The Lombard Wars were a period of civil war in the Crusader states between the German Emperor Frederick II's Lombard troops and the Crusader barons in Cyprus and Palestine. Why did the Muslim states not attack the Crusaders when they were weakened by civil war? Find out in this episode.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

The German Emperor Frederick II has achieved the impossible - the recovery of Jerusalem for Christendom. But is there rejoicing in the West? Not at all. For Frederick has been excommunicated and is reviled both in the West and in Outremer. The next events will reveal how superficial his victory has been.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

The German Emperor Frederick II was an unusual medieval monarch. He shocked contemporaries by keeping a harem in his court at Palermo, and was excommunicated three times by the Pope. Yet he was the only monarch to succeed in recovering Jerusalem.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

The Fifth Crusade is poised for victory in Egypt. But its final offensive ends in catastrophe. Find out what went wrong in this episode.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

The Fifth Crusade has struck at Egypt. Can its fanatical leader, Cardinal Pelagius, achieve the greatest victory since the First Crusade? 

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

The Fifth Crusade isn't as well known as it should be. It was actually one of the most significant military expeditions that set out to recover Jerusalem. 

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

This episode looks at one of the strangest episodes in the whole history of the Crusades when, in 1212, groups of children in France and Germany followed child preachers on a wildly unrealistic expedition to liberate Jerusalem. It provides a fascinating insight into the medieval mind, dominated by a belief in miracles and a yearning to seek a better life.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

How did the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade rule their new city of Constantinople and their lands in Greece? And how did the break-away Byzantine states oppose them? Find out in this episode.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

The Fourth Crusade was initiated as a plan to attack Egypt. But with the Crusaders short of money, and the emergence of a Byzantine pretender, claiming that he would help the Crusaders if they helped him, things started to develop somewhat differently. With the scheming Venetians in the background, the Crusaders looked east not to the Holy Land but to the glittering city of Constantinople.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.

The First Crusade had saved Byzantium. Now the Fourth Crusade would be directed against it. How and why did this happen? Find out in this episode.

Please take a look at my website nickholmesauthor.com where you can download a free copy of The Byzantine World War, my book that describes the origins of the First Crusade.