of Monica's recent publications, including 'Earl