Greetings all,

 

Today we reflect on the life of the Empress Irene Doukaina who passed on February 19th in 1139 AD:

 

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

 

She was the wife of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, the mother of Emperor John II Komnenos, and Princess Anna Komnene.

 

In her writings, Anna Komnene wrote of her mother:

 

"She stood upright like some young sapling, erect and evergreen, all her limbs and the other parts of her body absolutely symmetrical and in harmony one with another. With her lovely appearance and charming voice she never ceased to fascinate all who saw and heard her. Her face shone with the soft light of the moon; it was not the completely round face of an Assyrian woman, nor long, like the face of a Scyth, but just slightly oval in shape. There were rose blossoms on her cheeks, visible a long way off. Her light-blue eyes were both gay and stern: their charm and beauty attracted, but the fear they caused so dazzled the bystander that he could neither look nor turn away...Generally she accompanied her words with graceful gestures, her hands bare to the wrists, and you would say it was ivory turned by some craftsman into the form of fingers and hand. The pupils of her eyes, with the brilliant blue of deep waves, recalled a calm, still sea, while the white surrounding them shone by contrast, so that the whole eye acquired a peculiar lustre and a charm which was inexpressible."

 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we commemorate the life of the Emperor Heraclius on the anniversary of his passing on February 11th in 641 AD:

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

He is best remembered for his military victories which returned the True Cross to Jerusalem. Even today he is remembered with both pride and gratratitude, so let our reflections be happy ones of his victories and amazing story!

He is of course one of the Heroes of Byzantium Novum:  http://byzantiumnovum.org/heroes-of-byzantium-novum/

Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

In the news an interesting (but sad) account of a Crusaders account of the sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD: 

https://greekreporter.com/2026/02/08/crusader-history-sack-constantinople/

History that few people remember today. 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

February 18th is the anniversary of our Founding, and we begin our 17th year today.  There should be cake!  :)

If you go to the front page of our main Forum, https://groups.io/g/ByzantiumNovum you can see our official communications from the day of our founding right up until today. It truly doesn't seem like it has been so many years, but the records are right there. 

Our "day to day" usually seems pretty quiet, but Byzantium Novum has done - and continues to do - a lot:

I. Our 16 years of continuous operation, government and community are a massive success. The vast majority of micronations fade quickly. 

II. Our structure and stability are themselves success - we have done much to ensure our micronation survives for years to come. 

III. We manifest the presence of Byzantine civilization and culture every day through social media and community - helping to keep the Eastern Roman Empire alive. 

IV. We facilitate education through our Bibliotheca, public presence, translation, commemorations and more. 

V. We continue our work to build Byzantine community world wide and have Citizens all over the world. 

VI. We continue Byzantine culture through keeping Byzantine tradition, and have made donations to Byzantine cultural and religious projects. 

VII. We preserve a vision for the continuation of Byzantine Civilization and Culture to continue into the future. 

In short, our "Byzantine Experiment" is going well and we've built a lot to be proud of. 

I wish all our Citizens the best, and I'm looking forward to the next 16 years!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

Mezazon 

www.byzantiumnovum.org

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we celebrate the birth of Emperor Justin I on February 2nd in 450 AD:

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

Justin I rose through the ranks of the army to become the commander of the Imperial Guard, and out-maneuvered his rivals to become the successor to Emperor Anastasius even though he was 70 years old at the time. He the uncle of Emperor Justinian I (The Great). 

There should be cake!  :)

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

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