The city, from the Greek colony onwards

The History of Constantinople

21 episodes indexed · 14 hours · The History Buff

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Periods · The kings, The Republic, The late Republic, The Pax Romana, The third-century crisis, Christian Rome, The fall of the west

Themes · Archaeology Life on the frontier Battle Government

Begins with Byzantion as a Greek colony and works forward, so the first season is largely pre-Roman and better for it: by the time Constantine arrives you know why he chose that site, and the harbour and the walls stop being a coincidence. Eighteen episodes here, and it sits well next to The History of Byzantium, which starts in 476 and takes the city as given.

Where to start. Season one, episode one. An Introduction to Constantinople · 49 min

I feel like…

ThinkingAny

Cogitare, how it was thought and ordered

FeelingAny

Sentire, what was lived and endured

DoingAny

Facere, what hands made and did

PeriodAny

when it happens

LengthAny

how much time you have

All 21 episodes, in order. Every title links straight to the episode.

  1. An Introduction to Constantinople49m
  2. The Untamed Peninsula - Nature's Prologue to Byzantion50m
  3. Prehistoric Thrace & Anatolia52m
  4. The Aegean Bronze Age (3000 BC to 1100 BC) - Pt. 139m
  5. The Aegean Bronze Age (3000 BC to 1100 BC) - Pt. 236m
  6. The Greek Dark Ages (1100 BC to 800 BC) - Pt. 136m
  7. The Greek Dark Ages (1100 BC to 800 BC) - Pt. 231m
  8. The Greek Dark Ages (1100 BC to 800 BC) - Pt. 331m
  9. Recap and Dawn of Archaic Period (3000 BC to 800 BC)42m
  10. Founding & Early Years of Byzantion (667 BC) - Pt. 11h 04m
  11. Founding & Early Years of Byzantion (667 BC) - Pt. 258m
  12. The Silent Years from Byzantion's Founding to Darius' Crossing (667 BC to 513 BC)29m
  13. Byzantion in the Shadow of Persia (513 BC to 478 BC)39m
  14. The Aegean Tug-of-War (478 BC to 404 BC)38m
  15. The Rise of Macedon (404 BC to 338 BC)38m
  16. Alexander the Great and the Diadochi (338 BC to 300 BC)44m
  17. All Roads Lead to Byzantium (3rd-1st Cent. BC) - SEASON FINALE51m
  18. The First-Called at the Bosphorus (38 AD to 52 AD)37m
  19. Episode 19 (S2E2): The City At The Crossroads (53 AD to 190 AD) - VIDEO29m
  20. Episode 20 (S2E3): The Death and Resurrection of Byzantium (193 AD to 212 AD) - VIDEO27m
  21. Episode 21 (S2E4): Byzantium in the Gathering Storm (217 AD to 251 AD) - VIDEO35m