Emperor Goblinus

From what I've read, the whole point of the Lascarid empire of Nicaea was to preserve Byzantine sulture and continuity until Constantinople could be reconquered. And it was also quite successful in recapturing some territory in Macedon and other places. However, if it had to, could it have lasted a long period of time, if the Latins had held onto Constantinople?

Of the provinces you have included, well done.

When Diocletian created the Tetrarchy, he intended it to be a permanent system of governance. However, it collpased a few years after he abdicated. I for one don't think that it could have succeeded. First, the two Augusti were to reign for twenty years before handing the empire over to their Caesars, and given the lifespans back then, and the tendency for emperors to die soon after taking office, a slew of shortlived Augusti could have caused much confusion about succession, and wrecked the system. Also, given the tendecy for rash power grabs for the throne. the two Caesars might not stomach being subordinate for two whole decades before becoming Augusti. Constant revolts against the Augusti would have undermined the system. In fact, that is sort of what happened. After Diocletian, no one was satisfied being Caesar, and for a while, there were up to five declared or self-declared Augusti. Also, as seen with Constantine, an Augustus striving for total domination would destroy the system as well. Basically,. in order for the Tetrarchy to have been a successful, permanent system of government, the four emperors would have had to have been not at all ambitious beyond their set post, unusually long-lived, and be able to resist the illegal creation of more emperors by over enthusiastic troops or the like. From my point of view, it was unworkable in the long run, but what do you think?

Although women did have a significant status in the ancient world in Sparta, and women did have some rights in imperial Rome, the old Hellenic world put a huge emphasis on female subordination. Then again, I'm not an expert so I maybe wrong. The Germanic tribes that swamped the West were usually male run, but in a few of them, couldn't so of the women gain high status, and in a few, didn't the women actually fight in battle alongside their men? Again, I'm not an expert and maybe wrong.

Welcome to the forum, OctoberHorse! I'll add a few more another: First Crusader: Byzantium's Holy Wars by Geoffrey Regan. It's about the various 'crusades' of the Byzantine Empire, starting with Herclius' war with the Persians, up to the Byzantines' conflicts with the western crusaders in the first crusade. Another is The Emperor Constantine by Hans A. Pohlsander. It's a small book (eighty pages or so) about Constantine, his life, times, and accomplishments. (I'm going to my original post in this thread to give synopses of the other books that I listed).

What exactly are the differences between the different Turkish groups?

I think that the emperor appointed the consuls. I think that the Byzantine consulships were either filled by the emperor and a member of his family, like his son, two prominent senators, or a prominent military commander, as in the case of Belisarius. (This topic is good, but it needs to be moved to the post-Roman section)

Excellent question. I'm not so sure if it was the culture itself which allowed a few women to become really powerful, but the woman themselves and the circumstances they were in. Women like Theodora and Irene were extremely powerful personalities and when they wanted something, they got it. With Irene, she was extremely brutal in keeping her power. Many people resented her power, and the pope refused to recoqnize her imperial influence in the West, and may have been one of the reasons behind the crowning of Charlemagne as the western emperor. She was eventually overthrown and replaced by Constantine V(?). As for Theodora, her personality, tenacity, and influence over Justinian allowed her to become influential, if not ruler in her own right. Another famous Byzantine imperial woman that comes to mind in Zoe, who I think did rule the empire for some time, but I know little about her. So I think it was more the women themselves, rather than the culture which generally stressed female subservience, that allowed people like Theodora, Irene, and Zoe to become so powerful. Also, you must realize that all of these women were royalty, if not born royalty in the case Theodora who had humble beginnings, but being part of the royal family automatically bestowed a great deal of power upon them, and there have been many royal women throughout history beyond Byzantium that have become very influential in their own kingdoms and empires. The case of the Byzantine empresses is not necessarily unique when it comes to royal women in general. For the everyday, humble Byzantine woman, they were strictly subservient to their husbands, like probably almost all medieval women, and could only operate within their own small, limited sphere of life designated to them by society. The famous Byzantine women were powerful nobles and royalty, and were either born with or married with, the empire at their fingertips.

From what I've read, he was a crappy emperor that filled important posts with actors and charioteers, insulted Roman religious traditions all around, ignored the problems of foreign affairs, wasted huge amounts of money on pointless extravagances (something many emperors were guilty of), and was hopelessly under the control of his mother. Did he contribute anything positive to the Roman state?

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

True, but for more than a hundred years, those wars were not terribly taxing or threatening, except for the year 69. Did the Byzantines ever enjoy something like that?

I was wondering if for the Byzantine Empire, there was ever a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity like the Pax Romana. From what I've read, the Byzantines were almost always at war with somebody, but I could be wrong.

Interesting. I did not about the Constantinopolitan Senate, but I didn't know that it had emperor-making powers that late. What I'm really trying to get at is if at any point in Byzantine records, coins, or anywhere else were there references to the "Senate and the People of Rome," or other such nostalgic republican propaganda, despite the rigid monarchy?

Under which emperor do you think that the persecution of Christians was the worst? I personally think that Diocletian's was the most widespread and organized, though Nero's was probably the most sadistic.

Greatest single person who posed the most threat? Attila the Hun. Greatest direct threat overall? The Goths.

Some of my favorites are: Diocletian and the Roman Recovery by S. Williams. An excellent book giving the background of Diocletian's time, his life, his reign, and what happened afterward. 1453 by Roger Crowley. A rather new book about the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, and the preceding history leading up to it. Very well written and lively. The Year of the Four Emperors by K. Wellesley. Good book about the civil war in A.D. 69. Fast paced and quite dramatic at times. Justinian: The Last Roman Emperor by G.P. Baker. As you might have guessed, it's about the reign of Justinian. Again, quite lively and factual. The Last Pagan by Adrian Murdoch. A rather new book about the emperor Julian. Very engaging. The History of the Roman Empire by Herodian. The translated text of Herodian, going from Marcus Aurelius to the ascension of Gordian III. There are some factual inaccuracies, but all in all, a very good and gripping read.

Thankfully, there is no physics requirement for the minor, just for the major.

I'm a first year undergraduate at the University of Virginia. I think that I'm going to be majoring in History and minoring in Astronomy.

Roman Catholic

To it's dying days, the empire in the West continually made nostalgic references to the republic, about how victorious emperors were "restoring the republic" and "honoring the Senate," even though by then it was basically a complete autocracy. In the Byzantine period, despite the fact that it was an absolute monarchy, did the Byzantines still give any reference to the republic, or was that kind of thinking, even just for nostalgic or propaganda purposes, completely gone?

What I've always wondered about is the weight of the crowns. I mean these things look sort of heavy on the head and neck: Is there any mention of emperors having neck problems from wearing these things all day?

I think that they were indeed kept as back up fortifications for extra strength, but I'm not 100% sure. Though I know large chunks of the Theodosian walls are still around today, I'm not too sure of Constantine's.

In name, it's a local forum for Spokane, Washington. But anyone can join. We have a member from Idaho, I'm from Virginia, and at its sister forum, there is a member from Britain and another from Japan. Ya' think? Here an excerpt from one couch-commando (in the military forum): "Why the friends of the left blow themsleves up near schools and children is beyond me, I suppose the left and terrorists have a common thread - they like to exterminate babies and children." Close enough to Northern Idaho that I'm not suprised. I'm originally from Eastern Oregon Globlinus--Arlington/Boardman/Hermiston/Heppner area so it's actually an interesting forum to me. Do you go to Gonzaga by any chance? The only Gonzaga I'm familiar with is the Jesuit hight school in Washington, D.C. I never attended, but a few of my friends have. I'm not too familiar with the politics or ideologies of that region of the US, although I do know that the western/Seattle region of Washington tends to lean more left, and the east, more right. I don't agree with alot of what is said there, but I still enjoy debating there. No controversy, no fun.

If this is not allowed, then mods, feel free to lock this thread and erase the link. But I'd like to invite anyone here to join this forum. The debate is heated, but largely one-sided (very conservative). I've seen that there is alot of diversity of opinion here, across the field. Here's the link: http://www.spokanetalk.net/forums/