Greetings all,

 

Today we reflect on the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Sicily and southern Italy on July 15th in 827 AD:

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

 

According to some sources it was spurred by Euphemius, a Byzantine commander who feared punishment by Emperor Michael II for the sexual indiscretion of abducting a nun from an abbey and wedding her. After a short-lived conquest of Syracuse, he was proclaimed Emperor but compelled to flee to Africa to the court of Ziyadat Allay. The latter agreed to conquer Sicily on the promise of a yearly tribute. The conquest lasted 75 years. 

 

Euphemius "reigned" so briefly he issued no coins. One lead official seal of his survives - it is currently in the Antonio Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Sicily, as catalog item #38233. There are currently no images of it online.

 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

 

In the news, an article on the downfall of General Belisarius: 

 

https://greekreporter.com/2026/07/12/belisarius-byzantine-empire-greatest-general-downfall/

 

Belisarius was an amazing and important figure -  it is good to see him being presented to the public. 

 

Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we reflect on the life of John Komnenos (the younger brother of Emperor Isaac I and the father of Emperor Alexios I) who passed away on July 12th in 1067 AD:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Komnenos_(Domestic_of_the_Schools)

John was a Byzantine aristocrat and military leader, who by being the father of Emperor Alexios I was the progenitor of the Komnenos dynasty, and also the Empire of Trebizond.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

                                              The seal of John Komnenos
 

 

Greetings all,

Today we commemorate the Byzantine victory in the Battle of Sirmium on July 8th in 1167 AD:

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

The battle was fought between Byzantine and Hungarian forces. The Byzantines goaded the Hungarian cavalry into a charge, which was broken. The Byzantine forces then brought in their reserves, capturing the enemy standard and five senior commanders. The Hungarians were forced to sue for peace on Byzantine terms, and solidified control of the Balkans for the Empire. 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

 

Today we reflect with sadness on the Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Heliopolis on July 6th in 640 AD:

 

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

 

The loss to Islamic forces led to the permanent loss of Egypt as a Roman province. Egypt had been added to the Roman Empire by Augustus after the defeat of Cleopatra in 30 AD, so Egypt had been part of the Roman Empire for 610 years.

 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all,

 

Today we commemorate the official opening of Constantine's Bridge across the Danube, which was ceremonially done in the presence of Emperor Constantine himself on July 5th in 328 AD:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine's_Bridge_(Danube)

It is believed that the Emperor Valens used the bridge to cross the Danube during his campaign against the Goths in 367 AD.

 

Interestingly, coins minted by Constantine with a bridge on the reverse were long thought to represent the Milvian Bridge. However the  Milvian Bridge is still standing and the bridge on the coins looks nothing like it, so they probably represent Constantine's Bridge which was built on pontoons instead of being an arched bridge. Truly this was a marvel; it was the longest river bridge in all of antiquity being 2,434 meters in length!

 

 -Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

Excellent news today, the site of a lost Byzantine city has been discovered at the Dakhla oasis in Egypt: 

https://greekreporter.com/2026/07/03/byzantine-city-egypt-dakhla-oasis/

This is a well preserved site and some interesting items have been found, including gold coins dating to the reign of Emperor Constantius II and over 200 ostraca, (writings on broken pottery) which give wonderful insight into the daily life of the city. 

It isn't every day a new Byzantine city is discovered - there should be cake!  :)

-Marcus Cassius Julianus