The Middle Eastern crusades were a series of military campaigns initiated by the Latin Christians of Europe, against the Muslims of the Middle East. Listen in to join the first ever crusade which not only managed to achieve its goal of conquering Jerusalem, but established a number of European outposts in the Levant - the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Edessa and the County of Tripoli. Listen further to see the gradual decline of those states, culminating in the fall of Acre to the Muslims in 1291. There are also a number of episodes on specialist topics, such as the Knights Templar and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Now - here's a confession. The sound quality at the start of these episodes is terrible. The crusades are all about embarking on a mad, ambitious adventure into unknown territory with the wrong equipment, and I embraced that fully. Not realising that people other than my family members might eventually listen in, I brought the cheapest microphone I could find and launched my podcast. Thankfully, my microphone broke around episode 19 and I bought a better one. However, it took the demise of my laptop around episode 74 for me to invest in an entirely new and much better audio recording setup, so it's really after that time that the sound quality improves and the volume gets much louder. Lessons learned.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the 107 episode romp from medieval Europe to the deserts of the Holy Land, complete with battles, sieges, knights, monks, assassins and a crazy hermit called Peter who just keeps popping up when you least expect it...
Here are some maps (via wikipedia) which you might find useful - the route of the First Crusade from Constantinople to Tripoli and the Crusader States.
An analysis of western Europe prior to the crusades
The title of the episode is self-explanatory
Pope Urban II makes a speech at Clermont which starts the crusading movement
The journey of Tancred of Hauteville and Baldwin of Boulogne
The aftermath of the First Crusade and the tumultuous years of 1100 and 1101
We take a look at the Principality of Antioch
We take a look at two more Crusader States
A look at the final Crusader State
In which Queen Eleanor of France becomes Queen Eleanor of England
Featuring an ageing Queen Eleanor, Thomas Becket and some Kings
Following the Second Crusade comes a period of changing fortunes for both the Latin Christians and the Muslims
The Latin Christians and the Syrian Muslims clash again in Egypt
An episode about the famous castle - Krak des Chevaliers
We have seen Saladin rise to become ruler of Egypt. See him rise even further in this episode.
This year sees the marriage of King Baldwin's sister Sibylla and the death of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel.
The Byzantine Empire falls into decline following the death of Emperor Manuel
Again, the information you need is in the title
Discusses the epic battle between Saladin and the Latin Christians
We follow the crusade of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his German army
The crusade concludes with the signing of the Treaty of Jaffa
We take a look at Christianity in the Middle East
What was life like for Latin Christians in the Middle East?
Emperor Henry VI instigates a German Crusade to the Holy Land
Representatives from the Fourth Crusade travel to Venice
We take a look at what has been happening in the Holy Land while we've been away on the Fourth Crusade
Preparations and recruitment for the crusade of King Louis IX
The French, English and Spanish monarchs embark on separate crusades to the Holy Land
The remaining Crusader States stagger from disaster, to disaster
What do you do when times are tough? Throw a massive party!
And that's it, folks. The end of the Middle Eastern Crusades
