A region heavily influenced by Byzantium was Nubia neighbouring Egypt to the south. It were the Byzantines who sent priests to convert the three medieval Nubian kingdoms to Christianity. The kingdom of Nobatia (capital: Faras) in the north converted around 543, the central kingdom of Makuria (Dongola) in the 560s and the southern kingdom of Alwa / Alodia (Soba) in around 580.

The three Nubian kingdoms

The impact of Christianity was especially immense in Nobatia, where archaeological evidence confirms a rapid Christianization still in the 6th century, promoted by its kings who had all pagan temples that still functioned converted to churches. It seems to have been the slowest in Alwa, where the oldest known church dates only to the 7th-8th centuries and where pre-Christian burial customs persisted for centuries, if indeed they ever disappeared entirely. The kingdom of Makuria was Chalcedonian, while the other two were Coptic. In the 7th century Makuria annexed Nobatia and embraced the Coptic denomination. Around the same time the Arabs overran Byzantine Egypt and tried to conquer Dongola, but were beaten back. Makuria accepted to pay an annual tribute of 400 slaves, but would otherwise be left alone by the Muslims. As a consequence Christian Nubia would flourish for centuries and there is even evidence that Makuria and Alwa temporarily united into a single large kingdom. Here are some pictures of buildings, texts and artifacts from the 6th and 7th centuries, so just after Nubia converted:

1) Temple of Amada with cupola installed after conversion to church in the mid-6th century

2) Coptic inscription from Kalabsha commemorating its conversion to church in mid-6th century

3) Wallpainting of St. Petter applied on pharaonic painting, Wadi es-Sebua (c. 7th century)

4) Painting of Jesus christ, temple church of Abu Oda (c. 7th century)

5) See text

6) Vassal with three broad loaves, Faras (7th century)

7) Plans of early medieval Nubian churches

8) Cruciform building with unknown purpose, Dongola (7th century)

9) Reconstruction of Ghazali monastery (founded late 7th century)

10) Coptic stela of a bishop of Dongola

11) Relief art within churches

12) Capitals of church \"C\", Soba (7th-8th centuries)

13) Early \"Soba Ware\" (6th-7th centuries)

14) Soba Ware (7th-9th centuries)

15) From Dongola

16) Toilet accessories, Dongola (7th-8th centuries)

17) Close-up of tattoo depicting monogram of St. Michael on a female mummy from et-Tereif (7th-8th centuries)

I always see people bringing up how Western Anatolians were initially more intertwined with Greek identity compared to other parts of Anatolia and stuff. How come all these people in Anatolia came to be considered as Greeks and how did the meaning of being Greek change overtime?

So y'all probably know about Tiberius III, a guy who usurped the usurper Leontius, with the latter himself ruling after exiling Justinian II. Original name of the titular Emperor was Apsimar.

This name intrigued me. It sounded neither Romance nor Hellene.

I've seen theories that it's either of Gothic, Slavic or some-other-ethnicity origin.

What was the likeliest origin of the name Apsimar? Was he a Gothic, or maybe a Slavic man? Or maybe it is all wrong, and he simply got this unusual name for only-God-knows-whatever reason?

Cheers.

I became very interested in how often in various works (films, TV series, books, games) you can see modern Byzantium or Byzantium of the future (cyberpunk or space opera). The idea of ​​space Byzantium seems very interesting to me, but I simply don't know any novels where you could encounter something similar.

I know Constantine the 11th wasn’t willing to negotiate but mehmed was so what could Constantine have gotten if he did?

My pie in the sky idea is this Constantine gets the land gotten in 1405 after the ottoman civil war and the despotate of the morea gets the land that leads to that land and Epirus gets the land. That surrounds the inlet body of water to the pelponese the himar vassal becomes independent and any islands in the agean or marmara go to Italian allies.

If we really wanna go off the rails add Wallachian independence to that deal)

But realistically what do u think mehmed would have been willing to give up for control of constaninople without a fight?

I was going to plan a couple of byzantine/roman themed trips to italy/greece/turkey and wondering if anyone has suggestions on where to go?

Just as the title suggests, is Michael VIII worthy of the honors placed on other great emperors like Basil and Alexios, or was he simply a decent emperor, or worse?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAlZ1v1ArVg

The latest kings and generals videos claims that the Turks breached both the northern and southern sea walls. Is there a source for this? I've read several books on the final siege and the conventional account is that the Turks came in after the Kerkoporta gate was left open.

Also ¿do you have some art of him?

If, by some chance, descendants of the House of Palaiologos had become leaders during the Greek War of Independence, could they have been seen as legitimate heirs to the Byzantine Empire? Would they have been able to reestablish the empire after 368 years of Ottoman rule?

After going through the wikipedia page on the Palaiologan Renaissance I was very surprised to see a tiny mosaic of Saint George killing the dragon. After doing some surface-level research I've found out this art came about around approximately in the late Byzantine period. What brought such an art into fruition? How many examples of it do we still have?

Kuchlug Khan was an early rival of Genghis Khan for control of Mongolia and Central Asia. He also had dreams of expansion. But Kuchlug was also notorious for his suppression of Islam - his wife was Christian and he himself was Buddhist / Tengri.

Kuchlug ordered a ruthless conversion program of the Mongolian and Turkic lands he conquered, forcing people to choose between Christianity, Buddhism, or native Tengrism. Anyone who objected would be cruelly tortured and killed. For example,Kuchlug was notorious for crucifying imams to the doors of mosques.

This behavior didn't go unnoticed by Genghis Khan who exploited the resentment of various tribes to win his campaigns.

But what if Kuchlug had somehow beat Genghis? It's not so far fetched. He was already familiar with the Mongolian tactics, being one himself, and had his own army of religious fanatics.

How would Kuchlug's changes influence the eventual Turkish groups in Anatolia like the Seljuks and Ottomans who competed with the Byzantines for control?

Edit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuchlug

"Kuchlug was the son of Taibuqa, the Tayang khan (leader) of the Naimans, a Mongol-speaking tribe. In 1204, Jamuqa, the chief Mongol rival of Temüjin (later known as Genghis Khan), fled to the Naimans. Temüjin followed and launched an assault upon the tribe, resulting in the battle of the thirteen sides. Taibuqa at first hesitated, considering it better to fall back to the Altai Mountains and attack the Mongols from there. Kuchlug, however, favored a direct assault on the Mongols on open ground. He went so far as to dismiss his father's plan as cowardly. Taibuqa relented and allowed Kuchlug to carry out his attack.

The battle was a disaster for the Naiman. Jamuqa abandoned them and fled. Taibuqa was mortally injured, and his main commander was killed. The rest of the tribe surrendered to Temüjin and were absorbed into his ranks. Kuchlug managed to escape and with a few Naiman soldiers fled westward towards the Kara Irtysh."

After seeing that post about the supposed gains of Justinian the second I found a battle on Wikipedia I assume the author of the video based the borders on. That battle is the supposed battle of Amioun in 694 in Northern Lebanon. Of course the issue here is that I've never seen anyone mention this engagement between the Maronites and the Byzantines, so did it even happen?

I recently saw an Eastern order church (modern) with a monumental mosaic on the exterior. I am doing some searches, and I can't find any precedents for this. Is this a United States thing?

as a Turk whos interested in byzantine i am wondering this

Hello, I'm looking for a book or books that would describe lives of byzantine empresses or women of power in general. I know that there are books about almost each one, but I'm looking for something that would describe all of them in general. Do you by any chance, know or read about something that covers this topic? I appreciate any answer.