Brownworth uses John Kantakouzenos as a vivid illustration of how far the Byzantine Empire had drifted from classical Roman identity by its final centuries: visiting Europe calling himself a Roman Emperor while dressed in turban-like headgear, slippers, attended by eunuchs, and performing 'effeminate Eastern ceremonies.' This image, Brownworth argues, made later observers judge the empire as something wholly un-Roman.
Also known as: John Cansecumus · John VI Kantakouzenos
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Episode 1 (1 mention)
Brownworth uses John Kantakouzenos as a vivid illustration of how far the Byzantine Empire had drifted from classical Roman identity by its final centuries: visiting Europe calling himself a Roman Emperor while dressed in turban-like headgear, slippers, attended by eunuchs, and performing 'effeminate Eastern ceremonies.' This image, Brownworth argues, made later observers judge the empire as something wholly un-Roman.
“You have the Emperor John Cansecumus visiting Europe, calling himself a Roman Emperor,”