Classical Antiquity Sidequest 2 – Belisarius and the Byzantines

Listen here.

Our second sidequest takes us to the “Byzantine” Empire and the attempt by Justinian to restore the Empire to its lost glory. Dr. David Parnell, professor at Indiana University NW and author of Belisarius & Antonia, stops by to discuss one of Late Antiquity’s greatest generals, Belisarius. During our almost hour-long interview, we discuss how we got saddled with the term “Byzantine Empire”, Belisarius’ career and the times in which he lived. Turns out his wife, Antonina, was a pretty big deal in her own right. I hope my wife doesn’t read this and remind me how important a wife can be.

We also discuss Procopius, the famed historian of the Jusitinian era. He wrote two important texts which serve as major sources in understanding that historical era. The first one is History of the Wars and the second one is The Secret History. We cover those texts and get into theories about how the later came to be. And, hey, we also talk about the Epic History project on Belisarius which Dr. Parnell was involved in.

Having just finished Dr. Parnell’s book, I would strongly recommend that you pick up a copy. If you want to read more of his works, you can find them here:

https://iun.academia.edu/DavidParnell

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Parnell-2

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.