The Crusades: What Was Really Going On?
Notes de l’épisode
In this Conflicted Conversation, Nicholas Morton discusses his new book The Crusader Storm: A Global History of the Wars for the Middle East.
Associate Professor in History at Nottingham Trent University, Nicholas reframes the Crusades as one part of a much larger transformation of the medieval Middle East, driven above all by Seljuk-Turkmen expansion, Byzantine contraction, Fatimid decline and the fragmentation of political power.
Nicholas explains:
- The Seljuk-Turkmen transformation of the medieval Middle East
- Why the Crusades were not the region’s main event
- Dandanqan, nomadic warfare and the rise of Seljuk power
- Abbasids, Fatimids and fragmented government before the First Crusade
- Manzikert, Byzantine civil war and the Turkish conquest of Anatolia
- Frankish-Turkish rivalry, alliances and shared warrior culture
- Crusader violence and Christianity’s uneasy relationship with holy war
- Nizari Ismailis, Seljuk civil wars and competing Muslim priorities
- Damascus and Byzantium as key powers in Crusader geopolitics
- The Middle East as a crossroads of trade, ideas and cultural exchange
Follow Nicholas on X: https://x.com/NicholasMorto11
On Bluesky: @nicmorton.bsky.social
On Instagram: @Nicholas Morton
And his You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MedievalNearEast
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices