The Hagia Sophia, no longer a church, but still standing
I love reading about the Byzantine Empire. Once I learned about it, I gave up on Fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons, whatever. Real history is far more incredible and entertaining than fiction. Plus, I think a lot of our Western fairy tales and Epics of chivalry really came from Byzantium.
Tales of incredible heroism, luck, idealism, fanaticism, evil, and good. Emperors fighting in single combat against infidel champions, beautiful princesses, it's all here. The Dark Ages never came to Constantinople, and the spirit of Ancient Rome lived on in Asia Minor until 1453.
Some of it's also still there to see. In 1994 I made it to Ravenna, the last capital of the Roman Empire, and an outpost of Byzantium.In 1997 I made it to Constantinople itself (otherwise known as Istanbul). Walking under the dome of the Hagia Sophia was definitely one of the high points of my life.
In 1998 I traveled to Venice after motorcyling through the Alps. I saw the spoils of Byzantine churches decorating the facade of San Marco. I saw the Quadrigia hidden away inside behind the false ones. The treasure room gave me a quick glimpse of what the riches of Byzantium might have been like. My bibliography and links to other sites. I should get rid of the first three entries, but they include some photos, so they're still here.
- Byzantium, Time-Life Books One of the books that first got me started
- Byzantium, Jenkins
- Byzantium, Norwich
- Making of Byzantium, Whittow
- Other Sources My personal bibliboraphy
- Some Terminology I was putting together some cheat sheets so I could keep track of all the players.
- Byzantium 1200 Wow! Computer reconstructions of buildings in Constantinople
- Bibliography on Women in Byzantium College of Wooster
- The Glory of Byzantium Metropolitan Museum exhibit
- Byzantine History from the Metropolitan Museum
- Byzantine Themes from the Metropolitan Museum
- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN COLLECTIONS AND EXPEDITIONS
- Byzantine Studies on the Internet Fordham University
- Byzantium in the Crusades Boise State Univeristy
- Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies Dedicated to the Study of the Weapons, Armour, and Military Fittings of the Armies and Enemies of Rome and Byzantium
- Byzantium Personal web page of grad student at Harvard
- The Constantinople Home Page The Constantinople Home Page is intended to provide information on recent developments concerning the Byzantine antiquities of Istanbul, based on personal observations, information from Turkish colleagues, newspaper accounts, and recent publications.
- Welcome to Istanbul Structural Analysis of the Hagia Sophia, Princeton Univ.
- Romiosini This homepage is intended to outline the history and culture of "Romiosini", a word signifying "Hellenism in the Middle ages". Includes pages on the fall of Constantinople and its walls
- The Conquest of Constantinople Geoffrey de Villehardouin [b.c.1160-d.c.1213]: Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople, trans. Frank T. Marzials, (London: J.M. Dent, 1908)
- The Roman Empire covers the Roman Empire from the founding of Rome to the fall of Constantinople, with interactive maps, a quiz, and chronologies.
- Studio Arte del Mosaico Luciana Notturni offers mosaic classes in Ravenna, Italy.
- ROMAN and BYZANTINE EMPERORS
Ruins of the Blachernae Palace
Walls near the Blachernae Palace
Last Update: 3 February 2002
Web Author: Doug Ikemi