12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire
19 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 14 years ago - ★★★★★ - 858 ratingsThis lecture series by Lars Brownworth covers the history of the Byzantine Empire through the study of 12 of its greatest rulers.
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Episodes
Norman Centuries Podcast Teaser
September 24, 2009 08:00 - 1 minute - 1.37 MB x-audio/mp3Lars Brownworth's new podcast called Norman Centuries is also available.
Reading Suggestions
February 12, 2008 08:00 - 4 minutes - 4.23 MB x-audio/mp3Lars Brownworth gives some reading suggestions on the Byzantine Empire.
Episode 17 - Conclusion
January 29, 2008 20:00 - 14 minutes - 13.7 MB x-audio/mp3With the death of Constantine XI, the Byzantine Empire drew to a close. But that was not the end of the story. From the Orthodox Church, to the Russian Empire, their spirit survived, and offers enduring lessons for the modern world. Join Lars Brownworth as he looks at their immense legacy, and reflects on why Byzantine History matters.
Episode 16 - Constantine XI
September 24, 2007 23:00 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MB x-audio/mp3The 14th century was not a kind one for Byzantium. The Fourth Crusade had left it a hollow shell of itself, fatally crippled in the face of Turkish aggression. A series of forgettable rulers did what they could, but by the middle of the next century all hope was lost. Surrounded on all sides by the hostile Turks, the once vast empire had shrunk to little more than the city of Constantinople itself. Led by the indomitable Constantine XI, the Byzantines faced certain destruction and fearsom...
Episode 15 - Isaac
August 13, 2007 22:00 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MB x-audio/mp3Isaac Angelus was never meant for the throne. He should have lived out his life in comfortable obscurity, but instead found imperial power thrust upon him as Alexius I's brilliant dynasty came to a bloody and decadent conclusion. Unfortunately he and his son were to prove completely unfit for the office, inviting one of the greatest calamities in history down upon their heads, fatally weakening the empire. Join Lars Brownworth as he looks at the reign of Isaac Angelus as it inexorably descend...
Episode 14 - Alexius
March 19, 2007 09:00 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MB x-audio/mp3When the 24 year old Alexius Comnenus came to the throne, the glories of the Empire seemed long gone. Its "invincible" army had been smashed at the battle of Manzikert, the frontiers were collapsing, and enemies on every side threatened to overwhelm what was left. It would take an extraordinary ruler to salvage something from the wreckage much less restore Byzantine prestige. Join Lars Brownworth as he takes a look at Alexius Comnenus, the man who did just that, even as the First Crusade erup...
Episode 13 - Basil II
January 01, 2007 12:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MB x-audio/mp3By the time Basil II was crowned at age two, the Macedonian Dynasty had led the Byzantine Empire to seemingly endless military victories and unprecedented heights of glory. However it was not the emperors who had accomplished so much, but their powerful generals. In fact Basil's dynasty seemed to be in danger of becoming purely ceremonial or disappearing completely. The young emperor, dominated completely by his regents, seemed unlikely to change things. There was no trace of the heroic ab...
Episode 12 - Basil I
December 02, 2006 09:00 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MB x-audio/mp3Basil I was hardly a promising candidate to usher in a new golden age to the Byzantine Empire. A poor, illiterate Armenian peasant, he was kidnapped by raiding Bulgarians as a boy, and only managed to escape in his mid twenties. Renowned for his great strength and skill with horses, he found work as a stable hand and grew into a violent, ambitious man, whose thirst for power led him to commit two of the foulest murders that even Byzantine history has to offer. And yet, against the odds, hi...
Episode 11 - Irene
November 09, 2006 07:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MB x-audio/mp3When the weak, ineffectual emperor Leo IV died in 780, he left the empire divided and in the hands of an orphan from Athens; the beautiful and grasping Empress Irene. 17 years later she was crowned as sole ruler after murdering her own son to take his place. It was hardly an auspicious start, beset by enemies on every border, the empire was now facing its most serious internal threat; the terrible iconoclastic controversy. Successive emperors had neglected the frontiers to concentrate on the ...
Episode 10 - Heraclius
October 12, 2006 10:00 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MB x-audio/mp3In the years following Justinian's death, the empire was rocked from within and without. Barbarians pushed in on every border and the empire's ancient enemy Persia ravaged the East unchecked. The empire met this challenge with a series of weak and foolish rulers who squandered what resources they had, and crumbled before the Persian onslaught. By the start of the 7th Century, the emperor was a virtual prisoner in his own palace, the Persians were beneath the walls of Constantinople, and the r...
Episode 9 - Justinian - Part 3
July 17, 2006 08:00 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MB x-audio/mp3With the reconquest of Italy seemingly complete and the Persian threat momentarily neutralized by the plague, Justinian could at last afford to rest. But the empire's enemies were everywhere- the plague abated and a charismatic new Gothic king arose in Italy. The empire could ill afford to keep its greatest general in disgrace, and Justinian would once again turn to the man he could never quite bring himself to trust. The final decade of his life would see the fruition of his epic dreams of r...
Episode 8 - Justinian - Part 2
May 30, 2006 05:00 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MB x-audio/mp3With the return of relative calm after the reign's turbulent beginnings, Justinian could turn to his most ambitious project, the reconquest of the Western Empire. For this, his most cherished goal, he looked to one man, the young, promising general, Belisarius. Justinian was rewarded with unswerving loyalty and unquestioned brilliance, and yet the road to reconquest was to be a difficult and tragic one for both men. Join Lars Brownworth as the story of Justinian's reconquest of Africa and Ita...
Episode 7 - Justinian - Part 1
March 11, 2006 08:00 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MB x-audio/mp3As the 6th Century dawned on the tottering Byzantine State, the future seemed to hold only decline and decay, and yet unexpectedly, it was to see a renaissance unmatched in the long history of the empire. On every front, it seemed, were gathered the towering giants of the age- poised and ready to take the empire to ever greater and more dizzying heights. All that was needed was a ruler with enough vision to unite and drive this vast collection of the best and the brightest- a ruler who could ...
Episode 6 - Zeno
February 19, 2006 10:00 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MB x-audio/mp3By the middle of the 5th Century the Roman Empire was on the verge of collapse. Its emperors were mere puppets, its armies were in chaos, and enemies were closing in on all sides. Unable to sustain itself, the West collapsed, plunging Europe into the Dark Ages. By all accounts, the East should have followed suit, and yet, unexpectedly, the Eastern emperor slipped free of his barbarian master and saved the tottering state. Join Lars Brownworth as he looks at Zeno, the unlikely savior of the By...
Episode 5 - Julian
January 25, 2006 20:00 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MB x-audio/mp3A shy, awkward, Pagan philosopher with no ambitions and no experience is appointed Caesar. How could such an unlikely 23 year old become the head of a Christian empire? Join Lars Brownworth as he looks at Julian, the last of Constantine's dynasty.
Episode 4 - Constantine - Part 2
December 29, 2005 21:30 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MB x-audio/mp3Constantine has achieved supreme power and made one of the most momentous decisions in history, that of founding a new capital and rescuing a faith seemingly on the brink of schism. However, his megalomania undid most of his work unifying the church and threatened the very stability of the state. Does such a man truly deserve to be called great? Join Lars Brownworth as he looks at the apogee of Constantine's career and his impact on history.
Episode 3 - Constantine - Part 1
November 30, 2005 01:30 - 17 minutes - 16 MB x-audio/mp3From the chaotic background of the tetrarchy, a vulnerable staff officer would navigate the treacherous waters of the empire and eventually emerge as Emperor. How could such an unlikely man unify the empire under one ruler? In this lecture, Lars Brownworth explores the rise to power of one of Western History's most pivotal figures: Constantine.
Episode 2 - Diocletian
August 09, 2005 07:12 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MB x-audio/mp3The Emperor Diocletian was to erase civil war within Byzantium for the next thousand years but walked away from it all to become a cabbage farmer. Who was this military man and how could he just give it all up? Join Lars Brownworth as the story of Byzantium's first great emperor unfolds.
Episode 1 - Introduction
June 27, 2005 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MB x-audio/mp3What is the Byzantine Empire? Why would a Byzantine citizen call himself Roman and not know what the Byzantine Empire was? In this introduction to Byzantine history, Lars Brownworth describes where Byzantium came from and why defining Byzantium is a murky and difficult task.