Author: Nick Holmes

In 1260, the Mamluk victory over the Mongols at the battle of Ain Jalut saved Islam. Under the leadership of their new Sultan, Baibars, they now turned their attention to destroying 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 1258, the Mongols sacked Baghdad, possibly the largest city in the world at that time and the centre of Islamic culture. It seemed as if Islam was doomed. But the powerful army of the Mamluks in Egypt was mustering to confront the Mongols. A great battle was about to be fought.

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 the mid-thirteenth century, the Mongol Empire was the most powerful state on the planet.  In 1256, a huge Mongol army advanced into the Middle East. Its first major objective was Baghdad, one of the largest and most splendid cities in the world at the time.

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.

The Seventh Crusade was the last major military effort by Western Europe to recover Jerusalem. Brilliantly successful to begin with, it met fierce opposition from the Egyptian Mamluk army, led by its brilliant general Baibars, who was poised to seize power in Egypt and establish a Mamluk empire that would ultimately destroy 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 how the last major Crusade - the Seventh Crusade - led by King Louis IX of France, achieved outstanding success initially only to fail along the banks of the River Nile.

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 the the first half of the thirteenth century, it seemed as if nothing could stop the Mongols. Their empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean. Yet hopes grew in Europe that they would convert to Christianity and unite with the Kings of Europe in the greatest of all Crusades.

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.

The last fifty years of the Crusader states were dominated by two new emerging superpowers - the Mongols and the Mamluks. In this episode, we hear the extraordinary story of the man who created the Mongol Empire - Genghis (or Jenghiz) Khan.

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 reach a turning point in the history of the later Crusades, as the Crusaders face a devastating battle against Ayub, Sultan of Egypt. This marks not just the beginning of the end for the Crusaders but the start of the rise to power of the Mongols and the Mamluks, both of which will come to dominate the thirteenth century.

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 1239, the Barons' Crusade arrived in Palestine to help the Kingdom of Jerusalem. But it achieved little and, in 1244, Jerusalem was captured and sacked by a group of Turkish nomads. It would be nearly 700 years before a Christian army regained the city. 

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.

The Lombard Wars were a period of civil war in the Crusader states between the German Emperor Frederick II's Lombard troops and the Crusader barons in Cyprus and Palestine. Why did the Muslim states not attack the Crusaders when they were weakened by civil war? Find out in this episode.

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.