Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantine

episode 303 pinch me.

Michael Paliolojos was fast asleep when news reached him

that Constantinople had fallen to his forces.

It was one of his sisters who told him the astonishing news, and Michael asked her to pinch

him to make sure he wasn't dreaming. This was the news that all Romans had been

waiting to hear for half a century. The hated Latins had been sent packing and

true Romans once again occupied the city of Constantine.

It was time to rejoice, right?

Right?

Over at Nicomedia, a high-ranking official called Michael Sinacarem had a different reaction.

Pulling hairs from his beard in anguish, he exclaimed,

What sins have we committed that we should live to see such misfortune?

From now on no one should hope for any good since the Romans have once more set foot in

Constantinople.

Did Sinacarim really say these words?

He probably expressed something milder which has grown stronger as others repeated it.

But memories of his anxiety reflect a very real concern on the part of those at Nicia

about the potential consequences of retaking Constantinople.

And that's what today's episode is all about.

On a mundane level, the capture of the city meant that everyone was going to have to move.

You couldn't keep the capital at Nicia.

...