Byzantium, the Lost Empire (National Geographic Special)

Low-res version; Two episodes; 1 hr, 44 min.

This is the two-part National Geographic special about the Byzantine Empire. The first part is a laying of the groundwork, an answer to the challenge of condensing a millenium plus into a forty-five minute television show. Not bad.

The second part is for the Byzantium buff, and is full of little tidbits I’d never heard before. Worth your time, if you like history.

Documentary: Conservation of the Mosaic of the Transfiguration in the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai

This religious icon/mosaic, commissioned by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th Century, is one of the few remaining examples of pre-Iconoclast Byzantine art still in existence. I find it breathtaking, even before the restoration. The restoration work documented here makes me happy and proud to be a human.