Greetings all,

 Today we commemorate Maurice being chosen as Emperor on  August 5th in 528 AD:

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

 

He was crowned on August 9th. Although Maurice  gained the throne with no military experience, he was a successful general as Emperor. He was the author of the Strategikon, a manual of warfare which gives us the only full list of  ancient Latin military commands used by the Legions, including Roman Drill instruction. 

 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

Greetings all,

 Today we commemorate Gratian being named co-Emperor of the West on  August 4th in 367 AD:

 

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

 

He was the son of Emperor Valentinian I. Gratian had been successful in stabilizing Gaul and the Rhine and had intended to march to help in the East, to assist his uncle the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens in 378 AD. Valens decided not to wait for Gratian's army and marched to his defeat at the Battle of Adrianople, leaving Gratian essentially the sole ruler of the Empire.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all,

 

Today we reflect on the exile of Nestorius, the Ecumenian Patriarch of Constantinople by Emperor Theodosius II on  August 3rd in 435 AD:

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

 

Nesotius, (the founder of Nestorianism) was exiled to a monastery in Egypt over his controversial views. Interestingly, the book Nestorius wrote, the Bazaar of Heracleides, survived and is still in print.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

Greetings all,

 

Today in History, August 2nd in 461 AD, the Western Emperor Majorian was arrested and deposed by Count Ricimer:

 

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

 

Majorian worked to regain Imperial control in Gaul and Spain, and was the last Western Emperor to resist barbarian incursions with his own troops.

 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

Today we commemorate the life of Emperor Justin I, who reigned from July 9th in 518 to August 1st in 527 AD:

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


He was the uncle of Justinian I and left Justinian to be his heir. 

Justin I rose through the ranks of the army to become captain of the Imperial Guard. At the death of Emperor Anastasius he was able to out-maneuver his rivals to be elected to the throne, even though he was 70 at the time. During his rule he was able to repair relations with the Western church, and cultivated client states at the boarders of the Empire.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 Greetings all,

Today we reflect on John Komnenos "The Fat" attempted coup against Emperor Alexios III on July 31st in 1201 AD: 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Komnenos_the_Fat#Coup

 

The coup occurred in the Great Palace in Constantinople's southeastern corner. After entering through the Kareia Gate near the Hippodrome the plotters managed to seize most of the Palace, and John Komnenos was crowned in the Hagia Sophia by a monk. 

 

The coup was short lived however, as Alexios III remained secure in the Palace of Blachernae. Alexios was able to send troops by sea to the part of the Great Palace still held by the Varangian guard. Once most of the urban mobs dispersed for the night the Varangians had little trouble suppressing John's supporters. John himself was captured and immediately beheaded.

 

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

Greetings all, 

In the news, Byzantine arrowheads discovered at the site of the Battle of Manzikert: 

https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2026/07/byzantine-ballista-bolts-from-the-11th-century-found-at-the-manzikert-site-used-in-the-siege-prior-to-the-1071-battle/

These artifacts date from the siege fought before the battle itself.  An interesting tangible link to the this time which affected the Empire so greatly!  

-Marcus Cassius Julianus