In the 10th century, a succession of Byzantine rulers reversed centuries of strategic policy by embarking on a series of campaigns that dramatically reshaped their empire. This effort and its consequences for the history of the region is the focus of Anthony Kaldellis‘s Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First C ... Show More
Yesterday
Brook Wilensky-Lanford, "A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America" (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2026)
Ever since conquistadores claimed Taino land in the name of their Catholic God and New England Puritans formed their strictly Protestant “city on a hill,” religion has been central to American life. Even as some found religious freedom—Rhode Island welcomed the Quakers, Jews, and ... Show More
45m 46s
Jun 14
Marinus De Jong, "A Church for a Secular World: The Development of Klaas Schilder's Ecclesiology" (Brill, 2025)
The relationship between the Church and the world has been a subject of debate since the Church's earliest days. In A Church for a Secular World: The Development of Klaas Schilder's Ecclesiology (Brill, 2025), Marinus De Jong explores how Stanley Hauerwas, with his emphasis on ... Show More
35m 16s
Jun 8
Susanna Drake, "Veiling in the Late Antique World" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
Veiling meant many things to the ancients. On women, veils could signify virtue, beauty, piety, self-control, and status. On men, covering the head could signify piety or an emotion such as grief. Late Roman mosaics show people covering their hands with veils when receiving or gi ... Show More
1h 35m
Sep 2025
Who Was Muhammad II Fatih?
<p>The fall of Constantinople in 1453 marked the end of the Roman Empire after more than 2,000 years and the rise of the Ottomans as a dominant global power. Dr. Roy explores the centuries of turmoil that led to this moment: Mongol invasions, the Black Death, fractured kingdoms, ... Show More
59m 10s
Sep 2024
A 1,300 History of the Middle East in Seven Religious Wars
From the taking of the holy city of Jerusalem in the 7th century AD by Caliph Umar, to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I, Christian popes, emperors and kings, and Muslim caliphs and sultans were locked in a 1300-year battle for political, militar ... Show More
48m 58s
Mar 2019
Byzantines, Sassanians, and Holy Emperors
In our final episode of the season, we wrap up our theme of Empires of Faith. We start out with some shout outs and then present a brief timeline of the Roman and Byzantine Empire. We discuss the Romanization of Christianity and the Christianization of the Roman Empire. We talk a ... Show More
52m 48s
Aug 2025
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 116 "Clovis, King of the Franks"
<p>By the year AD 719, the Arab/Berber army had conquered Iberia and was invading Gaul or what is modern France. They seemed unstoppable. Would western Europe fall to Islam? And would the Qu’ran be taught in the schools of Oxford, as Edward Gibbon rather mischievously speculated. ... Show More
26m 28s
May 2025
Bonus - The Umayyad Caliphate 4-2 Promo
In this episode of the Umayyad Caliphate, we continue our exploration of Caliph Hisham ibn Abdul Malik’s reign as the Umayyad Caliphate faces mounting crises across its vast empire. The year is 110 AH (728 CE), and the empire’s edges are on fire. In the Caucasus, Maslamah ibn Abd ... Show More
20m 41s