Greetings all, 

In the news, an interesting opinion article on how the Byzantine Empire saved Europe: 

https://neoskosmos.com/en/2026/05/25/dialogue/opinion/byzantine-empire-medieval-greek-empire-that-saved-europe/

Always good to see the contributions of the Eastern Roman Empire being in the public eye.  :)

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

In the news, the ancient Byzantine royal palace has re-opened in the city of Mystras: 

https://greekreporter.com/2026/05/23/mystras-greece-only-surviving-byzantine-palace-opens/

It is the only surviving Byzantine era palace in Greece, It has been restored as a museum housing exhibits and artifacts about Byzantine royal daily life. This is a very significant historical and cultural endeavor!

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we commemorate of the birth of Emperor Constantine VII, on May 17th in 905 AD:

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

He was a good Emperor and was of course the author of "Dii Ceremonis", which is a treasure-trove of Byzantine Imperial ceremony.

There should be cake! :)

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

In the news, researchers used a 1500 year old Byzantine floor mosaic with a map on it to find a lost city in Jordan: 

https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/05/old-map-find-lost-city-in-jordan/

The famous Madaba Mosaic from the Church of Saint George in Jordan gave the position of the lost Byzantine settlement town  of Tharais, which had remained undiscovered. 
The site was large enough to have a stone church and other stone buildings, and hopefully more archaeology will be done there in the near future. 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we commemorate Constantine VII being raised as Emperor on May 15th in 908 AD:

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

This was a purely symbolic gesture as Constantine VII was three years old at the time.

Happily he grew up to be a good ruler, as well as a scholar and writer. He was the author of "De Ceremoniis", a compendium of Byzantine court rituals, and several other works.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we commemorate the Siege of Nicaea which began on May 14th in 1097 AD:

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

Nicaea had been under the control of the Seljuk Turks since 1081. This attack on the city was the first battle of the First Crusade. The siege lasted for 6 days - then  the Turks surrendered the city to Byzantine forces to prevent it from being sacked by the Latin Crusaders.  

Byzantium for the easy win!   :)

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

Greetings all, 

In the news, an article on the Byzantine "dead cities" in Syria: 

https://greekreporter.com/2026/05/13/syrias-ancient-cities-reveal-roman-byzantine-architecture/

Apparently there are around 700 abandoned Byzantine era towns that were populated by Syriac speaking Christian communities in the area. The area produced olive oil and wine, and were populated through the 7th century AD. It seems many remains are still extant and there is much opportunity for archaeology.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus