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Subject to ChangeAuthor: Russell Hogg
I talk to the world's best historians and let them tell the stories. And the stories are wonderful! (And occasionally I change the subject and talk about films, philosophy or whatever!). Language: en-gb Genres: Film Reviews, History, TV & Film Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Mutilated and exiled (the Emperor Justinian II - part 1)
Episode 103
Monday, 20 April, 2026
Justinian II becomes emperor at sixteen. Even allowing for the hostility of our sources the reign is not all plain sailing.I'm joined by Professor David Parnell to work through the first half of one of Byzantium's most extraordinary reigns. Part one takes us from his accession to the moment the city loses patience and terminates the reign violently. David and I are left scratching our heads as to why this story has never had its own Netflix series.We started with the empire Justinian inherits, which is much smaller than the one his famous namesake Justinian I assembled. Two generations of Arab expansion and some energetic Slavic settlement have done their work. Constantinople and Anatolia are doing fine. Greece and the Balkans are a mess. The Arab caliphate is slightly distracted by civil wars but still very much a threat on the eastern frontier, having already put Constantinople itself under siege in the 670s. We talk about that siege, the role Greek fire played in saving the city, and why all this matters for understanding both what Justinian thinks he can achieve and his overconfidence.Then we get into the reign itself. Justinian is pious, bold and occasionally effective but capable of the most disastrous misjudgements. So it starts well and then starts to unravel!
