Episode 26: The myth and reality of medieval Crusader States

In the aftermath of the First Crusade, four Christian kingdoms were established in the near east. In this episode we explore the history of the Crusader States, and the many myths that surround them.

Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli and Jerusalem. Four Christian kingdoms were all established after 1098. The popular image of these kingdoms is as fortified outposts, ruling over poor and often barren lands. Lands where they were treated as an occupying force.

Yet the reality of the Crusader States is far more complex. The states were often in political conflict with themselves or newcomers from the west, as much as their perceived enemies. They had a love-hate relationship with the Byzantines to their north, the Muslim rulers on their borders and eventually both the Mamluks and Mongols.

They were also vibrant, rich and often multicultural kingdoms thanks to the nature of the trade routes and geography over which they sat. Kingdoms that were not guaranteed to fail. Indeed the Kingdom of Jerusalem would survive, in some form, for almost 200 years.

Guest

Dr Nic Morton is an associate professor at Nottingham Trent university, he specialises in medieval middle eastern history and is the author of Mongol Storm which looks at the Mongol invasions of the middle east from multiple perspectives, and most recently Crusader Storm, which takes the same approach but for the 12th century.

Cats present

Cecilia

Useful links

Nic on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:53uj5t35g6salgtelolzsrmq

Nick at the University of Nottingham Trent: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/staff-profiles/arts-humanities/nicholas-morton

The Crusader Storm: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-crusader-storm-a-global-history-of-the-wars-for-the-middle-east-nicholas-morton/c0bd72f03740cfae?ean=9781399818728&bkshp-astro=t