For anyone who spends time in the car or just likes to
listen to podcasts and wants to learn a little history, I found a gem.
12 Byzantine Rulers is a series of podcasts by L. Brownworth
as a sort of promotional for his book.
It's pretty basic. He actually does the podcasts himself. He
slaughters the pronunciations (and warns us in the beginning that he would do
so)...but despite that he did a fine job. The content is solid and he
summarized it well.
I don't always agree with his interpretations but that's
going to happen with any history.
For example was Justinian the greatest Byzantine ruler?
Well, 'great' doesn't really operate in my categories. But assuming the
Byzantine position was he great? Perhaps. He's famous for the Hagia Sophia and
the attempt to reconquer the Western Empire.
But also it could be argued that he squandered Byzantine
money and power and by the end of his reign in 565, the empire was greatly
weakened and ill-prepared for the onslaught that would come but a couple
generations later. Rather than consolidate and strengthen he went for glory.
What a story though. The Byzantine era reads better than
fiction. If you don't have the time to wade through Norwich or other works,
this podcast is a great way to get a feel for it in a fairly short time. The
podcasts themselves are all under 30 minutes.
Why learn about Byzantine history? Because it's history. And
like it or not the name of Christ is intertwined in the story. There are
lessons to be learned even from their grave errors and the many wicked deeds
done in the name of Christ.
Rome casts a huge shadow over the Western European heritage
which includes America. Byzantium lives on in the hearts of the Orthodox world
and looms over the Turkey and the whole Eastern Mediterranean to this day.
Is it as Brownworth suggests something wonderful that has
been 'lost to the West'? I don't really look at things that way but at the same
time there are many aspects about the Byzantine world and way of thinking that
I greatly appreciate. If you want to better understand the context of the early
Church, the Crusades and have some background for the later history of Eastern
Europe then you have to learn something about Byzantium.
In many ways its political legacy survived into the 20th
century. How many have been fascinated by the story of Nicholas and Alexandra
and the fall of the Romanov dynasty? You can't understand it without knowing
about Byzantium.
Anyway, I thought I would share it. Perhaps some will enjoy
the exercise. Let me know if you do.
Thanks for sharing this! I'm going to dig into this soon.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about truth being better than fiction. That was what got me into the study of history. I am a story teller at heart, what better story than real events.
I've not really found a captivating and thorough detailing of Byzantine history. Ostrogorsky is the most elaborate, but he is very dull.
Byzantine history is fascinating. All the 'magic' of Constantinople, the intrigue and plotting of the Roman court. Wow, I'm not surprised that when the Franks arrived in the 4th crusade, they were all struck dumb. Little medieval villages like Achan, or Rome, or Avignon were nothing before the Imperial capital.
Cal
It's probably too vast to really be covered in one volume or series. And like most long-lasting Imperial projects it's really a succession of re-castings. I think of America that way too. I think the original country was dead by the 1860's. It didn't work. For good or ill (a bit of both to be sure) a new country was born in 1865 and I think perhaps another new country by the early 1900's.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course once again in 1945. There's continuity but such huge shifts that really it has fundamentally changed.
I haven't gone through and tried to divide Byzantine history in this manner...of course there are no neat divisions in history. It's an exercise a way to organize the events....but I'm sure they're there as well. There definitely was a shift with Justinian and then later in the 9th century. Big changes around the turn of the millennium and of course Byzantium post the 1261 restoration wasn't the same at all. Same overarching narratives and symbols but really quite different in terms of organization, policy and demographics.
Don't worry I haven't forgotten about your Paulician piece. Just busy.
I think I mentioned it, but beware of his pronunciation problems. He's constantly talking about the Pah-puh-see instead of the Pay-pah-see.
ReplyDeleteBut the real problem is when talking about Isaurians....he keeps pronouncing it as Assyrians! Not the same people at all. It really threw me at first. I kept thinking...huh? What's he talking about? And then I realized what was happening.