This podcast mini-series is inspired by Associate Professor Nicholas Morton’s new book, The Crusader Storm: A Global History of the Wars for the Middle East. Rather than repeating the familiar Western-focused crusader narrative, Morton deliberately moves beyond it. Traditional histories often centre European perspectives, framing the Crusades primarily as a story of Western knights, kings, and religious ambition. Morton instead eschews this narrow lens to create a far richer, multi-perspective account of the conflicts and the Crusader states that emerged in the medieval Middle East.
Across the series, we explore how Byzantine, Syrian, Egyptian and other regional voices shaped and experienced these wars. The result is an utterly fascinating re-examination of a world in constant flux, where alliances, cultures, and identities overlapped in unexpected ways. This mini-series brings Morton’s ground-breaking scholarship to life, revealing the Crusades as a truly global history of interconnected struggle and transformation.
This episode is part of a mini-series:
Ep.1: What was the Byzantine perspective on the crusades?
Ep.2: What was the Syrian perspective on the crusades?
Ep.3: what was the Egyptian perspective on the crusades?
Recommended works by Associate Professor Nicholas Morton:
The Crusader Storm: A Global History of the Wars for the Middle East
The Field of Blood: The Battle for Aleppo and the Remaking of the Medieval Middle East
The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A military history 1099-1187
Encountering Islam on the First Crusade
The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East
Further reading:
Andrew Jotischky: Crusading and the Crusader States (2nd Ed.)
Jonathan Phillips: The Crusades 1095-1204
Jonathan Riley-Smith: The Crusades: A History
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