Watch Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities (2013) Online!
Simon Sebag Montefiore uncovers the three identities of the city some call the Centre of the World: Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul. This one metropolis has been the capital city of three empires - Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. Each brought its own faiths, Gods and traditions, and each left its mark on the city in its architecture, traditions and in the living faith-communities who still populate this vast modern metropolis of 14 million people.
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Episode 1 - From Byzantium to Constantinople
Release Date: 2013-12-05Simon Sebag Montefiore looks at Istanbul's Greek roots, its transformation into the capital of a Christian empire and reveals how clashes forced eastern and western churches apart.
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Episode 2 - From Constantinople to Istanbul
Release Date: 2013-12-12Simon Sebag Montefiore explores modern Istanbul in search of the last centuries of Christian Byzantium, when the once glorious city was buffeted by enemies from both east and west.
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Episode 3 - Capital of a New Empire
Release Date: 2013-12-19Visiting the great mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman emperors, Simon Sebag Montefiore looks at how Istanbul became the imperial capital and Islam's most powerful city.