Formidable Byzantine Roman Empress Theodora - Saint Or Sinner?
The hooded gaze of an inscrutable Theodora (c.497- 548 AD) greets hundreds of thousands of visitors each year as they pay their respects to her mosaic at the Read More
The Holy Shroud And The Mandylion: One And The Same?
The enigma of the Holy Shroud has fascinated and baffled both the faithful and scholars for hundreds of years. To unravel the history and secret journey of how it came to the lands of the French in the mid-14th century, one needs to structure a h...
The Storied Past of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia
On July 12, 2020, Pope Francis stood silently in a pulpit placed in the large window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome. He had just delivered the weekly Angelus prayer given each Sunday, which had lifted up those wh...
Orban’s Colossal Cannon: Holding a Tiger by the Tail – Part II
For 53 days, the forces of the Ottoman Empire shook what was left of the Eastern Roman Empire (known as Byzantium, or the Byzantine Empire) until they were able to breach the massive walls of Constantinople, conquering the last standing remna...
Stilicho, Alaric, Attila, and the Changing World of the Ancient Roman Empire
In the late fourth century, a man born of a Roman noblewoman and an East-Germanic Vandal father served as a Roman cavalry officer. Stilicho served Rome with distinction by embracing the Empire and all it stood for, and would go on to become the m...
