Byzantium And The Crusades
Episodes
100 episodes
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 1 "Byzantium - The Dying Empire"
In this new mini-series, we will hear about the fall of Byzantine Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks. Many people see it as a turning point in history, marking the end of the Middle Ages. But what really happened? Find out here.
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 2 "Seljuks and Ottomans"
In the thirteenth century, the Mongols destroyed the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia. But after the Mongols left, a new Turkish dynasty began to rise to power in western Anatolia. This dynasty was that of the Ottomans.
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 3 "Timur the Lame"
In the fourteenth century, the growing power of the Ottoman Turks seemed unstoppable. But there was one man who checked it. This was Timur the Lame, or Tamerlane, as he was called in Europe. Of mixed Turkish and Mongol descent, he created a vas...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 4 "The Emperor and the Sultan"
The Ottoman onslaught against Constantinople is getting closer. Two new leaders emerge on either side. Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Emperor of Byzantium, and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, better known as Mehmet the Conqueror. Both men w...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 5 "The Call to the West"
With the Ottoman Turks closing in on Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologus made a last desperate appeal to the West for help. But would it be too little and too late?
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 6 "Gunpowder and Cannons"
By 1452, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II had decided to launch a huge attack on the ancient city of Constantinople. But as he gathered his army from all over his dominions, he knew that he would need more than soldiers. To breach the ancient walls...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 7 "The Heroes of Constantinople"
As the Turkish army approached Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantine defenders were joined by a handful of Genoese, Venetians and other adventurers prepared to join the fight to save the great Christian city.
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 8 "The Siege Begins"
With over 100,000 Turkish soldiers facing them, the 7,000 or so defenders of Constantinople awaited the first attack. All they could do was to hope and pray for a miracle.
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 9 "The Attack on the Golden Horn"
Constantinople was probably the best fortified city in the medieval world. But it had one weak spot. To the north of the city lay the Golden Horn, the wide estuary that was blocked to enemy ships by a great iron chain. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 10 "The Last Hope"
The Ottoman Turks have dragged their ships overland into the Golden Horn and Constantinople is now surrounded on all sides. In desperation, the defenders plan for a night attack to destroy the Turkish fleet and a last appeal to the West for hel...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 11 "The Strain of War"
Constantinople is surrounded. For seven weeks, it has endured Turkish attacks by land and sea. Its defenders have fought heroically but now they are exhausted. But so too are the Turks. Their losses have been huge and the Turkish Sultan, Mehmet...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 12 "The Silence Before the Storm"
For seven weeks the Turks had besieged Constantinople. But all they had to show for it were heavy casualties and not a single victory either on land or at sea. The Turkish Sultan, Mehmet II, had a moment of doubt. Should he abandon the siege? F...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 13 "The Final Battle"
The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet II, has decided to launch an all-out attack on the city of Constantinople. But the brave defenders are prepared. They resist wave after wave of Turkish troops until their luck runs out with a cruel twist of fate. ...
The Fall of Constantinople Episode 14 "The Conclusion"
On the 29th May, 1453, the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. It was the final end of Byzantium. It was also the final end of the Crusades. Indeed, many historians regard it as the end of the Middle Ages. I regret to say that thi...
The Last Crusades Episode 1 "The Fall of the Templars"
With Outremer destroyed in 1291, Christian Europe lost its final link with the original crusading ideology focused on the capture of Jerusalem. What then should happen to the three religious Military Orders which had been established to defend ...
The Last Crusades Episode 2 "The Alexandrian Crusade"
Although the Crusading spirit of the eleventh century had faded in Europe after the fall of Outremer in 1291, there was still enough interest in 1365 to launch one last Crusade to recover the Holy Land. It would be remembered for its particular...
The Last Crusades Episode 3 "The Rise of the Ottoman Turks"
As Crusading enthusiasm faded in Europe in the fourteenth century, in the East an obscure Turkish emir called Osman founded a new dynasty. This would rise to become one of the greatest empires in the world: the Ottoman Turks. The response in Eu...
The Last Crusades Episode 4 "The Triumph of the Ottoman Turks"
The year is 1396. The Ottoman Turks are threatening to conquer Eastern Europe and take Constantinople from the Byzantines. A new Crusade against them is proclaimed, and a great international army from Hungary and Western Europe is raised to mee...
Season 10 Mongols and Mamluks Episode 1 "Genghis Khan"
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.
Mongols and Mamluks Episode 2 "Mongols At The Gates"
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...
Mongols and Mamluks Episode 3 "The Seventh Crusade: Triumph and Tragedy"
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.
Mongols and Mamluks Episode 4 "The Defeat of the Seventh 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...
Mongols and Mamluks Episode 5 "The Sack of Baghdad"
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 t...
Mongols and Mamluks Episode 6 "The Victory of the Mamluks"
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...