Byzantium: the lost empire

A detailed and beautifully filmed exploration of the rise and fall of the legendary Byzantine Empire. Filmed in four segments, each covering a specific chapter of Byzantine history. ‘Building the Dream’ discusses how the birth of Byzantium evolved from the movement away from the pagan to the Christian with the Emperor Constantine and the new centre of the Holy Roman Empire to the east in Constantinople. ‘Heaven and Earth’ considers how Byzantium’s use of religious imagery eventually led to the period of Iconoclasm, and how the rise of Islam influenced the city. ‘Envy of the World’ shows how the religious fervour of the Holy Crusades nearly stripped Byzantium of its riches, and ‘Forever and Ever’ discusses the decline of the city and the cultural and spiritual heritage it has left behind.