The Syracusan Empire

[Louis Epstein]

Byzantine Emperor Constans II was assassinated in 668 at a time
when he was rumored to be planning to permanently move the
capital from Constantinople to his de facto seat of Syracuse
in Sicily.

Had he made that stick,and managed to hold on for a while,
what might have been the upshot?

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

[Rich Rostrom]

On 1/8/22 1:07 PM, Louis Epstein wrote:
> Byzantine Emperor Constans II was assassinated in 668 at a time
> when he was rumored to be planning to permanently move the
> capital from Constantinople to his de facto seat of Syracuse
> in Sicily.
>
> Had he made that stick,and managed to hold on for a while,
> what might have been the upshot?

The Empire will be focused on its claims in Italy and its relation
to the Pope.

With this distraction, the City may fall to the Arabs in 674-678.
--
Nous sommes dans une pot de chambre, et nous y serons emmerdés.
--- General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot at Sedan, 1870.

[a425couple]

On 1/8/2022 11:07 AM, Louis Epstein wrote:
> Byzantine Emperor Constans II was assassinated in 668 at a time
> when he was rumored to be planning to permanently move the
> capital from Constantinople to his de facto seat of Syracuse
> in Sicily.
>
> Had he made that stick,and managed to hold on for a while,
> what might have been the upshot?
>

Like Rich, I do not see that much good comes
from that change.
Both Constantinople and Sicily are in a good
position to be able to trade.
But Constantinople sits alongside, and able
to fairly easily choke off, anyone else trying
to use that major trade route.

The Byzantine Empire (also referred to as the
Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium) was the continuation
of the Roman Empire and remained powerful for
many centuries.

The capital of Constantinople remained free until
1453. Certainly one of the longest empires ever.


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

By the way, fairly recently I read
1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of
Islam and the West
Book by Roger Crowley

I felt it was quite well done and informative.

https://www.amazon.com/1453-Holy-Constantinople-Clash-Islam/dp/1401308503/ref=asc_df_1401308503/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312176356508&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3299872537441438779&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033278&hvtargid=pla-449360639439&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258871657&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312176356508&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3299872537441438779&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033278&hvtargid=pla-449360639439

It looks like one can get a used copy delivered to
your door in US for under $8.00.

[Louis Epstein]

a425couple <a425c...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 1/8/2022 11:07 AM, Louis Epstein wrote:
>> Byzantine Emperor Constans II was assassinated in 668 at a time
>> when he was rumored to be planning to permanently move the
>> capital from Constantinople to his de facto seat of Syracuse
>> in Sicily.
>>
>> Had he made that stick,and managed to hold on for a while,
>> what might have been the upshot?
>>
>
> Like Rich, I do not see that much good comes
> from that change.
> Both Constantinople and Sicily are in a good
> position to be able to trade.
> But Constantinople sits alongside, and able
> to fairly easily choke off, anyone else trying
> to use that major trade route.

Would the center moving to Syracuse become less
or more defensible?

See also my recently posted WI on the earlier
emperor Heraclius dying at Antioch as the
historic Sassanid invasion is a little more
successful and has time to sweep down and
strangle Islam in its cradle.

> The Byzantine Empire (also referred to as the
> Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium) was the continuation
> of the Roman Empire and remained powerful for
> many centuries.
>
> The capital of Constantinople remained free until
> 1453. Certainly one of the longest empires ever.

Supposedly the last lineal descendant of the
original Roman state was a colony in the Crimea
that fell a few years after Trebizond.

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire
>
> By the way, fairly recently I read
> 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of
> Islam and the West
> Book by Roger Crowley
>
> I felt it was quite well done and informative.
>
> https://www.amazon.com/1453-Holy-Constantinople-Clash-Islam/dp/1401308503/ref=asc_df_1401308503/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312176356508&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3299872537441438779&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033278&hvtargid=pla-449360639439&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258871657&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312176356508&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3299872537441438779&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033278&hvtargid=pla-449360639439
>
> It looks like one can get a used copy delivered to
> your door in US for under $8.00.

[Rich Rostrom]

On 1/19/22 8:39 PM, Louis Epstein wrote:
> Would the center moving to Syracuse become less
> or more defensible?

Far less defensible. Constantinople was surrounded by
friendly territory. Sea access had to come through the Aegean
Sea, whith lots of Byzantine-controlled islands, then through
the Dardanellles; or else from the Black Sea, and no other
major power had access to that.

Syracuse, by contrast, is wide open to attack from the Moslem south.