The Gates of Trajan - Epic Byzantine Music

Music by Farya Faraji, including musical samples by Ancient Greek music specialists. The Battle of the Gates of Trajan was a battle between Byzantine and the forces of the First Bulgarian Empire in 986. It was a decisive victory for the Bulgarian forces, led by Samuil of Bulgaria, and a crushing defeat for the Byzantines. As described by John Geometres: “Even if the sun would have come down, I would have never thought that the Moesian (Bulgarian) arrows were stronger than the Avzonian (Greek, Byzantine) spears. And when you, Phaethon (Sun), descend to the earth with your gold-shining chariot, tell the great soul of the Caesar: The Danube (Bulgaria) took the crown of Rome. The arrows of the Moesians broke the spears of the Avzonians. Due to the Bulgarian theme of the piece as well as the geographical location of the battle, I chose to root this composition in the tradition of Thracian music, which is a shared musical tradition between the southern parts of Bulgaria and Northern Greece. Alongside th