Greetings all,

On this Day we reflect on young Leo II being appointed as co-Emperor alongside his father Zeno on January 29th in 474 AD:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_II_(emperor)

Leo II was 7 years old at the time, and had already been co-Emperor with is grandfather Leo I, and had "ruled" as sole Emperor from January 18th 474, a total of 11 days. Sadly he died of illness later in the year.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

On this day, January 19th in 379 AD, the Emperor Gratian elevated Flavius Theodosius to the rank of Augustus, and gave him authority over the Eastern Roman Empire:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 Greetings all,

Today we reflect on the life of Emperor Leo I (the Thracian) who passed on November 18th in 473 AD:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_I_the_Thracian

He had a mostly successful reign in which he made serious efforts to aid the Western Empire. He was also canonized as a Saint, and his feast day is January 20th. 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

Today we reflect with sadness the full beginning of the Nika Riots in Constantinople on January 13th in 532 AD:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots

The riot lasted a week. At its end 30,000 people would be dead, half the city burned and several Senators executed. Hardly " Victory."

Contemplation and prayers are appropriate in memory of this sad event.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

 

In the news, a Byzantine era monastery site with a central church has been discovered in upper Egypt: 

 

https://arkeonews.net/byzantine-era-monastic-complex-discovered-in-sohag-egypt/

 

It is believed to be the oldest Christian site in Egypt and archaeology is ongoing. 

 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

www.byzantiumnovum.org 

 

 

 Greetings all,

Today we reflect on the Emperor Zeno being forced to flee Constantinople on January 9th in 475 AD, after his general Basiliscus gained control of the Empire:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno_(emperor)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basiliscus

Although a moderately successful Emperor, Zeno was unpopular with the Senate due to his Isaurian origins. A plot against him led by Basiliscus forced Zeno to flee to Isauria, where he shut himself up in a fortress. He later returned to govern Constantinople again after the coalition against him broke up, and Basiliscus proved to be a disastrous leader.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 Greetings all,

Today we reflect on the reign of Andronikos III, the Emperor of Trebizond who passed on January 8th in 1332 AD:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andronikos_III_of_Trebizond

There is little information about his reign as he died of the bubonic plague after reigning for only 15 months.  Served him right apparently, as he had two of his three brothers put to death upon taking the throne. :(

Nothing like making sure you have a positive legacy, I guess? 

His third brother Michael managed to flee to Constantinople, and he later became Emperor of Trebizond after Andronikos III's death. Michael's reign was period of much needed stability for Trebizond.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

 Greetings all, 

Today in 1078 AD the Byzantine Senate proclaimed Nikephoros III Botaneitates as Emperor during the revolution against Emperor Michael VII:oday we reflect on the 1078 revolt in Constantinople:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikephoros_III_Botaneiates 

Nikephoros III was still away from the city at the time. He had previously sent a letter to Michael VII pleading with him to address the nation regarding the dire military situation in Anatolia, but instead Michael turned against him and in essence forced Nikephoros' hand.  Nikephoros was able to seize Constantinople on April 3rd of that year. 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 Greetings all, 

 Today we commemorate the crowning of the Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos in the city of Mystras on January 6th in 1449 AD:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_XI_Palaiologos

 

He was a skilled administrator and general and was popular during his reign. Sadly he was the last Emperor and he was lost defending Constantinople in 1453. 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 Greetings all, 

Today we reflect on the life of Anna Komnene Doukaina (the later era Byzantine Princess, not the author!) who passed on January 4th in 1286 AD: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Komnene_Doukaina

https://byzantinerealhistory.wordpress.com/2019/01/05/anna-agnes-komnene-doukaina-the-byzantine-princess-of-achaea-morea/

She was the daughter of the Empire of Nicea, Michael II Komnenus Doukas, and his wife Theodora. She was married to the Prince of Achea, William II and after his capture in the Battle of Pelagonia Anna governed the Principality of Achaea from 1259 to 1262.  Interestingly she passed at least one major government action with the "Parlaiment of Ladies", wives of officials who's husbands had also been captured during that conflict and who had left their wives to manage their estates in their stead. 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we reflect on the beginning of the final invasion into Roman territory by the Alemanni on January 2nd in 365 AD:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alemanni

The German tribal confederation called the Alemanni (literally meaning "All Men") had previously been defeated by the Emperor Julian in campaigns during the years 357, 358, 359, and 360 AD and had signed treaties of peace. After this new incursion into Roman territory they were later defeated in the Battle of Solicinium by the Emperor Valentinian I. This was their last invasion of Rome, and in 496 they were absorbed into the Carolingian Empire.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus 

 

 

 

 Greetings all, 

For those of us rebuilding the world of Byzantium, the Vota Publica of January First remains one of the year’s most potent ceremonies -  a calculated symphony of renewal, loyalty, and cosmic order. 

In Constantinople the Church celebrated  the Feast of the Circumcision, and the streets echoed with the raucous, perennial clamor of the Kalends. The Sacred Palace was the stage for a ritual of profound imperial theology. The core of the day was not merely the marking of time, but the deliberate re-founding of the bond between the Basileus, his God, and the polity. 

The Emperor, transformed into a living icon of authority in his most luminous skaramangion and regalia, would process not to a church first, but to a throne in the heart of the palace complex, such as the hall of the Magnaura or the Tribunal of the Nineteen Couches. There, in a ritualized choreography of hierarchy, he would receive the assembled taxis of the world: the Senate, the high military commanders, the holders of dignities, and the leaders of the demes and guilds. 

The critical moment came with the orchestrated acclamations, the polychronia, where the ordered shouts of “Many years to the Augustus!” and “May you reign for many years!” were not mere well-wishes but performative utterances, renewing the divine mandate and the very contract of rule for another annual cycle. This was often accompanied by the distribution of the votum, the donative—gold solidi struck for the occasion, or lavish gifts—physically transferring the Emperor’s euergesia (beneficence) to the the personages tasked with continuing the workings of the Empire. . 

The subsequent games in the Hippodrome, where the Emperor appeared in the Kathisma before the entire city, extended this renewal to the populace, completing a circuit of legitimacy from the private palace, through the aristocracy, and out to the roar of the chariots. This day was a public affirmation of stability maintained, and a prospective vow for a prosperous year to be guided by God’s favor and the Emperor’s pious hand.

May all Citizens of Byzantium enjoy a happy and prosperous New Year!  

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

www.byzantiumnovum.org