Lost in Byzantium

I have become so fascinated with this lost empire that was a trade, governmental, cultural, scientific and knowledge hub of Europe and the Middle East during the middle ages. The architecture, the influence of Greek language and study, and its art still remain.

Byzantine history should also serve as a warning since our own country's history in some way imitates it. The U.S. was deliberately created to be a Christian nation. Constantinople, the Byzantine capitol, was established as the new center of power for the Christian Roman Empire in 324 AD. Located advantageously between Asia and Europe with land and sea access, it was specifically chosen and designed for that purpose.

The Empire fell to the Ottomans in 1353 and Constantinople and most of the Asian portion of its empire has been a Muslim entity ever since. For over one thousand years, Byzantium was a powerful Christian force, but for almost 800 years it has been a seat of power for Islam. What happened? That is a fascinating story indeed, and that is where we should set ourselves to learn from history. As a writer, my job is to tell the lessons of history in a fresh and interesting way that can be understood in our own time. One can only get lost in research for so long...