From peasant to Byzantine emperor: the remarkable career of Basil the ‘Macedonian’
The unexpected rise of Basil and the obscurity of his origins resulted in one of the most striking features of the history of the early Macedonian dynasty: the growth of a myth around his birth, his early life and achievements
How Philip Augustus outmanoeuvred three English kings
King Philip II of France mastered the art of foreign relations, and used his skills against Henry II, Richard I, and John.
The Politics of Hegemony and the ‘Empires’ of Anglo-Saxon England
This examination does not intend to add to that ‘wild confusion’ by proposing a new definition of empire to encompass the hegemonies of Æthelstan and Cnut, nor does it seek to force those disparate kingships into an existing definition of the term. Rather, it simply questions whether it makes sense for historians to use the term ’empire’ to denote a distinct and coherent category of political power in the context of Anglo-Saxon monarchical hegemonies.
Medieval Geopolitics: James of Viterbo and More Papal Supremacy
James concluded that the Church must be considered a true kingdom – a regnum ecclesiae.
How to criticize: The Chronicle of Constantine Manasses
Few can match the 12th century chronicler Constantine Manasses when it comes to inventive ways to criticize a ruler.
Shia Islam in Medieval Northern Iran: The Alid dynasties of Tabaristan, Daylam, and Gilan
In part three of this series that looks at medieval northern Iran the focus turns to the emergence of the Alid dynasty and their struggle to gain and hold power in the ninth and tenth centuries.
Medieval Geopolitics: Giles of Rome on why the Pope should rule the entire world
The early fourteenth-century would see the King of France and the Papacy fighting over who was the superior power. One of the leading scholars of that time would weigh on the matter – and provide the key arguments for Papal Absolutism.
How to explain the Medieval Papacy
How on earth did it come to wield the enormous amount of power that it did in the 13th century?
Medieval Geopolitics: Questions of Power and Authority between Church and State
Were either the temporal and spiritual authorities supreme, in the sense that they had legitimate jurisdiction over the other? What was the source of supreme authority? In what ways was supreme authority limited?
Plotting, Rebellion, Fratricide: A Game of Thrones in Medieval Sweden
The one story that I wish to tell today is from Erikskrönikan, or ‘The Chronicle of Duke Erik’.
Lucrezia Borgia and her marriage to Alfonso d’Este
After two failed marriages, one of which had ended in the murder of Alfonso Duke of Bisceglie, Lucrezia Borgia was once more on the marriage market in the year 1500. She was a pawn, a chess piece for her father and brother’s political plans. This time, the Borgia family were looking to tie their family to the Estes of Ferrara – a proud and ancient House.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Conflict between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France
The clash between Pope Boniface VIII and the King Philip IV of France would lead to a consequential geopolitical question: where did the epicentre of supreme political authority lie in Medieval Latin Christendom?
Slave, Queen, and Mother of Caliphs: The Story of Khayzuran
During her life and career Khayzuran rose from the status of slave to becoming the caliph, al-Mahdi’s (r. 775-785), favorite concubine, and then his legal wife and a queen in her own right who wielded an immense amount of political power and whose wealth was second only to that of her husband’s in the entire caliphate.
Melusine, Mary, and Making it as a Historian with Christine Morgan
These days, there are many different ways to be a historian outside of academia. In this episode, Danièle speaks with Christine Morgan, creator of Untitled History Project, about her latest work on the famous fairy Mélusine, Mary Boleyn, and making it as a historian off the tenure track.
The aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert (1071): What really brought the Byzantine Empire to its knees
The real challenge for the Empire in the aftermath of Manzikert lay in the mad scramble for power in Constantinople.
How the borders of Abbasid Caliphate changed in the Middle Ages
A look at the rise and fall of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled much of the Middle East and North Africa between the years 750 and 1258.
Medieval Geopolitics: The Iberian Crusades
The pre-history of the Iberian Crusades can be traced to the disintegration of Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031 and the subsequent emergence of a constellation of weak successor kingdoms.
Dishonorable Ambassadors: Spies and Secret Diplomacy in Ottoman Istanbul
In the sixteenth century, the Habsburgs and the Ottomans clashed for the dominance of Europe and the Mediterranean and engaged in a global rivalry that affected every polity along the shores of the Mediterranean.
The Mongols in Europe: The Byzantines, the Bulgarians and the Golden Horde
How did the Mongol presence in the Balkans effect its two main political powers – the Byzantines and the Bulgarians?
The Mongol invasions and the Aegean world (1241–61)
This article examines the decisive role played by the Mongols in the political history of the Aegean region in the thirteenth century. The Mongol invasions of 1241–44 were the key turning point in the struggle for hegemony in the region.
Women at Canossa: The Role of Royal and Aristocratic Women in the Reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV of Germany
Modern historians rarely mention the presence of royal and aristocratic women at Canossa in January 1077. Yet contemporaries emphasised the important roles played by several women, including Matilda of Tuscany, Adelaide of Turin, Empress Agnes and Queen Bertha.
Mortgaging Medieval Children
Taking a look at the controversial decision to “mortgage” a young boy to the Venetians, and why children were used as political hostages in the Middle Ages.
The Great Western Schism, Legitimacy, and Tyrannicide: The Murder of Louis of Orléans (1407)
I will argue that the use of this kind of vocabulary during the Schism may have facilitated a slip into the rhetoric of tyrannicide, and may have incited it. I will suggest that the climate and rhetori of the Schism may have led John the Fearless to rationalize tyrannicide against his cousin, Louis of Orléans.
Collapse, Reconfiguration or Renegotiation? The Strange End of the Mercian Kingdom, 850-924
The Kingdom of Mercians is generally assumed to have come to an end, largely as a result of Viking incursions, in the late ninth century
