At one time a cathedral, later a mosque, and now the chief museum of the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia, in the ancient Byzantine imperial capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul), was a world-famous...
Constantinople stood against sieges and attacks for many centuries, until finally new technology—the big cannons of the Ottoman Empire —brought down the Byzantine Empire’s capital. The fall of...
The fascinating and exotic history of the Empire of Trebizond, which existed between the 13th and 15th centuries AD, is a great story. This empire occupied the southern coast of the Black Sea, and...
The enigma of the Holy Shroud has fascinated and baffled both the faithful and scholars for hundreds of years. To unravel the history and secret journey of how it came to the lands of the French in...
For all large capital cities in ancient and modern history, protection was one of the major survival strategies. And what historical capital was bigger than legendary Constantinople ? Known as...
The early beginnings of the Kievan (Kyivan) Rus’ are a highly researched subject that is a defining part of the history of the eastern Slavic peoples. The roots of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia are...
The Komnenos (also spelled as Comnenus) family was a medieval noble family from Paphlagonia, Anatolia, in modern day Turkey. During the 11th century, the Komnenian Dynasty was founded. This dynasty...
Archaeologists in Turkey have found what they believe to be a Viking mercenary district near Istanbul . The area dates back to the Middle Ages when Istanbul was known as Constantinople, the capital...
On July 12, 2020, Pope Francis stood silently in a pulpit placed in the large window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome. He had just delivered the weekly Angelus prayer given each...
The government of Turkey has announced that the world-famous Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul will be turned back into a mosque . This former cathedral and mosque is widely considered to be one of the...
The history of the Slavs is a long and ancient tale. Their roots reach far into the past, deep into the oldest beginnings of Europe. These culturally, linguistically, and genetically connected...
Late antiquity was one of the most dramatic periods in our history – a turbulent time in which nations and peoples rose and fell, vying for power and territory in a merciless fight for prominence...
Read Part 1 The tale of the Varangians continues in its prime in the form of the Varangian Guard, a prominent and selective Byzantine army arising in the 10th century. Composed of the Scandinavian...
Mention medieval scholarship , and the first image that most people will have would probably be that of a monk with a quill in his hand and an open book before him. The most well-known scholars of...
The horrors and mass slaughters that many monarchs around the world perpetrated in ancient and more modern times may be eclipsed by the Byzantines, including Byzantine Emperor Basil II, known as...
The rich, beautiful art and opulent architecture of the Byzantine Empire glorified Jesus, the saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the emperors. Byzantine art motifs, the mosaics, paintings, and...