This is my second conversation with Dr. Mario Baghos, an Australian scholar and lecturer at St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College (Sydney College of Divinity). In this talk we explore in much more depth the notion of the Immortal Emperor, the Marble King or the Sleeping King legend that we see in the Byzantine tradition but also in other traditions. Ultimately we tie it in with a discussion about the apocalyptic motif in Byzantine thinking.

This conversation is a complement to my previous talks with Richard Rohlin on universal history, especially The Apocalypse and the Return of the King (https://youtu.be/TyLFK7Lo0Zw ) and the most recent discussion about Ethiopia, titled From Alexander the Great to Ethiopia ( https://youtu.be/AkXcay54e6Q ).

-Check out Dr. Mario Baghos’ profile page at St Andrew's for links to his work: http://www.sagotc.edu.au/faculty/dr-m...

-Dr. Mario Baghos’ book (Please feel free to leave a rating and/or review), From the Ancient Near East to Christian Byzantium: Kings, Symbols, and Cities: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/pro... (Enter the code PROMO25 to at the checkout to redeem a 25% discount)

Or https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Near-E...

-Universal History YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV...

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Music mentioned:

Two Modern Greek songs about the Marble King, Constantine XI Palaiologos:

-Xaris Alexiou's 'The Marble King': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG7IA5LLExI

-Stamatis Spanoudakis' 'Lightning Strikes': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFZ-Y0u_wkI

Books mentioned:

-Apocalypse. An Alexandrian World Chronicle (Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library) by Pseudo-Methodius (2012-06-04): https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Alexandrian-Chronicle-Pseudo-Methodius-2012-06-04/dp/B01FEKZC44

-Life of Constantine, by Eusebius: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Constantine-Eusebius-dp-1519530668/dp/1519530668/

-The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans, by Donald M. Nicol: https://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Emperor-Legend-Constantine-Palaiologos/dp/0521894093