New Biography: The Crazy Life Of The Roman Princess Galla Placidia

Galla Placidia and her eventful life perfectly showcased the hectic state of affairs that the Western Roman Empire found itself enduring (and eventually collapsing from) during the 5th century. She was a daughter of Emperor Theodosius I (r. 379-395) and Empress Galla. Upon Theodosius’ death, two of Galla Placidia’s brothers were crowned as emperors, one to rule the East and another to control the West. Galla Placidia, herself, was left to the care of the powerful general Stilicho (or more specifically, his wife, Serena), under whose direction she learned Latin and Greek, as well as other subjects that women of the time were expected to be know, such as sewing and weaving.

The young princess stayed in the Western Empire during the reign of her brother, Emperor Honorius (r. 393-423), mostly residing in the city of Rome. Yet times were not easy—for various reasons (but mostly because of pressure from the Huns) a large coalition of peoples, including the Vandals, Suevi and Alans, crossed the Rhine into Roman Gaul in 406, throwing the empire into chaos. A former Roman mercenary named Alaric brought the havoc straight to the heart of the Western Empire. After becoming king of the Visigoths, Alaric eventually led his people to besiege Rome. He arrived at the city walls first in 408, but was paid off by the Roman Senate. He attacked again in 409, but was once more convinced to withdraw from the city. Finally, in 410, King Alaric and the Visigoths besieged Rome for one last time, with no intention of withdrawing from the city. Instead, they looted the city for three days, stealing wealth and harassing the locals, but keeping most of the city remarkably intact. Around this time, or perhaps during the earlier sieges, the Visigoths captured Galla Placidia. King Alaric hoped he could use the princess as leverage in his negotiations with Emperor Honorius. Alaric, however, had miscalculated—Honorius and Galla Placidia were not friendly siblings.

Continue reading about Galla Placidia's impressive waves of political weakness and strength, HERE.


Picture attribution: (Supposed miniature of Galla Placidia on top of a destroyed city painted by Thomas Cole (1801–1848), both [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

New Article: The Strategy Of The Decoy Camp—Alexios Komnenos Versus Nikephoros Basilakios

(Mashup of Madrid Skylitzes illustrations (medieval text about the Byzantine Empire), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

In the autumn of 1078, a young general (and future emperor) of the Byzantine Empire by the name of Alexios Komnenos handed a freshly captured rebel leader named Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder over to an agent of Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates (r. 1078-1081). In exchange for the prisoner, the agent of the emperor delivered a message for Alexios containing a new task set to him by the crown. Around the same time that Bryennios’ rebellion was crushed, another rebellion had erupted in the city of Dyrrakhion (modern Durrës, Albania), led by Nikephoros Basilakios—Alexios’ task was to hunt down this third Nikephoros (whom we will simply refer to as Basilakios) and put a stop to the rebellion.

Continue reading about how Alexios Komnenos outsmarted Basilakios, HERE. 

New Article: John Skylitzes’ Scandalous Libel Against The 9th-Century Patriarch Of Constantinople, John VII “The Grammarian”

(Left: John the Grammarian, Center: Emperor Theophilos, Right: Pope Silvester II serving as a model for Skylitzes' portrayal of John the Grammarian, all Public Domain via Creative Commons)

Those who win victory can, and sometimes do, distort the memory of the factions that they triumphed over. This reality can be found in the Synopsis of Byzantine History by John Skylitzes, a historian who thrived during the reign of Emperor Alexios Komnenos (r. 1081-1118). In his synopsis of the history covering the reigns of emperors throughout the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, Skylitzes gave little-to-no sympathy to the proponents of Iconoclasm—a Christian movement that condemned the use of ‘icons,’ such as images and sculptures, claiming that the veneration of these items constituted idolatry. Empress Irene almost eradicated the movement in 787, but Iconoclasm recovered and was only defeated decades later, on the instigation of Empress Theodora in 843. John Skylitzes, despite writing centuries after the fall of Iconoclasm, apparently still held a grudge against the last Iconoclast Patriarch (religious leader) of Constantinople—John VII “the Grammarian.” In his history, Skylitzes accused John the Grammarian of almost every horror imaginable.

Continue reading about the bizarre alternative history that John Skylitzes wrote for Patriarch John VII, HERE.

Did The Crusader Bohemond Escape The Middle East By Pretending To Be A Corpse? The Byzantine Emperor’s Daughter Believed He Did

 (Bohemond of Antioch by Merry-Joseph Blondel  (1781–1853), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

When Pope Urban II announced the First Crusade in 1095, the Norman noble, Bohemond (1050/58-1109 CE), quickly grasped at the opportunity. Of all of the crusader lords that partook in the armed pilgrimage, his motives are among the clearest. As his half-brother seized the great majority of the family’s lands and assets, Bohemond saw the crusades as an unequalled opportunity to amass land, gold and glory. Plus, the spiritual rewards and absolution of sins promised by the pope were also gladly welcomed.

The crusader coalition made their way to the Holy Lands by a route through the Byzantine Empire, which controlled most of the Balkans and much of western Anatolia at that time. To gain safe passage through the Byzantine territory, the crusaders made a costly deal with the emperor, Alexios I Komnenos—the crusaders swore that they would hand over all the lands to the emperor that they captured which were former imperial provinces. Unfortunately for the crusaders, the Byzantine Empire was the surviving remnant of the Roman Empire, which meant that Emperor Alexios claimed as his own almost everything that was captured during the First Crusade.

Continue reading about the interesting rumors about Bohemond's escape from the Middle East after he captured Antioch during the First Crusade, HERE.

New Biography: The Talented Princess Of The Byzantine Empire And Her Impressive Book Of History

(Portrait of the Princess Anna Komnene, unknown artist or date, via Ancient Origins and Pinterest)

Anna Komnene (1083-1153 CE) was an extraordinary woman. She was an erudite scholar of multiple intellectual fields and a cunning political schemer who is believed to have attempted to climb to ultimate power in the Byzantine Empire. Yet, her greatest claim to fame resulted from her ambitious history, The Alexiad, which detailed the military and diplomatic accomplishments of her father, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1081-1118 CE.

Continue reading about the life of the astute princess of the Byzantine Empire, ANna Komnene, HERE.

New Article: Six Years of Chaos In Byzantium: The Cumans Vs. The Pechenegs Vs. The Byzantine Empire Vs. Çaka Bey of Smyrna

The Invasion

(The Pechenegs defeating the Rus, from the Skyllitzes Matritensis, fol. 173r, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

In 1087 CE, a horde of Pecheneg warriors (followed by their families) poured down from the steppes above the Black Sea and into territory controlled by the Byzantine Empire. The empire was ruled at that time by Emperor Alexios Komnenos, who had led the empire since 1081 CE. These tens of thousands of hostile warriors threw the empire into such a panic that memories of the old ‘barbarian’ enemies of the Roman Empire were revived to describe the new Pecheneg threat. Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios, likened the invaders to the ancient Scythians, Sarmatians and Dacians in her history, The Alexiad. She estimated that the Pechenegs had crossed into imperial territory with as many as 80,000 warriors.

Continue reading about the this long war between Emperor Alexios and three other military powers, HERE.

New Article: Emperor Commodus—History Is Better That Fiction

The Real Emperor Commodus Was Much More Bizarre and Odd Than The Way He Is Portrayed In Film

  (Bust of Commodus photographed by Wolfgang Sauber in the Antiques Museum in the Royal Palace, Stockholm, via Creative Commons (CC 1.0))

Film Portrayal

After watching the 2016 Netflix miniseries-documentary hybrid about Commodus called Roman Empire: Reign of Blood, I began to think about the ways Emperor Commodus has been depicted in film. In the hit movie, Gladiator, released in 2000, Commodus was portrayed as an incestuous snob who murdered his father, the great philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius.  At the end of that movie, Commodus was killed in a gladiatorial battle with the masses of Rome in audience. It made great cinema, but it was hardly a factual depiction of Commodus’ reign.

Netflix’s Roman Empire: Reign of Blood was much more factual, but there were noticeable differences between what the historians featured on the show said, compared to how the filmmakers recreated the scenes. The information provided by the historians was spot-on, but the filmmakers could not help but make the scenes more elaborate. The two scenes that really stood out in this regard were Commodus fighting as a gladiator and the depiction of his assassination. In the show’s gladiatorial scenes, Commodus was shown to be in dramatic (mostly fair) fights, but historically, Commodus likely only fought the crippled, the injured or the incapacitated in the arena. If he actually fought against skilled opponents, he would win by forfeit without any real combat. As to Commodus’ assassination, Gladiator and Roman Empire: Reign of Blood, both set the scene up as a final hand-to-hand combat showdown between the emperor and a gladiator, while history claims that Commodus was strangled by his wrestling instructor while bathing.

Yet, criticism is not the aim of this article. In the following paragraphs, read about the life and reign of Commodus and determine for yourselves if the historical Commodus is more interesting and bizarre than the interpretations provided by filmmakers.

Read about the real Emperor Commodus, HERE.

The Adventures of Emperor Theophilus:

The Joust, A Prized Warhorse And The Horse Thief:

Theophilus (also spelled Theophilos) was an emperor of Roman Constantinople who was at his best during peace-time rule. He was excellent at administration and seeing to the various needs of his empire. He was known as a just emperor (except by those who disagreed with his iconoclast policies), and found decent governors to see to the different provinces of his empire. 

Unfortunately for Theophilus, his time on the throne was in no way a peaceful reign. He constantly fought against the Abbasid Dynasty. He had some early successes, but the situation eventually got out of hand, and both lives and land were lost as a result. Even though Theophilus did not gain glory on the battlefield, he did leave behind an interesting legacy--his people recorded some really dramatic stories about their emperor.

Read our article about the intriguing adventures of Theophilus, here (or click the above picture). 

New Article: Strange, But Successful, War Tactics - Patience at the 813 CE Battle of Versinikia

In the strange battle of Versinikia (813CE), Michael I Rangabe of the Byzantine Empire and Khan Krum of Bulgaria played the waiting game. For around two weeks the two armies competed in a tense staring match. One emerged with a glorious victory; the other with a humiliating defeat.

Read more about the Battle of Versinikia in our article at our official website, here (or click the above picture).

New Article: The Brutal 1014 Battle of Kleidion

 

An event occurred in the middle of Basil II’s reign that would lead to Emperor Basil gaining the title of ‘Bulgar-Slayer.’  He received the name after the 1014 CE Battle of Kleidion, where Basil faced off against Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria. The battle, and events afterward, ascended to legend.

Read the full article HERE.

A Commoner Who Killed An Emperor, Became An Emperor and Was Killed By An Emperor

The Incredible Story of the Byzantine Emperor Phocas (Ruled 602-610CE): a 7th century 'rags to riches' story. Likely growing up somewhere around modern Bulgaria, Phocas grew of age and joined the section of the Byzantine army stationed in the Balkans. He eventually found himself under the command of General Philippikos. Phocas, though a commoner, arose to the lower-ranking officer position of centurion, which made him responsible for anywhere from 80 to 100 other soldiers. From a simple beginning, he went on to take command of an army and win an empire.

Read more here at thehistorianshut.com

Strange, But Successful War Strategies—Divide Yourself And Conquer The Byzantine Battle of Arcadiopolis

In the Byzantine Battle of Arcadiopolis the Byzantine commander, Bardas Skleros, repelled 30,000 invaders with only 12,000 men of his own. More baffling, is the fact that the Byzantines were the first to charge into battle.

Read more here at thehistorianshut.com

A single horse led to the Byzantine Empire's massive defeat in the Battle of Achelous.

Byzantine commander, Leo Phokas 'the Elder' had the Battle of Achelous won. His opponent, Tsar Symeon of Bulgaria, was retreating and slowly withdrawing his men from the battlefield. How did a horse and water drastically change the battle, leading to Symeon's overwhelming victory over the Byzantine Empire?

Read more about this strange occurrence here in my article at warhistoryonline.com.

The Viking Mercenaries of the Byzantine Empire: The Varangian Guard

The Byzantine Empire was the last remnant of the Roman Empire. Centered around Constantinople, the Byzanine Empire controlled Greece, Turkey, and much of the Middle East for much of its existence. Constantly at war, the Empire depended upon reliable mercenaries to keep enemies at bay. The Byzantine mercenaries of the most renown were the Varangian Guard. These guardsmen were of Scandinavian origin, featuring Rus, Norman, Anglo-Saxon, Swedish and Norwegian soldiers. The Varangian Guard became one of the Byzantine Emperor's most loyal and dependable military companies.

Read more about the Varangian Guard here at warhistoyonline.com.