Category: History

The Queen of Cities Part 3: The House of Man

On By Michael LiIn History, LiteratureLeave a comment

Part 1: https://venividiveritas.com/2023/01/24/queen-of-cities-a-fictional-tour-of-constantinople-in-540-ad/ Part 2: https://venividiveritas.com/2023/02/22/the-queen-of-cities-part-2-house-of-god/ Without Ecritius’s presence, I was naked and alone in the grand halls of Imperator Caesar Justinianus Augustus. The courtiers, each of them garbed in silk so fine I could see the pale hue of their skin, were as sullen and silent as mosaic saints as they led me past …

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The Axioms of History

On By Michael LiIn History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Synthesis articlesLeave a comment

The study of history is distinguished from that of natural sciences and mathematics by two key differences: The basis of knowledge and evidence upon which the discipline of history is constructed is by nature polluted by political and ecclesiastical agendas, prejudices, biases, and unreliable sources. This churning sea of lies and rumours is the unknowable …

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French Revolution Part 2: The Political Theory of Revolution

On By Michael LiIn Economics, History, Philosophy, Synthesis articlesLeave a comment

Every society can be likened to a swirling whirlpool of conflicting interests: a volatile amalgamation of disparate constituencies operating under a largely uniform set of values which are defined as ideology, faith, morality, or tradition. Each interest group is a current of its own, driven by a distinct set of demands and agendas, thus it …

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The Queen of Cities Part 2: The House of God

On By Michael LiIn History, Literature2 Comments

Part 1: https://venividiveritas.com/2023/01/24/queen-of-cities-a-fictional-tour-of-constantinople-in-540-ad/ The visages of sages past observed in hushed reverence as I was led through the monastery by Ecritius, their faces immortalised in melancholic mosaic. Golden incense holders and candelabras glittered as the candle flames swayed, contorting like the lithesome frames of Oriental dancers. Either side of me, monks garbed in unassuming raiments …

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Alternative History: Antony and Cleopatra Part 2

On By Michael LiIn HistoryLeave a comment

Antony and Cleopatra Part 2: Roman Politics When Romulus slew Remus, offering the blood of a king and a brother to the gods, he did so out of neither envy or hatred, but of piety. In the ancient world, when festivals commenced, oxen were sacrificed. On the eve of battles, goats and chickens were gutted …

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Poetry: The Last of the Romans

On By Michael LiIn History, LiteratureLeave a comment

Historical Context The 620s AD were the darkest days in the history of the Roman Empire. The western provinces had long been lost to the Germanic barbarians who had transformed former imperial holdings into arenas for ambitious warlords. On the Danube frontier, the Avar Khaganate had overrun the Balkans, sacking cities and defiling citizens all …

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Roman Nomenclature: Don’t Call Them Emperors

On By Michael LiIn History2 Comments

Although commonly dismissed as merely a language convention, nomenclature is in actuality a subject of paramount importance in the study of history. It shapes the medium through which we interact with the primordial crucible of the past, and hence determines how we perceive the events, concepts, polities, and figures that comprises the discipline of history. …

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