We follow the Emperor Conrad and King Louis as they both attempt to cross Anatolia. 

Period: 1147-1148

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A 'Second' Crusade is called in response to the fall of Edessa in 1144. The French and German monarchs sign up leaving the Byzantines with multiple headaches to deal with. 

Period: 1144-1147

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Today we talk to the man whose research has guided our last few podcasts Dr Maximilian Lau.

Dr Lau is Adjunct Professor of Economic History at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, and also a Research Associate in History at St Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford. He has been studying 12th century Byzantine history for many years now and the fruits of that labour can be found in his forthcoming book “Rebuilding New Rome. The Foreign Policy of John II Komnenos.”

The book is written and will be out next year and Dr Lau very generously shared it with me in advance. It’s been incredibly helpful in part because of its quality but also because it follows a format similar to our narrative episodes. It is a chronological account of John’s military and political activity with a discussion of the sources as each incident unfolds. As Dr Lau explains in the interview – John’s reign often gets short shrift in popular Byzantine books because our Roman sources cover him fairly briefly. But there are plenty of other sources to work with and Dr Lau has synthesised them to create a new history of John's reign.

Period: 1118-1143

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Last time we watched as John Komnenos attempted to untangle the Gordian knot which Anatolia had become. After campaigning against the Danishmends – John moved on to Cilicia and Antioch. The Emperor attempted to enforce his rights without angering the Latins. A trick which he failed to pull off.

Today John will be forced to go through the whole process all over again. But when he reaches the gates of Antioch this time he won’t take no for an answer.

Period: 1138-1143

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John II Komnenos is finally free to campaign in Anatolia. If he can keep the Turks quiet then he can make it to Antioch where his real goal lies. But once there will he risk outraging Latin opinion by assaulting the city or will he negotiate a deal to bring the city back into the Empire?

Period: 1127-1138

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John II Komnenos takes charge of the Empire and campaigns immediately in Anatolia. But he is soon beset by the complications of the new position Byzantium finds itself in. Serbians, Steppe tribes, Hungarians and Venetians all demand his attention. Enemies and allies are crowding the chess board and John must make each move very carefully. 

Period: 1118-1127

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I have now finished all of the videos of Istanbul. So do subscribe to the History of Byzantium Youtube channel if you’d like to see them. The first few will go up next week.

I have also completed our next Byzantine Story. It will be available in the next hour. It’s about a provincial magnate named Kekaumenos whose life gives us the invaluable perspective of a Roman outsider. Someone who viewed the Emperor and his bureaucracy with some suspicion.  For anyone interested in daily life in other parts of the Empire this is a must listen.

It will be available on the bonus episodes feed at Patreon and to anyone who is still subscribed at thehistoryofbyzantium.com. If your subscription ran out in the last year email me and I’ll add it to your feed for free.

You can also buy the episode on its own for $7 but remember from October the only place to get any bonus episodes will be Patreon. Go to patreon.com/historyofbyzantium to find out more. The feeds at Patreon are also advert-free.  

You’ll be pleased to hear that I am now going back to the narrative. I’ll be back soon with the reign of John Komnenos, son of Alexios.

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