Share

cover art for Episode 284 - To The City with Alexander Christie-Miller

The History of Byzantium

Episode 284 - To The City with Alexander Christie-Miller

Alexander Christie-Miller was the Turkish correspondent for the Times Newspaper between 2010 and 2017. He has written a book called ‘To the City’ about the people who live along the Theodosian Walls in Istanbul today. He tells the story and charts the sweeping changes they've experienced in Turkey over the past 50 years. It's a brilliant read, ideal for those of you who have visited Istanbul or plan to.


Alexander Christie-Miller is from Wiltshire in the UK, studied in Dublin and was then in Istanbul for 7 years. He was the Times Turkish correspondent during that period and his writing has also appeared in Newsweek, The Atlantic, Der Spiegel and the White Review amongst other publications.

More episodes

View all episodes

  • Intelligent Speech conference this Saturday

    01:11|
    This Saturday – the 8th February 2025 is the Intelligent Speech online conference. A gathering of fellow history podcasters. Who will be talking about Deception – lies and forgeries. There are 3 keynote speakers in Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse, Otto English and Wesley Livesay. Along with a host of fun roundtables packed with podcasting talent. I will be on two panels. They are back to back so from 11 am – 1pm Eastern Standard time you will get all the History of Byzantium you need.  I will be on a panel discussing Byzantine deception and playing a game of historical call my bluff. So come and find out how good a liar I am.  Go to intelligentspeechonline.com to find out more. And use the code Sophia. As in Hagia Sophia to get a discount on your ticket. See you on Saturday. 
  • Episode 317 - The Byzantine Legacy with David Hendrix

    41:39|
    This episode is brought to you by Telepaideia, a collection of live online courses in Latin, Ancient Greek, and the classical humanities offered by The Paideia Institute. Visit www.paideiainstitute.org/telepaideia to browse the course catalogue and register! I interview David Hendrix the man behind the incredible website 'The Byzantine Legacy.' It was David who showed me around Istanbul when I first visited in 2018. His website is an amazing resource for anyone who wants to know what survives from Byzantium today.David is leading a tour of Byzantine Macedonia in September 2025.Check out the Byzantine Legacy website and Youtube channel. Follow David on Instagram, Facebook and X. And support him at Patreon. 
  • January 2025 Update

    03:53|
    Happy New Year. I have two interviews coming out shortly for you to enjoy. One with David Hendrix of the Byzantine Legacy website (www.thebyzantinelegacy.com) and a return visit from Father John Strickland to answer more questions about Orthodoxy. Both those episodes are being sponsored by Telepaideia. a collection of live online courses in Latin, Ancient Greek, and the classical humanities offered by The Paideia Institute. You can take beginner classes in Latin and Ancient Greek. Visit www.paideiainstitute.org/telepaideia to browse the course catalogue and register!   If you’d like to hear me being interviewed about my life and the podcast then check out the Ancient Office Hours podcast (www.theozymandiasproject.com/podcast). Hosted by the charming Lexie Henning it’s a podcast that interviews academics and podcasters about their work in history. And I really enjoyed talking to her. Finally do get your tickets for the podcast conference Intelligent Speech. I will be live on Saturday 8th February as part of 2 roundtables. Go to intelligentspeechonline.com to find out more.
  • Episode 316 - Questions XVI

    39:59|
    We look at listener questions about feudalism, the Catalans, the Armenians and many other topics. 
  • Episode 315 - Questions XV

    31:41|
    We look at listener questions about Andronikos II. Why was he so useless? Why did no one overthrow him? How poor was the Empire? And many more.
  • Ask me anything and Tour Dates

    03:07|
    I have another 3 things to tell you. Tomorrow, as in Sunday 1st December, I will be hosting 3 Zoom Calls for Patrons, where you can ask me anything. This is a reminder for those of you already on Patreon. And if you’re not but want to get on the call then you could just sign up for $1 and join in the conversation. The calls are at 2pm, 5pm and 8pm in Coordinated Universal Time. Which is essentially the same as Greenwich Mean Time but apparently we don’t want to show off too much about that. Anyway, hopefully you’ll be free then.Second thing to tell you is that tour dates for 2025 have been provisionally agreed. They are May 17-26th and Oct 11-20th. The first tour will be in Istanbul for five days before visiting Ephesus and other sites in Western Anatolia. While the October tour will also spend five days in Istanbul before visiting Nicaea and Cappadocia. Remember these are provisional dates before you ink them into your diary. But they should be made official soon. Email me thehistoryofbyzantium@gmail.com to get on the mailing list so you can get booking information as soon as it’s available. Finally you may have a heard an unfamiliar voice introducing this update. That was Kirin Tsang from Frugalflyer.ca. Kirin was on our last tour back in October and has written a review of our journey down Turkey’s west coast for FrugalFlyer.ca. You can read that review at frugalflyer.ca/blog and hear about what it’s like to be on one of our tours.  As the name suggests the folks at Frugalflyer try to help you gather points and rewards so you can travel better and cheaper. They have their own podcast where they share tips and ideas with you. It’s the Miles Ahead podcast so search for Miles Ahead wherever you get your podcasts to find out more. I look forward to speaking to some of you tomorrow and seeing some of you in 2025. 
  • Episode 314 - The Divine Liturgy with Father John Strickland

    01:03:32|
    It's time we talked about Orthodoxy in more detail. I ask Father John Strickland to explain the Divine Liturgy, and it's Byzantine origins, to me.John is the pastor of an Orthodox Church in Poulsbo in Washington State. He has also written a four-volume series about the history of Christian civilization called Paradise and Utopia. And he’s recorded a podcast of the same name as an accompaniment to the books. He also wrote the Making of Holy Russia: The Orthodox Church and Russian Nationalism before the Revolution.
  • Episode 313 - A Roman Comic Book with Marco Cappelli

    47:26|
    Marco Cappelli, the man behind the Storia D'Italia podcast, has created a Roman history comic book. Ammianus - the Twilight of an Era tells the story of the incredible change that took place across Italy during the 6th century.The comic is so good it made me cry. I interview Marco about why he decided to make this and where the inspiration came from.Get your own copy in Italian, English or Latin! And in physical or digital form here.
  • Episode 312 - The Mediterranean in the Crusading era with Nicholas Morton

    01:02:53|
    Professor Nicholas Morton returns to tell us about developments on the sea during the Crusading era. We discuss why Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi were able to dominate the waves. And talk about the ships they used and how they fought.Dr Morton is Associate Professor in Middle Eastern and Global history at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. His new book The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East is available now.