With the 11th century nearly at an end, Venice’s economy is motoring thanks to her hugely favourable trade deal with Constantinople and the relentless hard work of thousands of ordinary Venetians. But the international situation is volatile for the lagoon dwellers, with their main ally looking increasingly precarious. In the 1090s, Emperor Alexios’s call for western help against the Turks unleashes a new force that will rearrange the international chessboard dramatically, shaking up some of Venice’s most important markets. The Crusades have arrived.

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Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org