This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Batchel.

I welcome Professor Ed Watts.

His new book is the Romans, 2000-year history.

Continuing, when last we spoke with a professor,

the word iconoclasm took on the meaning of contest, major contest, in the Roman Empire.

An icon, you all know, and the Russians spell it with the K sound, is often dominant of one part of Christianity,

Eastern Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox.

The other part of Christianity, associated with Rome and the West,

emphasizes preaching or the liturgy,

certainly not worshipping what appear to be idols if you have a prejudice against idolatry.

And iconocasm becomes a major significant factor in the 8th and 9th century of Romans' 2,000-year history.

We begin, however, with the fact that the Arabs advance across Syria, across Egypt.

They take Cyprus.

They're taking away what is left of the empire, because Rome has been lost.

And Constantinople is now the center of all Roman citizenry.

And the Arabs reach the walls of Constantinople in the summer of 717, early 8th century.

Professor, those walls, you repeatedly mentioned that they take the breath away of the people. What do they see?

These walls are impossible to, they're impossible to breach using the technology that they

possessed in the 8th century. Because of the way Constantinople is designed, it's, it's walled

all the way around. It's a peninsula.

So the three sides of the city are surrounded by water.

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