The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The city of Constantinople, founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 324 AD, was a glittering jewel in the eastern Mediterranean for more than a thousand years. Its dazzling cathedrals, ambitious emperors and mixing pot culture were the stuff of legend throughout Christendom. But how did it come to tower over medieval Europe as one of the continent’s foremost cities? And why did it earn such a lofty reputation?

In today’s episode of Gone Medieval, Dr Eleanor Janega is joined by Bettany Hughes, author of Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities to discover how Constantinople came to rise, came to rule and came to ruin.

This episode was produced and edited by Joseph Knight. Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to GON Medeevil from History Hit.
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0:15.2	episodes within the app.
0:17.0	It's the year 3 12, a fateful year.
0:25.0	A year in which the seeds of a city that would come to tower over medieval Europe are planted.
0:32.0	The Roman Empire is gripped by crisis. Four different
0:36.8	emperors from four different Roman provinces lock horns for control of the
0:40.4	Empire. On the banks of the of his imperial rival Maxentius in fierce bloody combat.
0:55.0	Swords collide and shield splinter.
0:58.0	Horns, used to signal orders on the battlefield, echo over the din of much slaughter.
1:05.4	But for Constantine, this is no ordinary battle.
1:08.6	Amidst the bloodletting, the emperor allegedly witnesses
1:11.9	an extraordinary vision.
1:14.0	Blinded by radiant light, he sees a cross in the heavens,
1:18.2	bearing the inscription,
1:19.9	in this sign you shall conquer.
1:22.9	A signal of divine providence
1:24.7	portending a glorious future under the protection of the Christian God.
1:29.2	With their strength renewed by this heavenly intervention,
	...

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