163- Theodosius's Walls

Following the death of Eudoxia, the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius took control of the Eastern Empire and ran it wisely for the next decade. Meanwhile in the West, anti-barbarian policies will lead to the invasion of Italy by Alaric.

163- Theodosius's Walls

Here are Mrs. The History of Rome's pictures from The History of Rome Tour May 2010 (http://historyofrometour.com)

The poor foot-soldier's view as he approaches the wall. In front is the outer 8 meter wall. Behind it is the inner 12 meter wall and the 20 meter guard towers. This isn't going to work is it?:

The no man's land between the two walls. This is where that poor soldier is going to die:

Looking down from atop the Inner wall into the no man's land and the outer wall. This is where the guy who killed that poor foot soldier stood:  

And it just goes on like that from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn. Um General, I don't want to attack Constantinople. I want to go home:

 Hi Tony!

The line on the far left is the Theodosian Walls:

Comments

[robert]

thanks for the photos

[Marco]

Constantinople was sacked before the Ottomans though!
Not to contradict you Mike as you did say by land.
I think it was the forth crusade ( Dandalo's crusade ) that instead of attacking Muslim territory in the holyland, attacked Christian Constantinople instead. The City on this occasion was attacked by sea as the Venetians tied their ships in pairs and built towers that overlooked the massive walls of the city.
It was nothing to do with religion of course it was simply Dandalos revenge

[Matt,NL]

good stuff Mike.. and not to be another one of 'those people', I really hope you continue your great work in some capacity or other after Rome is 'done'.. would hate to lose your enjoyable history-podcasting.. what about an Alexander podcast? ;)

[Mainframe]

Ah, picture time. Lars Brownworth of 12 Byzantine Rulers have a video from Theodosius' Land Walls too, so that's relevant. :)

http://youtu.be/oCjHA7hM76E?hd=1

[Mainframe]

*has a video

Sorry, English majors.

As an apology, have some Rome-relevant photos from my trip to Greece in September this year. :D

Roman coins. I really got a feel for the devaluation of the currency Mike was talking about when they had this room-sized display of various coins. See the fuzzy upper-left corner? They're from the crisis years. They're useless hunks of brown-rusty thrash.. and on the other hand you have coins like these of Augustus or Trajan.
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/8890/f1010005.jpg

Good ol' Marble bysts. Left-to-Right: Tiberius, Domitia (wife of Domitian) and Trajan.
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8526/f1010014.jpg

Augustus and Livia.
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/5530/f1010015z.jpg

ALSO THE GIANT FACE OF ZEUS. BOW BEFORE ME, PUNY MORTALS.
http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3788/f1010010r.jpg

[Herve THOMAS]

Can't help sharing a few pics of mine from Constantinople/Istanbul, with the Walls too :

http://hellasbutnotleast.blogspot.com/2010/11/byzantium-istanbul.html

[rike]

Here's an article on Roman income inequality, pretty interesting stuff...
http://persquaremile.com/2011/12/16/income-inequality-in-the-roman-empire/

[Herve THOMAS]

Marco, Mike is technically right because he did say "they would repell any attempt to take Constantinople BY LAND", and the Venitians and the Crusaders actually took Constantinople in 1204 by attacking from the shore, if i remember right my History. It is worth doublechecking though.

[Ben Nicholson]

I think as it's neally christmas we should let mike off about the crusade but only because it is christmas. Anyway as we are all sharing photographs I thought I put my 2 penny's worth in and show off the group photo's that me and me fellow History of Rome Tour members took on the the 1st tour that I am privaged enough to say I was on with Mr & Mrs History of rome. So If you want to find more of the same pictures of the Walls as well as other History of rome related photo's. http://www.flickr.com/groups/1737605@N22/pool/

[Nicole]

Thanks Ben, Herve and Mainframe for sharing. Terrific pictures.
Nicole

[Jeremy Bishop]

Another great installment! Thanks for all you do.

I happened to notice an unabridged version of Richard Adams's Watership Down on Audible and thought it would be a great recommendation. As I recall, you even mentioned it in an early episode when discussing the rape of the Sabine women. Forgive me if it's already been suggested!

[Garret]

I'm excited and terrified for what comes next year! I've been listening to this podcast for at least a year and a half, and I've been enjoying every minute of it. I don't know what I'll do when this series ends besides cry in a corner over a civilization that has been gone for 1,500 years. Thanks for making such a wonderful podcast. Take care, and happy feast of Sol Invictus to you!

[Tom Clark]

Hey Mike, I'm a late follower of the History of Rome. I started back in early 2011 (not sure exactly when) and have just caught up. It's really great!

I have a daughter who is working on Masters in Classics and hoping to go for PhD, so History of Rome has given me a great means to engage her and ask her somewhat informed questions about Roman history. I got her to listen to one of your podcasts--Episode 28, Taking Stock--and she wrote me in an email the following:
"For a general audience, this is very very good. … this is a solid, traditional (quite Polybian) interpretation, and so he won't lead you too far astray."

Just to say, I have really enjoyed the podcast and you have my daughter's seal of approval. Maybe one day I can even make a History of Rome tour. For now, however, I have to finish paying for her graduate school.

Cheers!
Tom Clark

P.S. I definitely want a copy of your book when/if it comes out. Do you offer transcripts purchase?

[Joe]

Another great installment, but like Garret, I grow increasingly nervous as the sack of Rome approaches and the end of new episodes looms large. Unlike Garret though, I have taken a few precautions and archived all the previous episodes. Next year I can pretend it is 2008 all over again.

[Ryan Leonard]

Yeah, didn't the fourth crusade sack constantinople? I thought the Venetians talked them into it.

[Paul]

Any recommendations on other solid podcasts on historical subjects? Unfortunately, Mike's award winning podcast will inevitably come to an end. I sampled a few other podcasts as potential replacements. Frankly, I haven't found one that meets the bar set by Mike. This is not a criticism of other podcasts, it's just Mike set the bar WAY to high. Can someone recommend a good historical podcast?

[Luise (Tasmania,Australia)]

I'm listening to these podcasts aswell...

http://historyofengland.typepad.com/

http://www.historyofphilosophy.net/home

http://oyc.yale.edu/classics/introduction-to-ancient-greek-history/content/sessions/session-1-introduction

...also available on iTunes. They are closest to Mike's in quality of all the ones I've tried. I agree that Mike has set the bar to high and others struggle to attain the same level of information and fluency and sound quality. He has a gift! Thankfully we can listen again from the start.

[matt NL]

Paul, i'm thourougly enjoying this one too, about Napoleon;

http://napoleon.thepodcastnetwork.com/

[Josh]

Thanks for allowing us to journey not just through Rome's history but your life as we've tagged along with you through a wedding, a major move, the death of a dear family member and several trips to the "Old Country". It's been a great 3+ years and I'm glad it's not over yet. Might I humbly recommend "Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough from Audible's library? The book addresses the building of the Panama Canal and has a very international flavor appealing to many listeners within and beyond the US. The book won the National Book Award and McCullough's credentials are impeccable with two pulitzers to his credit.

[HP Laserjet 1020 Driver]

awesome pics, thanks for sharing this with me!!

[Carolyn]

OMG, thanks to a nine day break and finishing the two conference papers I'm presenting next week with some time to spare, I'm actually caught up!!...just in time for the story to be almost over.

[Rob Crawford]

Mike, I have to thank you for the experience of being on top of those walls. The whole tour was wonderful, but I still shake my head at the thought "I stood on the walls of Constantinople".

[Steven Wade (aka `Audax Victor')]

I've only just discovered these podcasts....excellent!

I'm a late Roman reenactor (a member of the largest Late Roman group in the UK with an interesting sideline in gladiatorial games staged on the sites of actual arenas) and have quite a few to get through before I get to this end of Roman history.

Of course, if when you're finished with the end of the Western Empire there's always a 1000 years of stuff in the East to get through if you're at a loose end! ;-)

[Alison Morton]

I cannot believe I am so lucky, but I have had my place on this year's THOR tour confirmed. The photographs from previous tours are wonderful and inspiring. Can't wait!

I was at Carleon (UK) last July and can offer these photos (and mini films) of the amphitheatre, barracks, baths and garden via the links on my blog post. Skip the first paragraph! http://alison-morton.com/blog/2011/07/14/weekend-in-wales-a-bit-of-a-romantic-holiday/

[Steven Wade]

Carleon is a beautiful place! I've fought there as part of a gladiator display and live a 45 minute drive from the place!