Earlier I entered item 1453, which of course led me to remember the Byzantine Empire. It was in that year that the last remnant of the Roman Empire finally fell to Muslim invaders as they conquered Constantinople. Even though they renamed the city Istanbul it was known as Constantinople for centuries afterwards throughout many parts of the West.
Of interest is the fact that the name Byzantine was never used to describe the empire by its citizens. They were Romans (even if in later years they spoke Greek instead of Latin) and theirs was the Roman Empire dating back to Julius Caesar, and further back to the formation of the Roman Republic Check out this podcast series if you want to learn more about the Byzantines. I highly recomend this fascinating selection of programs (which are still being produced--so keep checking back for more). The series is up to Basil II, but in 13 episodes still has not covered more than nine of the promised twelve rulers! :-) I'm enjoying that rate of progress as it means more shows to listen to!
~Matt
Of interest is the fact that the name Byzantine was never used to describe the empire by its citizens. They were Romans (even if in later years they spoke Greek instead of Latin) and theirs was the Roman Empire dating back to Julius Caesar, and further back to the formation of the Roman Republic Check out this podcast series if you want to learn more about the Byzantines. I highly recomend this fascinating selection of programs (which are still being produced--so keep checking back for more). The series is up to Basil II, but in 13 episodes still has not covered more than nine of the promised twelve rulers! :-) I'm enjoying that rate of progress as it means more shows to listen to!
~Matt
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"Every gal in Constantinople lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople, so if you've a date in Constantinople she'll be waiting in Istanbul."
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