Byzantines, Sassanians, and Holy Emperors

Building upon our exploration of gender in Islamic history we dive into the topic of gender bending and how it can help us see gender as socially constructed, historically contingent, and contextual. We explore multiple figures throughout Islamic history from the ghulamiyya to th ...  Show more

Continuing our exploration of gender and sexuality in Islamic history we turn to the figure of the mukhannathun, a third gender category in early Islam. We trace ideas of gender as a fluid spectrum through the lives of these individuals examining their existence in the life of Mu ...  Show more

In episode 6 of the Catholic Frequency Podcast,we feature a discussion with a Thomistic theologian, biblical scholar, classical historian, and stoic philosopher. The conversation centers around the importance of Greek thought, Roman infrastructure, and the fulfillment of the Hebr ...  Show more

The military genius of Khalid ibn al-Walid and the Persian campaign serves as the centerpiece of this episode, as we detail his unparalleled speed and tactical brilliance at the Battles of Chains and Walaja. We dive deep into the fragility of the Sassanid Empire, which was crippl ...  Show more

Byzantine political thought from the time of Justinian down to the Palaiologos dynasty wrestles with the nature and scope of imperial power.

We finally end our tour of the Empire by examining the Byzantine state. By focussing on the government, the church and the army we see how the Empire is shaping up since the fall of the West and how it is set up to deal with the world we explored in the previous five episodes. Pa ...  Show more