When the First Crusade arrived at the walls of Antioch in 1097, the two most powerful Muslim rulers in Syria were not preparing a joint defense. They were trying to destroy each other. Ridwan of Aleppo and his brother Duqaq of Damascus had been locked in a fratricidal war over their dead father's territories, and neither would yield an inch to help the other. When Karbugha of Mosul finally assembled a massive coalition army to crush the crusaders, it collapsed in a single afternoon despite overwhelming numerical superiority, because the Arab contingents distrusted the Turkish ones, Ridwan was stirring up trouble from the sidelines, and no one trusted anyone else enough to commit fully to the fight. The First Crusade succeeded not because of any tactically brilliant move of Godfrey of Bouillon (although the Siege of Jerusalem was impressive) but because the Islamic world was tearing itself apart.

Today's guest is Nicholas Morton, author of The Crusader Storm: A Global History of the Wars for the Middle East. We discuss how the Seljuk Turkish invasions reshaped the Middle East far more profoundly than the crusaders ever did, why the Fatimid Empire initially treated the crusaders as useful allies against the Seljuks and then made a catastrophic diplomatic blunder at Jerusalem that turned a potential partnership into an existential war, and how the Italian merchant cities of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice were the true kingmakers of the Crusader States because the Franks had almost no ships. We look at how Saladin spent far more of his career fighting fellow Muslims than fighting Christians and needed the Battle of Hattin to justify his entire political project to his own coalition, and why the war for control of Egypt between 1163 and 1169 was the strategic hinge that made the fall of Jerusalem virtually inevitable. Morton argues that the crusades were not a clash of civilizations but one disruption among many in a region already convulsed by Seljuk expansion, Fatimid collapse, and Byzantine intervention, and that placing the holy wars within this wider framework makes the religious fervor that drove them more remarkable, not less.

When the First Crusade arrived at the walls of Antioch in 1097, the two most powerful Muslim rulers in Syria were not preparing a joint defense. They were trying to destroy each other. Ridwan of Aleppo and his brother Duqaq of Damascus had been locked in a fratricidal war over their dead father's territories, and neither would yield an inch to help the other. When Karbugha of Mosul finally assembled a massive coalition army to crush the crusaders, it collapsed in a single afternoon despite overwhelming numerical superiority, because the Arab contingents distrusted the Turkish ones, Ridwan was stirring up trouble from the sidelines, and no one trusted anyone else enough to commit fully to the fight. The First Crusade succeeded not because of any tactically brilliant move of Godfrey of Bouillon (although the Siege of Jerusalem was impressive) but because the Islamic world was tearing itself apart.
Today's guest is Nicholas Morton, author of The Crusader Storm: A Global History of the Wars for the Middle East. We discuss how the Seljuk Turkish invasions reshaped the Middle East far more profoundly than the crusaders ever did, why the Fatimid Empire initially treated the crusaders as useful allies against the Seljuks and then made a catastrophic diplomatic blunder at Jerusalem that turned a potential partnership into an existential war, and how the Italian merchant cities of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice were the true kingmakers of the Crusader States because the Franks had almost no ships. We look at how Saladin spent far more of his career fighting fellow Muslims than fighting Christians and needed the Battle of Hattin to justify his entire political project to his own coalition, and why the war for control of Egypt between 1163 and 1169 was the strategic hinge that made the fall of Jerusalem virtually inevitable. Morton argues that the crusades were not a clash of civilizations but one disruption among many in a region already convulsed by Seljuk expansion, Fatimid collapse, and Byzantine intervention, and that placing the holy wars within this wider framework makes the religious fervor that drove them more remarkable, not less.

For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questions from its audience. First, it features a call-in show where you can ask our resident historian (Scott Rank, PhD) absolutely anything (What was it like to be a Turkish sultan with four wives and twelve concubines? If you were sent back in time, how would you kill Hitler?). Second, it features long-form interviews with best-selling authors who have written about everything. Topics include gruff World War II generals who flew with airmen on bombing raids, a war horse who gained the rank of sergeant, and presidents who gave their best speeches while drunk.

A show about American history, world history, World Wars 1 & 2, the Civil War, and much more.

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brodén from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.

 

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brod&eacute;n from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.
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