Hello, I'm JP Bristol, host of a podcast on the state that, perhaps more than any other,

emulated and saw itself as the successor to Byzantium, the Russian Empire.

More than the history of the Russians, I tell the story of all the peoples of the Empire,

from Skivian Slavs, Ruspichiniks and Bulgas, to Pols, Kalneks, Evenki, Pomerus, Mansee,

and many others you may never have heard of.

Join me in the Russian Empire History Podcast to explore their lives, legacies and identities

across this vast and complex territory, from the Arctic wilderness to the Black Sea, from

Poland to Alaska, from the birth of Step Nomadism to the modern day.

Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium, episode 264, Questions 11.

Several listeners responded to some of the questions we discussed last week.

Dr Gregory Lippiett, who is a lecturer in Medieval History at Exeter University, weighed

in on the flying bridges, which the Venetians used, he confirms that they were not a new

technology and that the fifth crusade would use similar ship-borne towers in their assault

on the harbor at Damiata in Egypt.

So it's possible that the bridges were brought with the fourth crusade intended for use

in Egypt, but proved handy for attacking Constantinople.

Dr Lippiett says that siege equipment was often transported in a kind of flat pack, easy

to assemble way when it was being carried along distance for a specific purpose like this.

A couple of listeners also commented on the question of the wind blowing the Venetianships

into the seawalls.

Listener L.D. and EP both point out that ships will be blown in some direction by the wind

regardless of whether they have sails or not.

...