The Four Lads may not feature on many bibliographies on the history of the great imperial city of Constantinople. But they were spot on.

'Istanbul was Constantinople', they sang, entirely accurately. 'Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople'; correct again.

'Why did Constantinople get the works?' they mused; 'That's nobody's business but the Turks'

It's a classic - an all time great, and required listening (you can click on the link above and listen as you read if you like).

Despite the wisdom of the Four Lads, though, some things never change. The inhabitants of the great city nestled on the banks of the Bosphorus have been up in arms, protesting against the heavy-handed and bloody-mindedness of the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It is the latest in a long and proud line of civic disobedience that stretches back to the early 4th century when the city was magnificently endowed by the Emperor Constantine.

As Byzantine Emperors and Turkish sultans learned from experience, when crowds take to the streets of the city, it was time to listen. Erdoğan is not interested; it's all the fault of 'provocateurs' and 'social media', he claims. He should study his history.

If he had, he'd quickly learn about the Stylites of Constantinople, men who would climb to the top of a column to be closer to God, and to demonstrate their devotion through their asceticism. Some, like Daniel in the 5th century, took up position by the harbour, so those journeying in and out of the city could see him literally standing up for what he believed in. People would shout up questions to him - and he'd answer, impressing all with his simple advice.

For all those who say history does not repeat itself, how wonderful to see that after being swamped with tear gas, the protesters in Istanbul have reverted to old tradition of making a stand.

The symbol of the recent protests is none other than a modern day stylite - dubbed the standing man.

He stands still, silently (occasionally disappearing to change his outfit); his aim is to make a pacific and ascetic protest against the powers that be. He will hold his ground, and do so proudly, quietly and without a fuss. The stylites of old would be proud of him - and delighted to see their traditions being re-adopted, even if the spiritual side is rather watered down.

Even better, clusters of new standing figures have now joined him. This happened too with popular stylites in the old days, with others setting up columns near by (I might be wrong, but suspect this was really annoying for the first holy man who got in to position; I bet there was a lot of the silent treatment for new arrivals until they proved themselves). And despite what they say, size did matter - what was worse than another stylite joining the party? A stylite with a bigger column, that's what.

Vladimir Putin gets a bad press in the western world - there are sniggers that he is too autocratic; too controlling and too repressive. The judo and the motorbike-riding, the bare-chested fishing; shirtless horse riding; surfacing from scuba-diving with two intact Greek amphorae - I mean, come on, I hear you cry. It's a joke !

But one thing about Putin is that he certainly knows how to handle his image, and how to handle his personal life. Those images of his down-time activities are chosen carefully - more carefully than those of US Presidents enjoying seemingly never-ending rounds of golf while the economy tanks (as at 1 June 2013, Pres. Obama had played 125 rounds since taking office)

Despite Putin's immense power (and rumoured vast wealth), he consistently presents himself as a servant of his people - a trick learned from the Emperors of Byzantium.

His divorce, announced last week with his wife at his side after seeing a performance of La Esmeralda, was straight from the imperial textbooks.'All my work is connected to the public sphere', he told a reporter from RIA Novosti, a state-owned gazeteer. 'Some like it; but there are people who are completely incompatible with that.' I live to serve, in other words; deal with it.

The message was reinforced immediately by his court historians. 'It’s easy to look at Putin’s working schedule' said his official spokesman, 'and you’ll understand that his life is not connected in any way with family relationships. It’s connected only with his responsibility as the head of state.

They must have been reading the Alexiad, a jewel of a medieval text written in Greek in the 12th century
.
The Emperor Alexios I, wrote the author, never had time to bathe since he was so busy with affairs of state. He hardly slept, and worried constantly about the waves battering the empire from all quarters. His wife used to spend the evenings reading the Bible - just like Ludmilla Putin is supposed to do; on those rare occasions they were together, they would talk and pray - Emperor and Empress, that is; would not be surprised to learn that about the Putins too in due course.

Empresses were often quietly discarded in Byzantium, usually retiring to well-appointed convents where they lived out their days in luxurious surroundings. Almost always, they went off into the distance - like Mrs P - smiling and calm, aware that they had made their bed with a powerful man and for whatever reason, that end of the road had been reached.

But I for one found the process of last week's announcement surprisingly familiar, but also impressive in its own way. Ludmilla accepting her fate in a way that showed considerable dignity; and Putin himself keeping up the image that is a constant - and a reason why he is so enormously popular in Russia. He is steering the ship and is constantly at the helm, as waves crash from all directions.

No time for middle class sports like golf for him or a moccacino in a dinky little cafe in Ibiza like the Camerons; if he's off duty, he's going to be out and about doing the sort of thing real leaders do - hunting, traveling and preserving Russia's cultural heritage.

No wonder Moscow has long styled itself as the Third Rome - their latest heir to Constantinople. Which makes me wonder: what is the model for London and for Washington?