Historical TV dramas are all the rage right now. The Gilded Age is coming to HBO Max and Yellowstone 1883 is lighting up the Paramount Plus streaming service. Do you see a common thread with the two shows that I just discussed? The common thread is that these shows take place in the 19th century. For some reason, that particular century seems to be very popular for historical tv dramas and movies. However, it is not my particular favorite period of history even though I do enjoy a jaunt into the 19th century from time to time.
What I really want to see is the Byzantine Empire be put onto the big screen or tv screen. It is a historical topic with lots of political intrigue and epic historical settings to get audiences interested. However, it seems that for whatever reason, this period of history gets completely ignored by filmmakers and those in the television industry. I believe that this is a travesty. Byzantine history deserves its place on the big screen and I hope to provide some interesting ideas for getting that process started.
1. Constantine and the founding of the Christian Empire
Constantine has always been an interesting topic for me to read about. There is something about him that I find incredibly fascinating to read about. The idea of an empire going from pagan to Christian has always been something that inspired me. To see this being made into a movie or tv series would be great.
2. The Byzantine Empire between Constantine and Justinian
Due to the more obscure nature of this age, I think that this would be better suited for a television series. However, it is no more less interesting. There is a whole narrative about the Eastern Empire being able to survive while the Western one collapses that would provide great drama. Also, for more religious viewers, they could delve into the religious conflicts of the age, especially with the Byzantine Empire being a hotbed of religious minorities and intrigue.
3. Justinian
This one is an obvious choice. Justinian himself is a man larger than life and bringing him to the big screen would be epic. The entire nature of Justinian’s reign can be filmed on an epic scale. You have the whole, epic struggle to retake control of the remains of the Western Roman Empire, which involves many large battles that would be exciting to see. There is also the famous Nike Riots, which themselves provide opportunities to layer on the political intrigue that audiences like to see in such dramas. The occurrence of the Justinian Plague also provides an opportunity to link the show to real world events. It was also during Justinian’s reign that many weather events occurred, allowing for filmmakers to flex the cgi. Overall, this is an obvious choice for a movie set in Byzantine times. I believe that the History Channel has already done documentaries on Justinian’s era but I would love to see a narrative movie set during this time.
4. Heraclius and the Muslim invasions
Heraclius is an emperor that one can write an epic story around. I believe that this would be well suited for a movie, even a trilogy of movies. You have the epic struggle between the Byzantine and Sassanid empires and how Heraclius was able to pull the empire out from the brink of utter defeat by the Persians. Then you have the tsunami of the Muslim invasions wiping out all that he managed to build. Like Justinian’s era, this would better be served as a movie in order to capitalize upon the epic nature of the events.
5. Justinian II
He is an obscure figure outside of academic studies, but I would love to see a mini series or tv series about Justinian II. His era, while not as exciting as that of Justinian or Heraclius, would still serve as springboard for great amounts of political intrigue that one would expect from something like Game of Thrones.
6. Basil II
Emperor Basil II ranks up there as one of the best Byzantine emperors and I believe that a movie would do him good. Political intrigue abounded during his reign as emperor with several rebellions raging. There is also the epic struggle with the Bulgarians that would work well for some epic battle scenes.
7. Alexios I
Everyone loves an underdog right? This emperor’s life is similar to that of Heraclius. He managed to use a variety of tactics, both military and diplomatic to save the Byzantine Empire from ruin. He is also responsible for being the one for jumpstarting Europe’s crusading tradition. His reign would definitely provide a lot of opportunity to film some great political scheming scenes. There would also be content there for religious viewers as well who like reading about the Christian crusades.
8. Manuel I
By the time that Manuel comes to the throne, the Byzantine Empire was back on its own two feet, dominating its enemies militarily. Same as his grandfather, Manuel’s reign intersects with that of the Second Crusade, which provides an opportunity for political scheming and manipulation to be filmed. There are also some battles that Manuel was involved in that would allow for any aspiring filmmaker to flex their muscles with their camera.
9. The Fourth Crusade
This is a sad event in Byzantine Empire. It was the event that broke the back of the empire for the next couple of decades. However, it would great to see this depicted in a movie due to sprawling and epic nature of Constantinople and the struggle with the wayward crusaders.
10. Siege of Constantinople, 1453
This is another sad event in Byzantine history. It represents the transformation of one empire into another. You have the rising Ottomans and the hopeless Byzantines, who are totally surrounded by a huge army. This event has already been made into movie, particularly by filmmakers in Turkey. The name of this movie is Conquest 1453 and was released in 2012. I believe that Hollywood would be able lick their directing chops by making an epic movie surrounding the events of the siege. It would be awesome to see!
The Byzantine era has many events and emperors from which to make incredible movies. I just hope that Hollywood is listening and gives us a Byzantine Empire movie at some point in the near future. However, I am not holding my breath. The Byzantine era is very obscure and without greater exposure to the general public, I do not see any of these ideas coming to the big screen. Maybe a Justinian miniseries but none of the more esoteric settings.
Byzantine-Empire.com 