Tink's Medieval Times - Crusades O'Clock

This is a time of tension, of rifts between old rivals breaking into open conflict. Both in Muslim held Tripoli and on the Crusader dominated fields beyond the city's walls, relationships are strained to breaking point.Who will triumph? Will Fakhr al Mulk get the support of the Seljuk Sultan Muhammad Tapar? Will the Fatimids finally get their hands on the city they have coveted? Will Bertrand of Toulouse, William-Jordan of Cerdagne, or their powerful backers Tancred of Antioch or Baldwin of Jerusalem get their hands on the city? Tune in to find out!#Crusaders #Tripoli #Egypt #Damascus

Raymond of Toulouse is dead...But his dream lives on...Join us for the first in two episodes looking at the nominal County of Tripoli's efforts to seize its eponymous city. #Crusades #Tripoli #Raymond #Byzantine

This episode is the second detour into the Crusaders' neighbours - mainly focussing on Fatimid Egypt (with a soupcon of Burid Damascus!)A question that has oft troubled me (and my pupils) is why the Fatimid Caliphate, given its wealth and abundant reserves of manpower, proved quite so ineffective against the Crusader States. I hope this episode goes some way towards resolving the mystery, whilst providing some entertaining and insightful anecdotes about Fatimid commanders and their performance. The Fatimid "General Disastrous" and an exciting cast of characters await you...#Crusades #Egypt #Disaster

A lengthy, and hopefully long awaited, episode. We have obviously looked at the Crusaders' victories over the Seljuks and their tributaries, but haven't yet addressed why their Sultans were so ineffective at combatting the Crusader threat...... until now!Buckle up for a story of great escapes, assassinations and executions, family grudges and feisty Turkish princesses. It promises to be a corker... except for Berkiyaruq and his haemorrhoids...Enjoy!#crusades #Seljuks #greatescape #princesses

Raymond, Raymond, we have missed you.Herein lies a summary of Raymond's work and deeds, and especially his efforts to besiege the port city of Tripoli.You have to respect his audacity - appointing himself Count of Tripoli before he had even taken the city from the Muslims!He also fights some pretty awesome battles, builds a massive castle with a seriously cool name, and then falls through a burning roof. What's not to love about this guy?But does he take Tripoli in the end?All will be revealed... #Crusades #Toulouse #suspense #castles

WARNING: This is an experiment. Unscripted History is an attempt, by me, to create a summary of several Crusades O'Clock Episodes in an easier to digest format. It is not scripted.It is essentially just me talking.The dates are correct, but everything else is unedited.Have I advertised this well enough?Let me know what you think in the poll, or by email at [email protected]

Confession: This episode is more exciting than I was expecting.I was expecting more Fatimid incompetence. I got it. But it came with a twist. This episode has:- Flamethrowers- Angry people refusing to cooperate with each other- People making promises they had no intention of keeping- Flamethrowers that have run out of fuel- The True Cross- A man's decapitated head being used to scare away the Fatimid fleetExcited? ... You should be...#flamethrowers #deadduqaq #crusaders #truecross

Ready for another roller coaster? An epic showdown with the Fatimids? The King of Jerusalem escaping a tower, fleeing for 10 days through the desert, and nearly getting incinerated in some dried rushes?If so, this is the episode for you!#crusades #medieval #discoinferno

Well, just in case you thought the first part of the 1101 Crusade displayed enough poor leadership, disunity and incompetence, here's some more...Be prepared to see the same battle fought twice, with Kiliq Arslan and Danishmend back in business together and rubbing their hands together with glee as they use the same tactics, in the same place, twice and get away with it.Things go so badly here that I even end up feeling sorry for Raymond of Toulouse. At least no lions get killed though...Enjoy!#Crusades #river #ambush

A slight detour today, but an important and, I hope, exciting one. For the 1101 Crusade is here! Listen to find out what happens in phase 1. Phases 2 and 3 reserved for February. Don't get your hopes up though. It doesn't go well... (unless you are rooting for Kiliq Arslan and Danishmend, and who isn't, secretly?) And just remember, if you are having a bad day, at least you are not Stephen of Blois having returned prematurely from the First Crusade... Listen to find out why... #Crusades #lions #Byzantium #Turkey

So... We've had the First Crusade... We've had Godfrey de Bouillon... Baldwin of Edessa has battled through temptation and peril to take Jerusalem's crown... And now we have reached his debut year! The Good - he hunts down robbers and raiders on the road between Jerusalem and Ascalon. The Bad - he humiliates himself trying to pass judgement on Tancred of Galilee. The Ugly - The First Battle of Ramla (what a mess...) Also... RIP Geldemar Carpenel #sadtimes #Crusades #History #Baldwin #Jerusalem Enjoy...

With Godfrey de Bouillon dead, Jerusalem is threatened by internal turmoil and external pressures. Does the Holy City need a Latin King? The Patriarch Daimbert doesn't think so... However, Godfrey's old adherents in Jerusalem certainly do! Swept up by a deep seated loyalty to their former master, they contact his kinsman Baldwin, Count of Edessa, to come and take Godfrey's place at the head of the Jerusalemite state. Tune in to find out how Baldwin responds, the long journey that he endures, and the means by which he takes power, preparing the ground for his crowning, which we will see in a month's time, in our next episode. #Crusade #Jerusalem #Baldwin #GodWillsIt

I had no intention of this podcast becoming biographical, but Godfrey makes it too easy. His is a short reign, but one in which he achieves a lot, fitting neatly into 30 minutes and 18 seconds! So thank you Godfrey - I'm happy to have this episode dedicated to you! He undoubtedly has more fun as Defender of the Holy Sepulchre than when the First Crusade was in session. He isn't, for example, attacked by a bear, and he gets to eat lots of oranges with the Emir of Caesarea. But it's not all plain sailing! He has to deal with bad weather, faulty siege machines, irritating Italian prelates and typhoid. Which is worse? (Probably typhoid...) Anyway, hoorah for Godfrey! Defender of the Holy Sepulchre! One not to be missed. #crusades #Jerusalem #oranges #typhoid

Having kept you on the edge of your seats for so long... please find the resolution to the terrible events of 1104! How will Tancred keep Antioch safe from the depredations of Ridwan of Aleppo, Alexios Komnenos and the new ruler of Mosul Jawali Saqao? How well will Bohemond fare in his celebrity tour of Europe and his grudge match against the Byzantine Empire? How well will I fare in explaining the confusing events of the battle of Turbessel? Find out by listening to episode 15! #crusades #Bohemond #history

The first of our post "Fall of Jerusalem 1099" episodes drops! Thank you for your patience waiting for it. The formation and consolidation of the Principality of Antioch is one complicated business... With a melting pot of Latins, Greeks, Armenians, Syrian Christians and Muslims to govern, the Norman princes Bohemond and Tancred have to move with a mixture of subtlety, precision and armed force to build and defend their little state. Get ready for some epic showdowns at Melitene, Kella, Mersivan and Harran, a cracking double siege at Latakiah, and some devious political manouevrings from Antiochenes, Turks and Byzantines alike. Warning. The episode concludes with a tantalising cliffhanger. Will you cope? #Crusades #Antioch #Tancred #Bohemond #Baldwin #Harran

Jerusalem has fallen to the First Crusade. There is massed bloodshed and wanton murder, and those of the cities inhabitants that survive are subjected to the indignity of ransom, or wandering across Muslim Syria in search of support. But where are the forces of the Great Seljuk Sultanate or the Fatimid Caliphate, I hear you ask!? Tune in to find out more... #Crusades #Jerusalem #Fatimids #Seljuks

Welcome back to Tink's Medieval Times and thank you for your patience in the hiatus between episodes 11 and 12. I have fixed some technical issues and got the old (Crusades O') Clock back on track, with the promise of complex siege craft, messy politics and leech infested water awaiting you. This episode has all of the above and more! Questionable cures for snakebites, all the more questionable strategic decisions from the Fatimid Caliphate, and some embarrassing negotiations from our old friend Alexios Komnenos sit amongst a couple of dead carrier pigeons and a man cemented alive inside a wall... Spoiler, Jerusalem falls to the Crusaders... Anti-Spoiler, I hope no one is rooting for Raymond of Toulouse. I hope you enjoy it! #deusvult #Crusade #Jerusalem #pigeon #snakebite

Thanks for tuning into another episode of Tink's Medieval Times. Having taken Antioch, the Crusaders have to decide what to do with their new possession, and how best to continue the journey to Jerusalem. Get ready for another jam-packed adventure with cattle based ambushes, cannibalism and Peter Bartholomew undertaking the Ordeal of Fire. A treat not to be missed. #Crusade #fire #GodWillsIt

Here we have the making of a legend. No sooner had Antioch fallen to the First Crusade in early June 1098, than the mighty force of Kerbogha of Mosul, consisting of thousands of troops from across the Seljuk Empire, descended on the city to put it under a second siege. The Crusaders' defence of the city, and the epic showdown the starving Christian knights foist on Kerbogha outside Antioch's walls, is the stuff of legend. Why haven't they made a blockbuster epic out of this? Where are you Ridley Scott? I hope you enjoy it anyway, especially the part where Mad Hugh defends a tower by himself, breaking spears with his bare hands! Any questions of feedback welcome at [email protected] #medieval #crusades #epic #siege #antioch #battle

It looks as though the great Crusader conflict around Antioch will take 3 episodes now! There is so much ground to cover, what with Kerbogha of Mosul on the move (slowly), Armenian armourers to arrange the betrayal of the city (less slowly) and Armenian woodcutters to decapitate Yaghi Siyan (very quickly). This next exciting installment sees the Crusader siege end, but on a bit of cliff hanger, for Kerbogha's army of 45,000 men is poised to lay siege to the Christians! The big showdown will be in our next episode, but this one's pretty cool too. It contains a night assault, with some more top quality action from Bohemond of Taranto. It's not to be missed. #Crusade #Antioch #decapitation

Welcome back folks! With apologies for this being a little late - rather an epic! Siege of Antioch Episode Part 2 will be hot on its tails! Highlights of this episode include: - The creation of donkey kebabs. - A lot of armies blundering into each other. - Epic ambushes, counter ambushes and full scale battles between Turkish horsemen and armoured knights. So... what are you waiting for? #Antioch #Crusade #donkeys #knights

This episode creates a very exciting build up to the big event - the siege and battles of Antioch, which we will see more of in a fortnight's time. But... If you can't wait until then for some epic clashes and action, you're in luck! The Crusaders have to get to Antioch first, and in doing so they will fight some more Turks, very briefly each other, and will finish with a bizarre Armenian adoption ceremony that leads to Baldwin of Boulogne being involved (or not...) in a plot that sees his adopted father thrown from the top of Edessa's citadel! (Though that wasn't part of the ceremony...) Friends will be made, some of those friends become enemies, and many of those end up getting killed in battle or tortured to death. If you want duplicitous politics, epic scenery and knights riding on cows, you have come to the right place. Oh - and Godfrey de Bouillon nearly gets eaten by a bear... #Antioch #Edessa #Crusades #bears Enjoy!

We've made it! The First Crusade is heading out, and it has Jerusalem in its sights. This episode sees the Crusader leaders meet Alexios Komnenos, the Byzantine Emperor. Between them, they establish their goals, before crossing the border into Muslim territory... But their first opponent, the Sultan of Rum Kiliq Arslan, has got cocky, and is besieging a city on his eastern border! Watch the mayhem unfold as the Princes Crusade and their Byzantine allies besiege and capture Kiliq Arslan's capital and defeat him and his allies in two major battles. A spectacle not to be missed! #Crusades #Byzantium #Nicaea #Dorylaeum

The year is 1096. People across Europe have heard Pope Urban's call and are making their preparations for Crusade. Before the elite forces of the Princes' Crusade have fully made their preparations, tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in a series of expeditions known as the People's Crusade. This fifth episode of Crusades O'Clock charts the progress of these ultimately doomed contingents of armed pilgrims. Some of these forces became bogged down in anti-Jewish violence in France and Germany, or were defeated and dispersed by the forces of the King of Hungary, in whose lands they were causing a disturbance. Those that did make it to Muslim lands were cleverly and comprehensively defeated by the young Sultan of Rum, Kiliq Arslan. The First Crusade is underway! This promises to be an exciting, but in places somewhat troubling episode, and lays the way for the first of our series of narratives on the more successful Princes Crusade, to be released in a fortnight's time. #Crusade #Byzantium #Seljuks

Welcome back! The focus of this episode is medieval marketing. How did Urban II sell his idea for a Crusade to the peoples of Catholic Europe? Who did he want to recruit? Who did he want to discourage? And why on earth did anyone want to go? These questions, amongst others, will be answered in Episode 4 of Crusades O'Clock. The next episode, on popular crusading movements and the People's Crusade, will be available on 17th September. #crusades #medieval #popes #marketing

Welcome back folks - get ready to be amazed by Episode 3 of Tink's Medieval Times! The development of the eleventh century Papacy is yours to behold. Rising from lowly and somewhat embarrassing circumstances under the stewardship of teenage "party-Pope" Benedict IX, and a host of other inappropriate and inadequate pontiffs, the Papacy gets a rebrand under a host of reforming Popes. Join Leo IX, Nicholas II and the legendary Gregory VII on a journey cleaning up the Catholic Church, whilst all the while trying to lean less on the German monarchs who had helped them start the process. The showdown between Gregory and Henry IV, king of Germany, gets messy, but also sets the scene for Urban II, the Pope who called the First Crusade. This episode finished with Urban's Council of Piacenza in 1095, where he dishes the dirt of his inveterate rival Henry. An episode not to be missed! Episode 4 (on Clermont and the preaching of the First Crusade) will be released on Sunday 3rd September 2023. #crusades #medieval #party #popes

Welcome back everyone. Yes, the cringy title music is still here, with the good news that you will be treated to a full and detailed explanation of the changing geo-political context of the mid-eleventh century Middle East. The rise of the Seljuk Turks and their elimination of their early Ghaznavid and Buyid opponents is examined, before we take a look at how their expansion affected the two great powers of the eastern Mediterranean: Fatimid Egypt and the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire. Tracking internal politics and the external concerns and activities of these two states and their numerous smaller tributaries and allies, we will discover why they were so roundly beaten by the Seljuk menace, and how they were able to survive. It should prove a treat! The next episode will be released in a fortnight's time! (20/8/23) #crusades #medieval #byzantium

Tink's Medieval Times is a good excuse for me, William Tink, a teacher who loves his history, to talk to you about the medieval period. It's a good excuse for you, the lucky listener, to learn a bit about the bizarre but strangely compelling world of the Middle Ages. This first episode of "Crusades O'Clock" takes a sweeping glance at the Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the decades leading up to the First Crusade in the late 1090s. It explores the incentives that drove Europe's Christians to go on pilgrimage or Crusade and debunks the myth that the Crusades were triggered directly by events affecting the city of Jerusalem. The narrative also examines the historic reasons for divisions between Catholic and Orthodox Christians, and those between Sunni and Shia Islam, which are fundamental to understanding the geopolitics of eleventh and twelfth century Byzantium. I apologise in advance for the theme music, and I hope you enjoy it! #crusades #medieval #byzantium