App Store

Google Play

Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Step into an infinite world of stories

Listen and read

Nick Holmes

Byzantium And The Crusades

The Crusades shook the world. But why did they happen? This podcast tells the story of the Crusades and how the Byzantine Empire not only contributed to their origins but shaped their development. It's the story of what was, in effect, a world war as Turkish nomads from the Asian steppe-lands faced Frankish and Norman knights from western Europe. It was a time that changed the world. And its echoes are still with us today.

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.

Introduction: Byzantium And The Crusades Episode 1

This episode follows Byzantium's appeal to Pope Urban II for help against the Turks, and the resulting military campaign, that in later years became known as the First Crusade - one of the most extraordinary military expeditions in world history.

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.

Introduction: Byzantium And The Crusades Episode 2

The consequences of the First Crusade for both Byzantium and the wider Medieval world are discussed, including the sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

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.

Introduction: Byzantium And The Crusades Episode 3

This podcast series is about the Battle of Manzikert. With excerpts taken from The Byzantine World War by Nick Holmes, it tries to unravel what really happened at Manzikert, a battle that changed history.

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.

Manzikert 1071 Episode 1 A New Hero

This podcast series is about the Battle of Manzikert. With excerpts taken from the Byzantine World War by Nick Holmes, it tries to unravel what really happened at Manzikert, a battle that changed history. In the second episode in the series, we look at the challenges that faced Byzantium in the eleventh century, as hordes of new barbarian invaders appeared on its borders and it struggled to maintain the professional army that had kept it safe in previous centuries.

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.

Manzikert 1071 Episode 2 The Crisis of Byzantium

This podcast series presents a new angle on the Crusades based on the book called The Byzantine World War by Nick Holmes. It explains that Byzantium was the original cause of the First Crusade, following its devastating defeat at the Battle of Manzikert. Byzantium also continued to play a critical role throughout the Crusades, up until the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople in 1204. But what really happened at Manzikert? In a mini-series of podcasts devoted to this battle, we try to unravel the truth about what really happened. This episode looks at the Seljuk Turks and their extraordinary rise to becoming a medieval superpower.

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.

Manzikert 1071 Episode 3 The Seljuk Turks

This podcast series presents a new angle on the Crusades based on the book called The Byzantine World War by Nick Holmes. It explains that Byzantium was the main cause of the First Crusade. This episode explores the background to the pivotal Battle of Manzikert in 1071. It focuses on the fierce war fought in Armenia from the late 1040s to 1060s, as the Byzantine army struggled to contain the increasingly ferocious onslaught of the Seljuk Turks.

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.

Manzikert 1071 Episode 4 The Battle For Armenia

This podcast series presents a new angle on the Crusades based on the book called The Byzantine World War by Nick Holmes. It explains that Byzantium was the main cause of the First Crusade. This episode describes the new Byzantine army which the Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes put together in 1068 to fight the first of his campaigns against the Seljuk Turks.

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.

Manzikert 1071 Episode 5 Byzantium Strikes Back

This podcast series presents a new angle on the origins of the Crusades based on the book "The Byzantine World War" by Nick Holmes. In this episode, the year is 1068. The Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes leads the newly trained Byzantine army to victory against the Emir of Aleppo and captures the Arab frontier city of Hierapolis. But, just as his army celebrates their victory in Syria, the Seljuk Turks launch a vicious assault into the heartland of the Byzantine Empire.

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.

Manzikert 1071 Episode 6 "Victory And Defeat"

This podcast series tells how the decline of Byzantium was the original cause of the Crusades. It is based on the book "The Byzantine World War" by Nick Holmes. In this episode, the year is 1069, and the new Byzantine Emperor, Romanos Diogenes, is determined to save Byzantium from the raids of the Seljuk Turks. But the Turks are a formidable enemy, and the Emperor also finds that he has to contend with a rebellion of the Norman mercenaries in his own army.

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.

Manzikert 1071 Episode 7 "Normans And Turks"

How did the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade rule their new city of Constantinople and their lands in Greece? And how did the break-away Byzantine states oppose them? 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.

The Second Age of the Crusaders Episode 5 "The Crusaders in Constantinople"

Listen and read

Other podcasts you might like ...