Powee Celdran Just Published an Illustrated History Book on the Byzantine Empire
He makes the topic more approachable by taking the more visual route.
by Spot.ph Team
Published on Mar 13, 2026
(SPOT.ph) For the past six years, history enthusiast Powee Celdran has immersed himself deeply in the world of the Byzantine Empire, even traveling to the former lands of Byzantium in the Balkans and Istanbul to do more research, take photographs, and walk where the emperors walked. And now he’s written a book about it, a hefty one. It's called A Time Traveller’s Guide to Byzantium: 62 Years that Shook and Shaped the Eastern Roman Empire, which took two years to complete and is being launched this weekend at Manila Middle Ground in Comuna, the arts and food hub in Makati.
The young Celdran has been creating content on Byzantine history for a while now, sharing it with his thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook as the Byzantine Time Traveller. He runs a website, a YouTube channel, and a podcast on the subject, and has even designed a boardgame called The Battle for Byzantium. The book is just one more way for Celdran to share his fascination with the world, containing his own illustrations and photographs and contributions from fellow Byzantine empire enthusiasts from different parts of the globe. In this exchange with Spot, Powee talks more about the book as well as how his fascination for Byzantine history evolved over the years, and why the Empire matters.
What was your introduction to Byzantine history and what got you hooked?
POWEE CELDRAN: Apart from my childhood fascination with medieval history and the Ancient Roman Empire, what first sparked my curiosity about the Byzantine Empire was the video game Assassin’s Creed Revelations which featured the Byzantines’ secret superweapon “Greek Fire” which was considered advanced warfare technology in the Middle Ages. That was the initial spark that led me to researching about Byzantine history through online history groups and sites and to collecting a wide selection of history books on Byzantine civilization.
When did your fascination for Byzantine history begin and how has it evolved over the years?
PC: I only became really serious and passionate about Byzantine history in 2019 during my second year of college. It began when I saw various posts about the subject in online history groups, which in turn got me into collecting history books about it. The first books that sparked my fascination most were Judith Herrin’s Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire and Anthony Kaldellis’ A Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities. That was where it all began.
In hindsight, my passion for Byzantine history was mostly personal at first, and it was only during the pandemic when I decided to share this to the fellow enthusiasts around the world through my social media channels. I began with the Instagram account Byzantine Time Traveller in early 2021 which despite its slow beginning gradually expanded over the years with 18,000 avid followers as of last count. I also started a Facebook page of the same name, my own website on Byzantine history, a YouTube channel with original videos, and since 2025, a podcast on the topic. All this while simultaneously creating artworks, a game and other merch products for sale.
In late 2022, I turned my passion for Byzantine history into a publishing business using my own illustrations for playing cards of which I now have 3 versions – and all sold out. I also developed the board game Battle for Byzantium in 2023 and created a series of postcards, stickers, and bookmarks with my own illustrations of historical characters and landmarks from the Byzantine Empire. Now I have published my first book on Byzantine history which is about to be launched. All these products are sold locally and also in independent bookstores and select museum shops around the world.
Tell us about “A Time Traveller’s Guide to Byzantium: 62 Years that Shook and Shaped the Eastern Roman Empire”. How would you describe it to a non-enthusiast?
PC: This book I wrote and recently published was made to share my passion for Byzantine history to a wider audience especially to first-timers who want to know what the Byzantine Empire was all about – which, curiously for a civilization that lasted more than a thousand years in Europe and the Middle East, is not very well known by the general public even if they may have heard about some of the imperial characters like Constantine the Great or seen landmarks like the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
Simply put, the book tells the story of the Byzantine Empire as the Roman Empire continued for a thousand more years in the so-called East in a more accessible and visual manner that would appeal to readers of all ages and levels of curiosity.
This is not meant to replace academic and scholarly books on the subject - even if I did base the facts on historical texts and visits to locations on the ground. Rather, the book is meant to spark the curiosity of readers and lead them deeper into the subject, or perhaps, serve as a collectible work of visual art for their libraries.
Through 62 years that shook and shaped the empire, the book explains the long history of the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire from its foundation in the 4th century with the founding of the new Roman capital Constantinople to the fall of the empire in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks. This I do through concise text supported by colorful visuals such as illustrations, maps, timelines and travel locations where you can witness events that took place in Byzantine history today.
Most books about Byzantine history are generally too academic for most casual readers to appreciate. Thus, I decided to a write this book with a visual style so that more people, especially young readers, will be aware of Byzantium’s advanced and fascinating civilization.
You also did the illustrations for the book. Did you have to study art formally? Are there inherent challenges to drawing Byzantine figures?
PC: I did all the illustrations for the book except for the 12 plates painted by Sicily-based artist Alessia Valastro and three illustrations by Seville-based artist Sarah Garcia, both of whom follow me on social media and vice versa.
I consider myself a self-taught artist and though I did not study art formally, I take regular art lessons to improve my craft, of which I focus more on pencil illustrations.
Except for existing mosaics and busts preserved in museums and historical museums which I can refer to, the biggest challenge to drawing Byzantine figures is that it is hard to find accurate evidence on how such emperors, empresses and other personalities looked like as there are very few artworks depicting them that have survived the conquests and calamities that ravaged the empire.
What does remain for artists like me to base their drawings on are the mosaics and coins that have survived, although because of the often simple and two-dimensional nature of the medium, these do not show much detail apart from a general outline of their figures or obvious facial features. Thus, I base many of the drawings of characters in the book on the depictions of famous neo-classical paintings as well as modern-day illustrations ofartists who based their artworks on historical accounts that describe the Byzantine characters, objects and attire.
The rest is really up to the imagination but grounded in understanding Byzantine fashion, heraldry, weaponry and color schemes, of which I have studied carefully through online research, books and personal visits to museums and historical landmarks.
Outside of Byzantine history activities, what takes up your time, Powee? What are your other interests?
PC: Ever since my passion for Byzantine history began back in 2019, Byzantine history has been my primary focus. However, one of my other interests is in global travel, especially since most of my inspiration to create digital content and products come from my trips around the world.
Is there a growing number of Byzantine history enthusiasts in the Philippines? If yes, may you tell us about them, what their activities are, do they meet regularly?
PC: I can’t say for sure about numbers, but I am often surprised to meet people who are familiar with it, at least from my experience with those who come up to me in fairs and bazaars where I also sell my Byzantine-themed artworks and products.
Precisely with my book, I hope that more people in the Philippines will take an interest in Byzantine history – especially since they’ll be surprised to find so many connections between Byzantium and the famous characters, places and landmarks in Europe and the Middle East. Indeed, some clues to the crisis in the Middle East today can be found in the imperial rivalries of the past.