Greetings all,

 

Today we commemorate John II Komnenos on the anniversary of his passing on  April 8th in 1143 AD: 

 

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

 

He was cut by a poisoned arrow in a hunting accident on April 1 and died of infection. He is considered the best of the Komnenos emperors, having done much to help Byzantium recover from the disastrous battle at Manzikert.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus

 

 

 

 

Greetings all,

 

Today we commemorate with sadness the beginning of the final Siege of Constantinople on April 6th in 1453 AD:

 

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

 

At the beginning of the siege, Mehmed sent out some of his best troops to reduce the remaining Byzantine strongholds outside the city of Constantinople. The fortress of Therapia on the Bosphorus and a smaller castle at the village of Studius near the Sea of Marmara were taken within a few days.

-Marcus Cassius Julianus