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Film: A short history of Islamic thought
Article
In his book of the same name, A short history of Islamic thought, Dr Fitzroy Morrissey provides a concise introduction to the origins and sources of Islamic thought, from its beginnings in the 7th century to the current moment.
In this talk he explores the major ideas and introduces the...
Film: A short history of Islamic thought
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Recorded webinar: Maya ruler King Pakal II of Palenque
Article
The discovery in 1952 of the tomb of King Pakal II of Palenque has been called the most important archaeological find in the history of the Americas. Protected by a magnificently sculpted stone sarcophagus depicting Pakal’s descent to the underworld and re-birth as the maize god lay the body of...
Recorded webinar: Maya ruler King Pakal II of Palenque
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Virtual Branch Recording: Assassins and Templars
Article
In this talk, Steve Tibble discusses the Assassins and Templars, two of history's most legendary groups.
One was a Shi’ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order created to defend the Holy Land. Steve Tibble traces the history of these two groups from their origins to their ultimate destruction showing how they survived...
Virtual Branch Recording: Assassins and Templars
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Virtual Branch Recording: Crusader Criminals
Article
The religious wars of the Crusades are renowned for their military engagements. But the period was witness to brutality beyond the battlefield. More so than any other medieval war zone, the Holy Land was rife with unprecedented levels of criminality and violence.
In the first history of its kind, Steve Tibble explores...
Virtual Branch Recording: Crusader Criminals
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Virtual Branch recording: The survival strategies of the Near Eastern powers facing Mongol invasion
Virtual Branch Film
The Mongol invasions into the Near East had a devastating effect upon many societies, sultanates, empires and kingdoms. For decades, wave after wave of armies swept across the area, defeating every army sent against them and utterly reshaping the area’s complex political ecosystem. Some powers fell in battle; some submitted...
Virtual Branch recording: The survival strategies of the Near Eastern powers facing Mongol invasion
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The Fatimid Caliphate
909-1171
The Fatimid Caliphate also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. The Fatimids traced their ancestry to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, the first Shi'a imam.
Originating during the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimids initially conquered Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia and north-eastern Algeria). They extended their...
The Fatimid Caliphate
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Women in the Crusades
Podcast
In this podcast Dr Natasha Hodgson of Nottingham Trent University discusses the role and experience of women during the Crusades.
For Mediterranean women on the eve of the Crusades, life varied greatly depending upon their status. Women in positions of lordship were involved in all levels of strategy, and although women couldn’t...
Women in the Crusades
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The Byzantine World War
Podcast
In this podcast, Nick Holmes, suggests that the Crusades formed part of amedieval world war that stretched from Asia to Europe. At its centre was the ancient empire Byzantium. Nick Holmes links three great events that changed history: the fall of Byzantium in the eleventh century, the epic campaign of...
The Byzantine World War
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The Western magical tradition
Podcast
In modern times, occultists have spoken of a specifically western tradition of ceremonial magic, which has been continuously handed down through the millennia, in secret, from an original starting point in ancient Egypt.
Although professional historians have become increasingly interested in the history of magic in general, there has not...
The Western magical tradition
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The Mali Empire (1226-1670)
Podcast
In this podcast Professor Kevin MacDonald (University College London) examines the history of the Mali Empire, discusses the importance of using both oral history and archaeology to construct this history and also reflects upon the empire’s legacy.
The Mali Empire was an empire in West Africa from c. 1226 to 1670. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita (c. 1214...
The Mali Empire (1226-1670)
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A Historiography of the Crusades
Podcast
In this podcast Professor Andrew Jotischky of Royal Holloway University of London, discusses some of the key historians and interpretations of the Crusades. Professor Jotischky explores the influences and thinking that informed different historian's research, approaches and traditions and looks at how this has transformed the study and understanding of...
A Historiography of the Crusades
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The Fall of the Crusader States
Podcast
In this podcast Dr Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) provides and introduction to the fall of the Crusader states from the Fourth Crusade to the fall of Jerusalem in 1291. Dr Morton illustrates how the Crusaders were able to regain control of Jerusalem in the early 13th century but lost it...
The Fall of the Crusader States
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The Mongol Empire & the Near East
1206-1258
In this podcast, Dr Nicholas Morton of Nottingham Trent University, looks at the rise of Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Empire and the impact it had on the civilisations of the Near East. The podcast examines some of the themes and perspectives that he covers in his book: The Mongol Storm: Making and...
The Mongol Empire & the Near East
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An Introduction to the Fourth Crusade
Podcast
In this podcast, Professor Jonathan Phillips of Royal Holloway, University of London, provides an introduction to the Fourth Crusade.
An Introduction to the Fourth Crusade
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An Introduction to the Third Crusade
Podcast
In this podcast, Professor Jonathan Phillips of Royal Holloway, University of London, provides an introduction to the Third Crusade.
An Introduction to the Third Crusade
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Technology and Innovation in the Medieval Near East
Podcast
In this podcast Dr Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) discusses the role the Near East played in the development and transmission of technology and innovation during the medieval period. Dr Morton looks examines the significance of gunpowder, the navigational compass and maritime chart, and also how the changing civilisations of the medieval Near East...
Technology and Innovation in the Medieval Near East
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The Spice and Silk routes in the late medieval era
Podcast
The Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the East and West.
The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric were known and used...
The Spice and Silk routes in the late medieval era
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The Mongol Empire & the Near East: Consolidation and Division
1258-1353
In this podcast Dr Nicholas Morton of Nottingham Trent University examines how the Mongols consolidated their vast empire, the impact of their domination on the cultures of the conquered, their defeat to the Mamluks at the Battle of Ayn Jalut and how internal disputes led to the division and disintegration of...
The Mongol Empire & the Near East: Consolidation and Division
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The World on the Eve of the First Crusade
Podcast
In this podcast Professor Rebecca Rist of the University of Reading provides an overview of medieval Europe and the Near East on the eve of the First Crusade.
The World on the Eve of the First Crusade
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An Introduction to the Crusader and Italian Maritime States
Podcast
In this podcast Dr Natasha Hodgson of Nottingham Trent University discusses the development of the Crusader States, the role and influence of the Genoa, Venice and Pisa on this development and examines the origins and significance of the Holy Military Orders. Hodgson discusses what daily life was like and the role of the...
An Introduction to the Crusader and Italian Maritime States
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The First Crusade: Eastern Sources and Different Interpretations
Medieval World History
In this podcast Professor Peter Frankopan, University of Oxford, looks at the causes of the First Crusade through Eastern sources (Greek, Syriac, Armenian, Arabic and Hebrew), rather than Western (Latin) sources.
Professor Frankopan discusses the different interpretations these sources provide and highlights the key role of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and the rapid...
The First Crusade: Eastern Sources and Different Interpretations
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The Tang Dynasty
Chinese History
In this podcast Lance Pursey, Chen Xue and Jonathan Dugdale of the University of Birmingham look at the culture, influence and the significance of the Tang Dynasty (618-907)
The Tang Dynasty
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Crusader Criminals
Podcast
Steve Tibble explores the hidden world of crime during the Crusades, revealing how violence and lawlessness—driven largely by dislocated young men—were more central to the chaos in the Holy Land than religious conflict.
Crusader Criminals
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Women and Gender in Medieval Islam
Podcast
In this podcast Dr Anna Chrysostomides of Queen Mary University of London discusses some of the current research on women and gender in medieval Islam, examines the changing role and status of women in the early years of Islam and looks at the lives of some of the key historical figures of...
Women and Gender in Medieval Islam
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The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Chinese History
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, also called Five Dynasties, was an era of political upheaval in 10th-century imperial China. During this period, five states quickly succeeded one another in the Chinese Central Plain, while more than a dozen concurrent states were established elsewhere, mainly in south China.
Traditionally,...
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
