Greetings, fans of the History of Byzantium podcast. This is Mark Painter, your fellow fan of the

history of Byzantium and host of the History of the 20th Century podcast. You know, you might think

that Robin and I are working the opposite ends of history, but you know what? I just did an

episode that was a survey of the Balkans and it included references to Justinian and Procopius

and the Balkars. And I distinctly remember Robin telling a story of a Gian Islanders who

self-identified as Romans when Greek soldiers landed on their island during the First Balkan War in

1912. The Axon decisions of people long ago for better or for worse reverberate down through the

centuries and the Axon decisions of people of more recent times can and should be judged through

the lens of history. Have they learned the lessons of those who came before or have they condemned

themselves and everyone else to repeat them? In other words, history is a seamless web and while I

can't promise you a host with a Malif Lewis English accent that makes Americans like me swoon,

I can promise you a thoughtful look at how the centuries passed influenced the 20th century

and how the events of the 20th century shaped to the world we know today at historyofthe20thcentury.com.

Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium.

Episode 110

The Four Wives of Leo VI

Last time we got to know Leo VI, known then and now as the wise. The learned emperor never

went on campaign instead spending his time reading and writing in the palace. Aside from some nasty

defeats to the Bulgars, the first 14 years of his reign were largely successful,

but one big problem remained. He had no air. His first wife, the saintly Theofano, died in 897,

leaving Leo free to marry his mistress, Zoe Zauzina. She however died unexpectedly of an illness

two years later. In Western Europe for various reasons, the papacy had taken a pragmatic stance

...