Nothing beats a Jet 2 Holiday - except, of course, trekking thousands of miles across Central Asia to deliver spices, preach the gospel, or just see that's going on over there. The Mongol Empire facilitated an unprecedented transcontinental mobility, which a few people (mostly Europeans, go figure) wrote about. Some of that writing was genuinely insightful, and some was unitentionally hsyterical. Oh, and it led to the creation of one of history's most legendary archetypes: white boys who say Inshallah.

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In the medieval Middle East, no group was as feared as the Order of the Assassins - or as misunderstood. In this episode, Olivia and Aran chart the emergence of this deadly organisation and their role in the complex web of Middle Eastern politics. This episode has everything you could want: high-octane derring-do, arcane Islamic eschatology, thundering Mongol armies and yes: even a few scheming viziers.

Come for the assassins, stay for Aran almost bursting a vessel trying to accurately explain all of early Islamic history in five minutes.

Dry January is over! Wet February is here! What was it like to get drunk in the Middle Ages? Let's investigate......

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Q&A with Aran and Olivia

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Our series on the Norman Conquest finally comes to an end with a grand finale covering the aftermath of the events in Scotland, England, and Wales. Though William the Bastard may die 20 years after the conquest takes place, his actions will reverberate throughout history....

It all comes down to this. Harold Godwinson, Harald Sigurdson, and William the Bastard are preparing their armies, for a tri-cornered showdown for the English throne.

But what really happened in 1066? In this episode, Olivia and Aran will piece together Norman histories, Icelandic sagas, English chronicles, and one big tapestry, to assemble the events that would change England - and Europe - forever.

So far we've talked a lot about the Norman conquest without talking very much about who the Normans were and why they (and especially one guy) wanted to conquest. Well, that changes today! How did some Vikings become French, why is that our problem over here in England, and what's wrong with being a bastard descended from a long line of bastards? Find out....

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In the third episode of our Norman Conquest series, we look at the life and times of the second of our claimants to the English throne in 1066: Harald Sigurdson, King of Norway. When a teenaged Harald's life is upended by Cnut's invasion of Norway in 1028, he builds a new life for himself as a mercenary in Kyiv, and eventually as an honour guard for the Roman Emperors themselves. Along the way, he'll have to contend with Arab armies, a sexually voracious Empress, and even a giant serpent. It's a pulpy, action-packed adventure story for the whole family!

Assuming any of that is true, anyway. Which... eh. We'll get into it.

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Music used: "Olav Trygvason", recorded by GULDBERGS AKADEMISKE KOR (https://archive.org/details/78_olav-trygvason_guldbergs-akademiske-kor-f-a-reissiger-arild-sandvold_gbia7026768b)

Thanks to the efforts of Alfred the Great and his descendants, England enters the new millennium as united kingdom. However, trouble is brewing: the Vikings have returned, and their leader, Sweyn Forkbeard, has designs on the English throne. What follows is a bloody tale of intrigue, with more mysterious deaths than a series of The Traitors. Expect an unready king, people marrying their dead enemies' wives, and the rise of a newly-minted dynasty that you might have heard of: the Godwinsons.