Michael Baizerman Author

Dear readers,  I am deeply grateful for your unwavering interest in  this blog, even during my occasional lapses in diligence. Your support has been instrumental in the blog's success, with over 20 K views. Thank you for being a part of this journey . Since our last interaction,  I have been diligently active, contributing several insightful articles to my page on Academia. These pieces delve into various aspects of naval history, shedding new light on our understanding of the past. I am excited to share these notes with you .   https://www.academia.edu/111701661/Early_War_Galleys The following article provides detailed information about a particular craft, covering its dimensions, design, and displacement. Additionally, it comments on the craft's functions during times of warfare, peacetime, and limitations during sailing seasons. The article also discusses the craft's ability to steer at night, its operational range, speed, and how the crew is provided with wa...

The Sack of  the New Rome on a Venetian mosaic https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frammenti_di_mosaico_pavimentale_del_1213,_09.JPG  I have finished collecting data about the sack of Constantinople by a crusading army in 1204. The material is so extensive that it covers about one and a half "notebooks." By a "notebook," I mean up to 150 pages completed in Colibri 11. I have found several sources compiled by the witnesses, both Roman and Latin.  On the Roman side, we have the superb "Annals of Niketas Choniates," the insider report of a Byzantine historian based in Constantinople who endured the siege and fall of the Queen of Cities. I reread this account and can't help admiring his style and vigor. I will adopt some of his descriptions in other narratives.   In the following extract, Niketas refers to the emperor Alexios III Angelos as an unscrupulous pilot plunged in adorable pastime and sensitive to courtly flattery:   "Like a steersman com...