Medievalists.net » Byzantium http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Sun, 06 Dec 2015 19:35:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 The first case of pagophagia: the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/05/the-first-case-of-pagophagia-the-byzantine-emperor-theophilus/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/05/the-first-case-of-pagophagia-the-byzantine-emperor-theophilus/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2015 19:29:10 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=62313 This paper describes a unique case of snow consumption by the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus (829-842 AD), who according to the narrations of the historians and chroniclers of those times was an ice eater, developing a pathologic craving for iced water and snow.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/11/05/the-first-case-of-pagophagia-the-byzantine-emperor-theophilus/feed/ 0 Anna Komnene and her Sources for Military Affairs in the Alexiad http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/21/anna-komnene-and-her-sources-for-military-affairs-in-the-alexiad/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/21/anna-komnene-and-her-sources-for-military-affairs-in-the-alexiad/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2015 00:56:27 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=61922 Without discounting the contribution of oral traditions of storytelling to the Alexiad, the study favours the growing consensus that Anna was more reliant on written material, especially campaign dispatches and military memoirs.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/21/anna-komnene-and-her-sources-for-military-affairs-in-the-alexiad/feed/ 0 How Hagia Sophia was Built http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/30/how-hagia-sophia-was-built/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/30/how-hagia-sophia-was-built/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2015 19:21:22 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=60734 Stories and legends from the Patria on how the greatest church of the Byzantine world was built

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/30/how-hagia-sophia-was-built/feed/ 0 The Justinianic Reconquest of Italy: Imperial Campaigns and Local Responses http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/27/the-justinianic-reconquest-of-italy-imperial-campaigns-and-local-responses/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/27/the-justinianic-reconquest-of-italy-imperial-campaigns-and-local-responses/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2015 21:07:30 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=60664 This article examines a particular aspect of Justinian’s campaigns against the Ostrogoths in Italy, one that is often overlooked, yet one that is essential to the understanding of these wars

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/27/the-justinianic-reconquest-of-italy-imperial-campaigns-and-local-responses/feed/ 0 The Politics of the Gate: Byzantine City Walls and the Urban Negotiation of Imperial Authority http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/17/the-politics-of-the-gate-byzantine-city-walls-and-the-urban-negotiation-of-imperial-authority/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/17/the-politics-of-the-gate-byzantine-city-walls-and-the-urban-negotiation-of-imperial-authority/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2015 07:04:36 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=60422 From its violent birth as the surviving portion of a civilization engulfed by invaders to its violent death as a lone city overwhelmed by irresistible assault, the Byzantine Empire was a state walled against perpetual siege.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/17/the-politics-of-the-gate-byzantine-city-walls-and-the-urban-negotiation-of-imperial-authority/feed/ 0 Fear – Elements of Slavic ‘Psychological Warfare’ in the context of selected Late Roman Sources http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/05/fear-elements-of-slavic-psychological-warfare-in-the-context-of-selected-late-roman-sources/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/05/fear-elements-of-slavic-psychological-warfare-in-the-context-of-selected-late-roman-sources/#comments Thu, 06 Aug 2015 04:54:30 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=60208 The study covered 6th century historical sources depicting the fighting methods of the Slavs. A more in-depth analysis focused on the issue of fear in relation to group conformism, described in detail in Strategikon

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/05/fear-elements-of-slavic-psychological-warfare-in-the-context-of-selected-late-roman-sources/feed/ 0 Management of penile tumours during the Byzantine period http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/29/management-of-penile-tumours-during-the-byzantine-period/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/29/management-of-penile-tumours-during-the-byzantine-period/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2015 19:40:43 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=60064 In the Byzantine period, surgery appeared to have been highly developed, as one may conclude from the surgical material included mainly in the works of Oribasius of Pergamus and Paul of Aegina.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/29/management-of-penile-tumours-during-the-byzantine-period/feed/ 0 Barbarian envoys at Byzantium in the 6th century http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/14/barbarian-envoys-at-byzantium-in-the-6th-century/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/14/barbarian-envoys-at-byzantium-in-the-6th-century/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2015 21:05:56 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59676 We intend to focus on the possibility of deciphering a barbaric point of view regarding the relations with the Byzantine Empire, at the beginning of the Middle Ages, when the narrative sources that are available to us have a Byzantine origin, or, when referring to barbarian kingdoms in the West, they are profoundly influenced by Roman and Roman-Byzantine traditions.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/14/barbarian-envoys-at-byzantium-in-the-6th-century/feed/ 0 Hellenes and Romans in Ancient China (240 BC – 1398 AD) http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/03/hellenes-and-romans-in-ancient-china-240-bc-1398-ad/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/03/hellenes-and-romans-in-ancient-china-240-bc-1398-ad/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2015 21:02:42 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59397 In this article I have assembled elements from historical texts, archaeological discoveries and research from other scholars in order to establish the links between these civilizations.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/03/hellenes-and-romans-in-ancient-china-240-bc-1398-ad/feed/ 0 Byzantine church discovered near Jerusalem http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/02/byzantine-church-discovered-near-jerusalem/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/02/byzantine-church-discovered-near-jerusalem/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2015 13:05:03 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59340 Archaeologists in Israel have discovered the remains of a Byzantine church and road station just west of Jerusalem. The site is believed to be about 1500 years old.

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