Meet Anastasius the Librarian, one of the most fascinating controversialists of the ninth century. A native of Rome, scholar of Greek, and (probably) anti-pope for all of three days, he was no friend of Byzantium. He disliked and mistrusted "the Greeks" and argued that they were not Romans as they thought. His arguments have held sway in the west ever since. My guest is Réka Forrai (University of Southern Denmark), an expert on Anastasius' writings and thought; see especially her fascinating study ‘The Sacred Nectar of the Deceitful Greeks: Perceptions of Greekness in Ninth Century Rome,’ in A. Speer and P. Steinkrüger, eds., Knotenpunkt Byzanz: Wissensformen und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen (Berlin 2012) 71-84.

<p>The domestication of plants and animals has remade the way that people feed themselves, organize their societies, and interact with the landscapes around them. But for most of the human past, this isn't how people subsisted. When, where, and how did people start farming? And most importantly, why?</p><p>If you'd like to see some visuals of the things we talk about in this episode, check out the accompanying&nbsp;<a href="https://patrickwyman.substack.com/p/the-first-farmers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">post on Substack</a>.</p><p>Support us by supporting our sponsors!</p><p><br /></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>

It's the end of the First Crusade and this episode is for sale. Either at the website or at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofbyzantium?fbclid=IwAR2Qh6nmuKJdHH1n-DtDk2FmbRF1KcBv1GFzk05unWgA8stOGhs3aiZVMPA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofbyzantium</a><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

<p>For most of <em>Homo sapiens</em>' time out of Africa, we lived in a world defined by ice. But by around 20,000 years ago, the ice had begun to melt, the glaciers retreating back toward the poles and mountain ranges. This left behind a new world, a whole different series of environments, opportunities, and perils for the people who had made it through the Ice Age.</p><p>Support us by supporting our sponsors!</p><p><br /></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>

China and Byzantium both saw themselves as civilizations menaced by "barbarians," and periodically established empires that ruled over them. In this episode, Ying Zhang (Ohio State, an expert on Ming China) moderates a discussion between myself and Shao-yun Yang (Denison University), author of The Way of the Barbarians: Redrawing Ethnic Boundaries in Tang and Song China (University of Washington Press, 2019). How do imperial societies talk about barbarian or ethnic groups? How might we identify those groups, when they are used so often in the rhetorical construction of Chinese / Roman "orthodox" identities? Can our two fields find a common language in which to discuss these questions? My heartfelt gratitude to Shao-yun and Ying: you have been wonderful guides for your fascinating fields.

<p>Professor John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the world's best communicators on the deep human past and paleoanthropology, joins me to talk about archaic humans, genomics, and whether the concept of different human species even makes sense these days. Check out <a href="http://johnhawks.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">his blog</a>, which is an amazing resource, and follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/johnhawks" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</p><p>Support us by supporting our sponsors!</p><p><br /></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>

With 49 episodes published, I decided to celebrate by making episode 50 a question and answer session, where I respond to topics fielded by listeners of the show. We dive into discussions on favorite history books, how to get into podcasting, and more historical topics like "who was the greatest of Alexander's Successors?" and "who would win in a wrestling match between Socrates and Antigonus the One-Eyed?" Title Theme: Seikilos Epitapth with the Lyre of Apollo, played by Lina Palera (https://soundcloud.com/user-994392473) Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2020/08/21/050-a-qa-celebration/) History Books Mentioned: - “The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithridates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy” by Adrienne Mayor - “The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire” by Paul Kosmin” - “The Hellenistic Far East: Archaeology, Language, and Identity in Greek Central Asia” by Rachel Mairs” - “Caesar: Life of a Colossus” by Adrian Goldsworthy - “A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914-1918” by G.J. Meyer - “The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease and the End of an Empire” by Kyle Harper - “Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity” by J.E. Lendon - “Alexander the Great” – by Robin Lane Fox Historical Comics/Graphic Novels/Artists: - Alexandra Filipek (https://alexandra.filipek.us/) - Matt Crotts (https://twitter.com/mattcrotts) - Reimena Yee (https://reimenayee.com/alexander-the-great/) -“Conquest: Julius Caesar’s Gallic War” (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1479842225/conquest-julius-caesars-gallic-wars) - "Historie" by Hitoshi Iwaaki Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Donations: Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

In this episode, we will be looking at two regions of Asia Minor and the Black Sea: the first is Galatia, home to the descendants of the Celtic tribes who marauded their way through Greece before being settled in central Anatolia, remaining an enclave of Celtic culture while serving as mercenaries (and foes) to the Hellenistic kingdoms. The second is the Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace, a formerly powerful entity along the Bosporus which, underneath the reign of the ambitious King Seuthes III (~330 – 300/295), would attempt to restore their previous greatness during the Wars of the Diadochi. Using these two case studies, we’ll explore the nature of self-identity, what it means to be a “barbarian”, and the successes and failures of Hellenization. Title Theme: Seikilos Epitapth with the Lyre of Apollo, played by Lina Palera (https://soundcloud.com/user-994392473) Show Links Website/Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/049-barbarians-of-the-black-sea-the-galatians-odrysian-thrace/) Episode 049 Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/049-barbarians-of-the-black-sea-transcript.pdf) Ancient History Hound Podcast Website: (http://www.ancientblogger.com/) Podcast: (https://ancientblogger.libsyn.com/) Twitter: (https://twitter.com/ancientblogger) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Donations: Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

<p>The Crusaders set up a siege of Antioch. The vast size of the city makes it impossible to fully encircle. What follows is a battle of attrition as the Crusaders wait for the Turkic garrison to make a mistake and the garrison await reinforcements. Meanwhile Alexios makes his way to the centre of the Anatolian plateau to consolidate the return of Byzantine power. He also awaits news from Antioch.</p><br /><p>Time Stamps - each section is broken up by our drum sound effect</p><p>00.00-03.05 Introduction</p><p>03.06-08.47 Why did the Crusaders have to capture Antioch?</p><p>08.48-14.22 Baldwin at Edessa</p><p>14.23-17.14 The political fragmentation of Syria</p><p>17.15-27.35 The geography of Antioch</p><p>27.36-33.52 Early stages of the siege</p><p>33.53-46.35 Winter stalemate. Suffering and desertions. Bohemond and Robert of Flanders drive off forces from Damascus</p><p>46.36-54.42 Victory over the forces of Aleppo</p><p>54.43-62.18 More fully surrounding the city</p><p>62.19-77.09 Antioch falls</p><p>77.10-84.24 The Crusaders besieged. Kerbogah attacks from the Citadel</p><p>84.25-87.46 Desperation and talk of surrender</p><p>87.47-92.03 Alexios goes home</p><p>92.04-100.19 The final battle</p><p>100.19-107.00 Conclusion</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

Where and how does one experience Byzantium in modern Greece today? This conversation with Dimitris Krallis (Simon Fraser University: see episode 10) ranges widely, from statues and streets to politics and Church politics in particular, drawing on our own experiences and training as Byzantinists. There is a lot more that we could say about this fascinating topic, but we explore various domains where Byzantium is alive or long gone, or where it shambles on in zombie form.

<p>Our understanding of the past is constantly in flux, and there's no field where that's clearer than with the early settlement of the Americas. I'm joined by Professor Jennifer Raff of the University of Kansas, an anthropological geneticist, to discuss the game-changing (or not?) recent work pushing back the date of first settlement to 30,000 years ago or more.</p><p>Support us by supporting our sponsors!</p><p><br /></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>

<p>The Americas were the last continents <em>Homo sapiens</em> reached. Why did it take so long for people to enter this vast and promising expanse of land? Who were they, and where had they come from? In today's episode, we explore the latest - just days old! - science of the First Americans, and discover the descendants they've left behind even today.</p><p>Support us by supporting our sponsors!</p><p><br /></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>