Welcome to the Quillett Podcast. I'm your host Jonathan Kay, a senior editor at

Quillett. Quillett is where free thought lives. We are an independent

grassroots platform for heterodox ideas and fearless commentary.

If you'd like to support the podcast, you can do so by going to quilett.com and becoming a paid subscriber.

This subscription will also give you access to all our

articles and early access to Colette social events.

You do not seem to appreciate what danger to

Justinian courses.

The Emperor is young and strong.

His madness, no less surely an Emperor should not undertake such a task as a common

contestant he risks his dignity as a sovereign.

The Emperor is descended from illustrious

stop, nearer for example. He was no credit, certainly not to be imitated.

Naturally, but then he was without the service of a counselor such as I. is that not true? It would appear that our color is in no hurry to fit his strength against yours, my emperor.

Maybe his confidence in victory has left him. The signal. Look yourself. So what you just heard was an English voice over snippet from Theodora, Slave Empress, a poorly received Italian film from

1954 that purported to dramatize the romance between 6th century Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian and his commoner wife

Theodora who by the way in real life was not actually a slave though she

was reputed to be a courtesan. Now you may be asking yourself why a

classy podcast like this would start with such an obscure and campy movie to soundbite

as an introduction to an interview with this week's very serious

guest, Byzantine historian Peter Saris, author of the great new book Justinian, Emperor Soldier Saint? And the answer is that I couldn't find any other

better movie about Justinian to Soundbite, which as I will discuss with Peter

...