ShadowsOfConstantinople
@RomeInTheEast
Memorializing Eastern Roman civilization and the city of Constantinople. Follow & turn on notifications for academically sourced “Byzantine” history! 🇺🇸/🇬🇷
Amorium was a thriving Roman city in the 9th century, the birthplace of the reigning Emperor Theophilos. However, in 838 an unstoppable 80,000 man army of the Caliphate viciously destroyed the city. Amorium was irreversibly touched by destruction, brutality, and ruthlessness!🧵
The “Byzantine Empire” was the actual Roman Empire, not even a successor. The rest are title grabs by people whom did not see themselves as Roman at all.
Nikephoros Phokas received a grand welcoming in Constantinople when he took the throne in 963. When he arrived “the city population bore him in procession through the Golden Gate, into the capital, with cheering and applause, with trumpets and cymbals.” Leo the Deacon says that:…
The greatest and rarest military honour in Ancient Rome, even rarer than a triumph, was the Spolia Opima, the arms and armour of an enemy leader taken after victorious single combat! Only three men ever achieved it! [Thread]🧵
An old photo of the Theodosian Walls in a slightly ruined but still quite tremendous state.
The Eastern Roman Emperor Leo “the Armenian” (813-820AD) by @byzantinetales
The Roman Empire continued in the East, but in the West the barbarians had to fight to establish a new order. The Franks would be a key player in medieval Europe, a defining moment was the battle of Vouille (507) where King Clovis pushed the Visigoths out of southern France!🧵
Duels and single combats are usually associated with the Middle Ages, but there was also a rich history of them in the ancient world. This is a thread of some the most thrilling and legendary duels of Antiquity! [Thread]🧵