Lucas McMahon
@chrysoboullon.bsky.social
PhD Princeton. The logic and logistics of empire. Foreign affairs, information security, and digital spatial history. Byzantium, sometimes the Komnenoi. British Academy International Postdoctoral Fellow @ University of Exeter. 🇨🇦
Colleagues who work on the empire after AD 600: let's all submit our next articles to Journal of Roman Studies. Willing to bet that effectively none of us will get anything other than a desk rejection.
December 3, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Colleagues who work on the empire after AD 600: let's all submit our next articles to Journal of Roman Studies. Willing to bet that effectively none of us will get anything other than a desk rejection.
“The fault lies with your leadership, elected by you.”
He's not entirely wrong - that leadership has spent decades cosy-ing up the Americans, with predictably disastrous results.
He's not entirely wrong - that leadership has spent decades cosy-ing up the Americans, with predictably disastrous results.
November 21, 2025 at 9:43 PM
“The fault lies with your leadership, elected by you.”
He's not entirely wrong - that leadership has spent decades cosy-ing up the Americans, with predictably disastrous results.
He's not entirely wrong - that leadership has spent decades cosy-ing up the Americans, with predictably disastrous results.
Recently submitted an article on the eleventh century. Like all good things written on the eleventh century, it:
1: does not allude to Psellos; 2: does not cite Psellos; 3: does not even mention Psellos.
1: does not allude to Psellos; 2: does not cite Psellos; 3: does not even mention Psellos.
November 20, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Recently submitted an article on the eleventh century. Like all good things written on the eleventh century, it:
1: does not allude to Psellos; 2: does not cite Psellos; 3: does not even mention Psellos.
1: does not allude to Psellos; 2: does not cite Psellos; 3: does not even mention Psellos.
You always hear about how those pesky Turkish raiders ruined everything for Byzantium in the twelfth century, but when you put it on a map the reports of raiding tend to go both ways pretty equally.
* Danishmendids not included. Non-descendants of Qutlamish sold separately.
* Danishmendids not included. Non-descendants of Qutlamish sold separately.
November 12, 2025 at 8:49 PM
You always hear about how those pesky Turkish raiders ruined everything for Byzantium in the twelfth century, but when you put it on a map the reports of raiding tend to go both ways pretty equally.
* Danishmendids not included. Non-descendants of Qutlamish sold separately.
* Danishmendids not included. Non-descendants of Qutlamish sold separately.
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
Fascinating talk yesterday at UOttawa Dept. of Classics & Religious Studies / Conférence fascinante hier : Prof. Nick Hedley (SFU) on digital humanities research in Egypt / recherche en humanités numériques en Égypte. #ottawa #DigitalHumanities #AncientEgypt #EgypteAncienne #AncientBluesky
October 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Fascinating talk yesterday at UOttawa Dept. of Classics & Religious Studies / Conférence fascinante hier : Prof. Nick Hedley (SFU) on digital humanities research in Egypt / recherche en humanités numériques en Égypte. #ottawa #DigitalHumanities #AncientEgypt #EgypteAncienne #AncientBluesky
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
Book cover plan, now complete with the blurb on the back! 📕
October 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Book cover plan, now complete with the blurb on the back! 📕
This will come as a surprise to approximately no one, but Grokipedia's source for this is *me* and my article totally does not say that.
October 29, 2025 at 11:50 AM
This will come as a surprise to approximately no one, but Grokipedia's source for this is *me* and my article totally does not say that.
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
In 2023, I was a Visiting Fellow at @antrelclaottawa.bsky.social. Got to experience the department as a world class center for our discipline (especially Late Antiquity). University management now wants to axe their honours programme.
Please consider signing and sharing this petition for support:
Please consider signing and sharing this petition for support:
Sign the Petition
Save Greek and Latin at the University of Ottawa!
tinyurl.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:31 PM
In 2023, I was a Visiting Fellow at @antrelclaottawa.bsky.social. Got to experience the department as a world class center for our discipline (especially Late Antiquity). University management now wants to axe their honours programme.
Please consider signing and sharing this petition for support:
Please consider signing and sharing this petition for support:
Back in the late twelfth century Al-Baghdadi saw your post about how ancient aliens built the pyramids and is embarrassed for you.
October 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Back in the late twelfth century Al-Baghdadi saw your post about how ancient aliens built the pyramids and is embarrassed for you.
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
Shocking news from uOttawa: Greek & Roman Studies closed to new students without consultation. Teaching of ancient languages to end. Open letter coming soon - follow for how you can help. #DefendClassicsUOttawa #Ottawa #AncientHistory #SaveHigherEd #HigherEdCuts #AncientGreek #Latin
October 24, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Shocking news from uOttawa: Greek & Roman Studies closed to new students without consultation. Teaching of ancient languages to end. Open letter coming soon - follow for how you can help. #DefendClassicsUOttawa #Ottawa #AncientHistory #SaveHigherEd #HigherEdCuts #AncientGreek #Latin
October 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
I dunno what you think, internet, but this 19th c. printer in Naples had a very pleasing Greek typeface.
October 20, 2025 at 10:55 AM
I dunno what you think, internet, but this 19th c. printer in Naples had a very pleasing Greek typeface.
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
Book launch TOMORROW at @bplmaps.bsky.social!!! 🏠
Boston followers: Don't miss author @m-r-glass.bsky.social discussing his new book CRACKED FOUNDATIONS, about how debt and speculation financed the suburban American dream and led to today’s inequalities, tomorrow 10/15 at @bplmaps.bsky.social! Register now to reserve your spot.
bit.ly/46Rhwzb
bit.ly/46Rhwzb
October 14, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Book launch TOMORROW at @bplmaps.bsky.social!!! 🏠
Always good to hear some positive-ish things about a weird computational spatial analysis paper one wrote for a volume on Nikephoros II.
deremilitari.org/2025/10/geor...
deremilitari.org/2025/10/geor...
Georgios Theotokis and Mamuka Tsurtsumia (eds.) Nikephoros II Phokas and Warfare in the Tenth Century Byzantine World (Reviewer- Mark Fissel) » De Re Militari
deremilitari.org
October 9, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Always good to hear some positive-ish things about a weird computational spatial analysis paper one wrote for a volume on Nikephoros II.
deremilitari.org/2025/10/geor...
deremilitari.org/2025/10/geor...
"... Canada’s billionaires are siphoning off for themselves an ever-larger share of the nation’s wealth, at the expense of the rest of us."
Exciting to see a new @lindamcquaig.bsky.social book on the horizon!
www.dundurn.com/books_/t2211...
Exciting to see a new @lindamcquaig.bsky.social book on the horizon!
www.dundurn.com/books_/t2211...
Cancelling Billionaires Before They Cancel Us - Dundurn
With over 2,300 books in print, Dundurn Press is recognized for producing high quality, award-winning books across multiple genres.
www.dundurn.com
October 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
"... Canada’s billionaires are siphoning off for themselves an ever-larger share of the nation’s wealth, at the expense of the rest of us."
Exciting to see a new @lindamcquaig.bsky.social book on the horizon!
www.dundurn.com/books_/t2211...
Exciting to see a new @lindamcquaig.bsky.social book on the horizon!
www.dundurn.com/books_/t2211...
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
Just a quick reminder that we are still eagerly awaiting your paper proposals for the next IMC! ⏰🎓👇 @imc-leeds.bsky.social
September 23, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Just a quick reminder that we are still eagerly awaiting your paper proposals for the next IMC! ⏰🎓👇 @imc-leeds.bsky.social
Burg on the Berg in Bergland
September 14, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Burg on the Berg in Bergland
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
Very excited to spread the news that @ryan1992reading.bsky.social and I are organising a session for the Leeds IMC next year on political culture in the High Middle Ages! Please drop us a message if interested and share widely.
September 8, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Very excited to spread the news that @ryan1992reading.bsky.social and I are organising a session for the Leeds IMC next year on political culture in the High Middle Ages! Please drop us a message if interested and share widely.
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
For the EU, this should be a very urgent matter of national security. All EU member states should build on Denmark's wise strategy to phase out Microsoft products
August 23, 2025 at 8:05 AM
For the EU, this should be a very urgent matter of national security. All EU member states should build on Denmark's wise strategy to phase out Microsoft products
"...every single one of these concessions to Trump—from axing the Digital Services Tax to slashing environmental regulations for extractive industries to massively increasing military spending—is also a concession to the corporate agenda of the Business Council and its members..."
Under Mark Carney, capital’s leading lobby group is back in the driver’s seat
With Mark Carney in power, the Business Council of Canada has re-emerged as the country’s most influential lobby group. While few Canadians know its name, the Council is advancing a pro-corporate agen...
canadiandimension.com
August 10, 2025 at 9:52 PM
"...every single one of these concessions to Trump—from axing the Digital Services Tax to slashing environmental regulations for extractive industries to massively increasing military spending—is also a concession to the corporate agenda of the Business Council and its members..."
Sounds good.
"They've warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic's AI training now threatens to "financially ruin" the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement."
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
"They've warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic's AI training now threatens to "financially ruin" the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement."
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
AI industry horrified to face largest copyright class action ever certified
Copyright class actions could financially ruin AI industry, trade groups say.
arstechnica.com
August 9, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Sounds good.
"They've warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic's AI training now threatens to "financially ruin" the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement."
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
"They've warned that a single lawsuit raised by three authors over Anthropic's AI training now threatens to "financially ruin" the entire AI industry if up to 7 million claimants end up joining the litigation and forcing a settlement."
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
Canada has bent over backwards to meet Trump's demands—on defence spending, border security, taxation, and foreign policy—yet the tariffs keep coming.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
Forget free trade
When compared to price that Canada is already being asked to pay, the cost of walking away from a trade agreement with the US is not so high. Free trade with the US was always a mixed bag. The origina...
canadiandimension.com
August 7, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Canada has bent over backwards to meet Trump's demands—on defence spending, border security, taxation, and foreign policy—yet the tariffs keep coming.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
If free trade means surrendering sovereignty with no return, maybe it's time to walk away.
"Bill C-2 isn’t just a domestic surveillance bill. It’s a Trojan horse for U.S. law enforcement—quietly building the pipes to ship Canadians’ private data straight to Washington."
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Canada’s Bill C-2 Opens the Floodgates to U.S. Surveillance
The Canadian government is preparing to give away Canadians’ digital lives—to U.S. police, to the Donald Trump administration, and possibly to foreign spy agencies.Bill C-2, the so-called Strong Borde...
www.eff.org
July 25, 2025 at 8:33 PM
"Bill C-2 isn’t just a domestic surveillance bill. It’s a Trojan horse for U.S. law enforcement—quietly building the pipes to ship Canadians’ private data straight to Washington."
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
A gigantic stack of copyedits to read through over the weekend!
July 25, 2025 at 12:42 PM
A gigantic stack of copyedits to read through over the weekend!
Reposted by Lucas McMahon
A semi-serious question: why are medieval lions moustachioed?
July 20, 2025 at 10:25 AM
A semi-serious question: why are medieval lions moustachioed?