Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
A documentary about the reign of Nikephoros II Phokas, a tenth-century warrior-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Chapters:
00:00 Regency of Theophano
07:04 The New Regime
12:13 Sicilian Expedition
13:45 Conquest of Cilicia
23:06 Taron Annexed
24:58 Otto I and Italy
27:33 Domestic Policies
38:40 Bulgaria, Famine and Antioch
43:13 Assassination
Bibliography:
Primary Sources
John Skylitzes, Synopsis of History, translated by J. Wortley, (2010).
John Zonaras, Epitome of Histories, edited by T. Buttner-Wobst, (1897).
Leo the Deacon, History, translated by A.-M. Talbot and D. F. Sullivan, (2005).
Luidprand of Cremona, The Works of Luidprand of Cremona, translated by F. A. Wright (1930).
Michael Psellus, Historia Syntamos, edited and translated by W. J. Aerts (1990).
Nikephoros II, Novels, translated by E. McGeer, (2000).
Theophanes Continuatus, Book VI, translated by edited and translated by
M. Featherstone and J. Signes-Codoner, (2025).
Yahya of Antioch, edited and French translation by I. Kratchkovsky and A. Vasiliev, in Patrologia Orientalis, vol. XVIII, XXIII, 345–520, (1924-1932).
Scholarship
Jenkins, R. J. H. (1966) Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries AD610-1071, Toronto.
Kaldellis, A. (2017) Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. To the First Crusade. Oxford.
McGeer, E. (2000), The Land Legislation of the Macedonian Emperors, Toronto.
McGeer, E. (1994), Sowing the Gragons Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century, Washington D. C.
Morris, R. (1988) 'The Two Faces of Nikephoros Phokas', in BMGS 12, 83-115.
Talbot, A.-M. And Sullivan, D. F., (2005) The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century, Washington D. C.
Email
easternromanhistory@gmail.com
Discord
discord.gg/wxVmswV
If you would like to support Eastern Roman History, I have a Patreon:
patreon.com/EasternRomanHistory
Music Credits:
'A Cygnet', 'War Situation', 'Vendetta', 'Fight it Out', 'White Storm', 'Insincerity', ' Footsteps from Darkness', 'Three Kings', 'Showdown', 'Unit March', 'Theme of the WLO', and 'Notice of Death' by Hitoshi Sakimoto, Azusa Chiba and Noriyuki Kamikura from Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together.
'Cry of Pain!' by Hitoshi Sakimoto from Final Fantasy Tactics.
All images used are for educational purposes, if I have used a piece of art and you would like me to credit you, please contact me and I shall do so.
No AI was used during the making of this video.
A documentary about the reign of Nikephoros II Phokas, a tenth-century warrior-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Chapters:
00:00 Regency of Theophano
07:04 The New Regime
12:13 Sicilian Expedition
13:45 Conquest of Cilicia
23:06 Taron Annexed
24:58 Otto I and Italy
27:33 Domestic Policies
38:40 Bulgaria, Famine and Antioch
43:13 Assassination
Bibliography:
Primary Sources
John Skylitzes, Synopsis of History, translated by J. Wortley, (2010).
John Zonaras, Epitome of Histories, edited by T. Buttner-Wobst, (1897).
Leo the Deacon, History, translated by A.-M. Talbot and D. F. Sullivan, (2005).
Luidprand of Cremona, The Works of Luidprand of Cremona, translated by F. A. Wright (1930).
Michael Psellus, Historia Syntamos, edited and translated by W. J. Aerts (1990).
Nikephoros II, Novels, translated by E. McGeer, (2000).
Theophanes Continuatus, Book VI, translated by edited and translated by
M. Featherstone and J. Signes-Codoner, (2025).
Yahya of Antioch, edited and French translation by I. Kratchkovsky and A. Vasiliev, in Patrologia Orientalis, vol. XVIII, XXIII, 345–520, (1924-1932).
Scholarship
Jenkins, R. J. H. (1966) Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries AD610-1071, Toronto.
Kaldellis, A. (2017) Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. To the First Crusade. Oxford.
McGeer, E. (2000), The Land Legislation of the Macedonian Emperors, Toronto.
McGeer, E. (1994), Sowing the Gragons Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century, Washington D. C.
Morris, R. (1988) 'The Two Faces of Nikephoros Phokas', in BMGS 12, 83-115.
Talbot, A.-M. And Sullivan, D. F., (2005) The History of Leo the Deacon: Byzantine Military Expansion in the Tenth Century, Washington D. C.
easternromanhistory@gmail.com
Discord
discord.gg/wxVmswV
If you would like to support Eastern Roman History, I have a Patreon:
patreon.com/EasternRomanHistory
Music Credits:
'A Cygnet', 'War Situation', 'Vendetta', 'Fight it Out', 'White Storm', 'Insincerity', ' Footsteps from Darkness', 'Three Kings', 'Showdown', 'Unit March', 'Theme of the WLO', and 'Notice of Death' by Hitoshi Sakimoto, Azusa Chiba and Noriyuki Kamikura from Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together.
'Cry of Pain!' by Hitoshi Sakimoto from Final Fantasy Tactics.
All images used are for educational purposes, if I have used a piece of art and you would like me to credit you, please contact me and I shall do so.
No AI was used during the making of this video.
