From Byzantium to Constantinople • 2013 • episode "Part 1" • Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities

Category: History

Simon uncovers the city's ancient Greek roots, maps its transformation into the imperial capital of a Christian Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great and reveals how ecclesiastical clashes forced Eastern and Western Churches apart.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

buymeacoffee.com

patreon.com

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through, you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities • 2013 • 3 episodes •

From Byzantium to Constantinople
59:29
From Byzantium to Constantinople

Simon uncovers the city's ancient Greek roots, maps its transformation into the imperial capital of a Christian Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great and reveals how ecclesiastical clashes forced Eastern and Western Churches apart.

2013 • History

From Constantinople to Istanbul
59:25
From Constantinople to Istanbul

Simon explores modern Istanbul in search of the last desperate centuries of Christian Byzantium, in which the once glorious city was buffeted by enemies in both East and West, and yet still produced a golden artistic renaissance. This is story of the Christian crusaders who destroyed the city, and the Ottoman Muslims who restored it to life as an imperial capital after the epic siege of 1453.

2013 • History

Capital of a New Empire
59:28
Capital of a New Empire

Simon discovers surprises in Istanbul as it rose to become the imperial capital and Islam's most powerful city. Visiting the great mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman emperors, he tells the stories behind them - of royal concubines, murderous bodyguards and sultans both the powerful and the depraved. He shows how the Christians, Muslims and Jews of the city once co-existed before the waves of nationalist rebellions brought the Ottoman empire to its knees. In the 20th century the ancient capital was once more transformed by the new secular vision of Ataturk.

2013 • History

You might also like

Breaking the Bonds: 1360-1415
58:50
Breaking the Bonds: 1360-1415

England, wracked by plague and revolt, loses the upper hand until Henry V, determined to prove his right to be king, turns the tide at the battle of Agincourt.

2/3 • Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War • 2013 • History

Man and Beast
21:36
Man and Beast

15,000 years ago man and the wolf form a partnership that shapes the future of Mankind. With the help of man's new best friend we domesticate more animals, sowing the first seeds of farming and civilization.

9/12 • Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Ambitions and Conquests
51:31
Ambitions and Conquests

From the 15th to well into the 20th century, Europeans conquered and dominated the world. On behalf of Spain, Christopher Columbus sought a new sea route to India and instead found a "New World". His discovery was the starting signal for the "Europeanization of the Earth".

3/6 • The Story of Europe • 2018 • History

The Battle of Normandy: 85 Days in Hell
44:00
The Battle of Normandy: 85 Days in Hell

On the morning of June 6, 1944, thousands of ships reached the French coast of Normandy as part of an Allied operation to take back France from the Germans. For the next 85 days, U.S., British, and Canadian soldiers engaged in conflicts of unimaginable violence, conquering and liberating the region's cities, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. From the D-Day invasion to the final Nazi surrender in Argentan, this is the definitive story of the three-month Battle of Normandy as it's never been seen before.

2018 • History

Warrior Pharaoh Queen
44:28
Warrior Pharaoh Queen

Archaeologists investigate Hatshepsut, one of the greatest female pharaohs in history; a discovery inside one of Hatshepsut's quarries sparks an investigation which leads to the temple of Karnak; an archaeologist excavates mummy parts.

Part 5 • Lost Treasures of Egypt • 2019 • History

The Clash of the Gods
59:33
The Clash of the Gods

Waldemar looks at how Christianity emerged into the Roman Empire as an artistic force in the third and fourth centuries. But with no description of Jesus in the Bible, how were Christians to represent their God? He explores how Christian artists drew on images of ancient gods for inspiration and developed new forms of architecture to contain their art.

Part 1 • The Dark Ages: An Age of Light • 2012 • History