Vol 4 Ep 36 - Crusades in the Holy Land,...

Reflections on Volume 4 and looking forward to Volume 5, including the big announcement about the name of the volume and our usual review of listener messages. 

1200 - 1449 - Step into the fourteenth century, a world caught between collapse and rebirth. As the Mongol Empire fractures, new powers rise across Europe, Asia and Africa. From the birth of the Ming dynasty to the brilliance of Mali and the devastation of the Black Death, this e ... Show More

1000 - 1299 - From shattered empires to rising ideas, this episode traces a world in motion. Across continents, scholars, warriors and kings reshape faith, power and knowledge, while distant societies unknowingly edge toward collision. This is an age of transformation — where pri ... Show More

<p>The first Crusade began in 1095, and launched a struggle for control of Jerusalem in a series of arduous battles spanning more than two centuries. Learn more about the origin, escalation and consequences of the Crusades in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.</p><p> </p> Learn mor ... Show More

In the call to crusade that ignited the idea of holy war in the minds of the western European populace, Pope Urban II painted a picture of evil “infidels” torturing and massacring the Christians of the Holy Land. However, when the armed pilgrims of the First Crusade crossed over ... Show More

In episode one of our series on the First Crusade, we consider how a landmark papal bull lit a fire under the idea of crusading, triggering a military machine that saw tens of thousands make an unprecedented journey into the unknown and face off against an unfamiliar enemy When ... Show More

Saladin was one of the greatest Sultans of the middle ages, and the first sultan of Egypt and Syria. He famously defeated the Crusader army at the Battle of Hattin, and recaptured Jerusalem. The Christian armies of the west never recaptured the Holy City. Saladin's legacy still h ... Show More

When we talk about the crusades today the mental images that spring to mind are as clear as they are striking – valiant crusader knights emblazoned with crosses and penniless pilgrims in search of salvation, perhaps even a brutal clash of civilisations. But, behind the popular my ... Show More

<p>May 1453 saw Constantinople under siege - the culmination of an age long struggle between Christianity and Islam for control of the Eastern Mediterranean.&nbsp;The Ottoman leader Mehmed II had dreamed of possessing the city since he was a boy, and now the shining light of Chri ... Show More

<p>As two of humanity's great religions, Islam and Christianity have shaped much of the world's history. Empires across the globe have risen and fallen under their influence, and there have been many occasions for them to go head-to-head on the battlefield. So what have been some ... Show More

As soon as news reached the West that Jerusalem had fallen a new Crusade was called. The German, French and English Kings all led armies East but only Frederick Barbarossa went by land. He led a large army across the Balkans towards Constantinople and Isaac Angelos had to decided ... Show More

Much has been written about the Crusades, the religiously-inspired wars that pockmarked the later centuries of the Middle Ages. Yet for all of the many books on the subject there has been surprisingly little focus on the men and the women who were entangled in these conflicts. In ... Show More