In this episode, we hear about the rise of the Crusaders' new enemy, Nur ad-Din, meaning "Light of the Faith" in Arabic. Nur ad-Din was the son of Zengi, who had united the Emirates of Mosul and Aleppo, and captured the Crusader city of Edessa, which had in turn caused the Second Crusade. Nur ad-Din's reign marked another step towards the unification of Islam against the Crusaders.

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.

In this episode, we hear about life in Outremer, as the Crusader states were called, meaning 'Overseas' in French. We'll find that the Crusaders never really established themselves in sufficient strength to be a viable long-term power in the region. In addition, the Crusader's growing commercial relations with the Islamic world, which promised a more peaceful and friendly future, were ruined by the aggression of the Catholic Papacy in Rome which only wanted war with Islam.

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.

In this episode, we hear about the disastrous conclusion of the Second Crusade, which stands in complete contrast to the spectacular success of the First Crusade. It also marked a turning point for both the Crusaders and the Byzantines, as their mutual hostility grew amidst the rising tide of Islamic power.

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.

In this episode, we look at the passage of the Second Crusade through the Byzantine Empire and on into Anatolia which was a major war zone between the Byzantines and the Turks. Hopes were high for the Second Crusade, led by the two greatest Kings of Europe, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany. But a cruel fate awaited them.

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.

In this episode, after the fall of Edessa to Zengi in 1144, the Kingdom of Jerusalem appeals to Pope Eugenius III for help. The great preacher, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux gives an electrifying sermon in France, calling for a new Crusade to save the Franks in the East. The West is again set alight with crusading fervour, just as it had been with the First Crusade in 1095, and two huge armies, led by the Kings of France and Germany, march East.

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.

In this episode, we hear how King Fulk of Jerusalem died leaving the Kingdom of Jerusalem to his widow, Queen Melisende, and how the Crusaders' most feared enemy, Imad al-Din Zengi used this as an opportunity to launch an attack on the County of Edessa. The result would change the crusading world forever.

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 podcast series tells how the Crusades were inextricably linked with the Byzantine Empire. In this episode, we hear how Byzantium, in the 1130s and 1140s, tried to re-establish its control over Antioch, the second city of the Empire, lost to the Turks in 1084, and captured by the First Crusade in 1098. Antioch was now a Crusader state - the Principality of Antioch - and the Crusaders would not yield to Byzantine demands to return it to the Empire as had been originally promised by the First Crusaders. Another step would be taken on the path towards war between Byzantium and the Crusaders.

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 podcast series tells how the Crusades were inextricably linked with the Byzantine Empire. In this episode, we hear about how the Egyptian Fatimid Caliphate tried to destroy the newly established Crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the early 1100's. And how it very nearly succeeded.

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 podcast series tells how the Crusades were inextricably linked with the Byzantine Empire. In this episode, we hear about the creation of the fourth Crusader state - called the County of Tripoli. It would in future play a vital role in the history of the Crusades, linking the Crusaders of Antioch and Edessa, in the north, with those of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the south.

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 podcast series tells the story of the Crusades from the Byzantine angle. In this episode, we hear how one of the greatest leaders of the First Crusade, Bohemond, the ruler of the Principality of Antioch, turns against Byzantium and launches a war against the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios. However, things do not turn out as he hoped.

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.