O, lost City of New Rome. The Byzantine outlook on Constantinople from exile.

Abstract

This thesis looks at the position Constantinople takes within the collective mindset of the Byzantines after its loss in 1204, the Fourth Crusade. Through the writings of Georgios Akropolites, Niketas Choniates, Theodore II Doukas Laskaris and Nikephoros Blemmydes it paints a picture of attitudes towards the lost capital of the Byzantine Empire from the court of Nicaea. It connects this to the issue of the Byzantine identity for which this time period was crucial.