Jerusalem has been reclaimed by the Muslims. After being driven out of Khwarazmia by the Mongols, the Khwarazmians captured Jerusalem while on their way to Egypt. The Christians needed a great monarch to stand and defend their claim on the Holy Land. That would be the French Monarch - Louis IX. The pious Louis would take the cross and vow to get Jerusalem back.

The failure to reclaim Jerusalem in the Third Crusade left the Papacy with a bad taste in their mouth, and Pope Innocent III would waste no time after his Ordination before he began preaching the words of Crusade once more. Gaining little traction at the start, he remained optimistic that the he could stir the fervor needed for Crusade. Ultimately, Innocent was successful in sparking another Crusade, however, things wouldn't go quite as he had imagined.

The Third Crusade. Saladin and the Muslims against Richard the Lionheart and the Christians. Perhaps the most famous Crusade simply due to the massive personalities that were involved. Beginning at the Battle of Hattin, Saladin worked to reclaim the Levant for Islam. He took Jerusalem back after it had been in Christian hands for almost one hundred years since it had been taken as a result of the First Crusade. Richard the Lionheart, Philip Augustus, and Frederick Barbarossa would "take the cross" and work to travel to the Holy Land to take it back.

Richard the Lionheart - named so for a story about a messy situation with a lion. He was a man of action and would engage in a dizzy storm of intrigue and deceit as he fought his way to his crown. He is a man that still lives in the mythos of England as well as numerous movies, TV shows, and stories of all kinds. Understanding the importance of reputation, you could say he worked to give us another King Arthur.

Nur al-Din, son of Imad ad-Din Zengi would work to unite the Muslim people against the Crusaders in the Second Crusade. After this, he would work to conquer all of Syria and then Egypt. Saladin rose through the ranks of Nur's armies and became far more impactful than his master, working to unite the largest section of land under one Muslim leader the world had ever seen. After that, he would take up the Jihad.

The first half of the twelfth century was much like the end of the eleventh as it was filled with Crusader expansion into the Holy Lands. This wouldn't be stopped until a man named Imad ad-Din Zengi (Zengi: the Pillar of Religion) turned the tide and captured the Crusader State of Edessa. It was time for the Second Crusade.

 

Music used:

Title: Beyond the WarriorsAuthor: GuifrogSource: Free Music Archive - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Guifrog/Guifrog_-_Singles_1071/Guifrog_-_Beyond_the_WarriorsLicense: Attribution 3.0 International License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeChanges: None made

The First Crusaders were met with a Muslim world consumed with discord and internal warfare. This was fortunate, from their perspective, as it's what made their march across thousands of miles over the course of three years to finally accomplish their goal of capturing the city of Jerusalem even possible.

 

Music used:

Title: Beyond the WarriorsAuthor: GuifrogSource: Free Music Archive - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Guifrog/Guifrog_-_Singles_1071/Guifrog_-_Beyond_the_WarriorsLicense: Attribution 3.0 International License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeChanges: None made

In this Episode, we talk about the Crusaders moving from their victory at Dorylaeum and their perilous journey to Antioch.  This journey was a devastating one, but things only got worse once they arrived at Antioch.

 

Music used:

Title: Beyond the WarriorsAuthor: GuifrogSource: Free Music Archive - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Guifrog/Guifrog_-_Singles_1071/Guifrog_-_Beyond_the_WarriorsLicense: Attribution 3.0 International License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeChanges: None made

In this Episode, we talk about Alexios and the letters sent to Pope Urban II that started it all.  Men and women left their lives in search of guaranteed absolution to become the first Crusaders and embark on what would start a centuries long conflict.

 

Music used:

Title: Beyond the WarriorsAuthor: GuifrogSource: Free Music Archive - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Guifrog/Guifrog_-_Singles_1071/Guifrog_-_Beyond_the_WarriorsLicense: Attribution 3.0 International License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeChanges: None made

In this Episode, we talk about the Muslim World leading up to just before the First Crusade.  Islam is born as the perfecting refinement of the Abrahamic Religions and undergoes an incredible expansion period to create the first Islamic Empire.

 

Music used:

Title: Beyond the WarriorsAuthor: GuifrogSource: Free Music Archive - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Guifrog/Guifrog_-_Singles_1071/Guifrog_-_Beyond_the_WarriorsLicense: Attribution 3.0 International License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeChanges: None made