Movies		Byzantium the Lost Empire: Envy of the World (Part 3)		Mark Merlino - Home page
Of all of the episodes in John Romer's series, Byzantium the Lost Empire, Part Three "Envy of the World" is the best at capturing a clear sense of the wealth and fame of Byzantium. In fact, the third episode focuses solely on this theme, the dazzling and awe-inspiring wealth of Byzantine Constantinople and the destructive envy this image produced in Byzantium's neighbours. In order to illustrate how the nations neighbouring the Byzantine Empire viewed Byzantium, Romer analyzes Byzantine foreign policy. He argues that Byzantine foreign policy was based on a sort of cultural imperialism, in which Byzantium's wealth and technology were shown and shared with their neighbours in order to pacify them. In this episode, Romer travels to the Ukraine and to Venice to illustrate what Byzantine foreign policy looked like. He essentially argues that the masterpieces of Venetian and Kievian Rus civilization, St. Mark's Basilica and the St. Sophia in Kiev are reflections of Byzantium in these lands and that they were built as a result of Byzantine foreign policy. This episode also is very good at giving the viewer a glimpse of what it would have been like to visit Constantinople at the height of Byzantine wealth and power. He discusses Byzantine palace designs, charms, and shopping habits. This episode then finishes with a fairly thorough description of the tragic and destructive acts of the Fourth Crusade and subsequent pillaging of the city. He does however explain that the pillaging of Byzantium gave considerable newfound wealth and confidence to Western world.