Inside History Collection

In this series, you are taken back to the dramatic events, who have shaped world history for better or for worse. From the construction of the first cathedrals in Europe of the plague to the landing in Normandy in 1944. From the crusaders' bloody marches towards Jerusalem to the daring pilots who gave man air under his wings. Along the way, you will be enlightened in an entertaining way as to why the events took shape as they did. This series has the dramatic narrative as its focal point. You not only get an overview of history's most significant events, but also captivating human destinies, spectacular feats, and history's greatest heroes and villains brought to life.

THE STRUGGLE FOR THE HOLY LAND

Inside History Collection

A GROWING DIVIDE 622-1095 • For four hundred years, Muslims and Christians co-existed relatively peacefully. There were regional disputes and territorial conflicts, but no more than among the Christian kingdoms themselves, and religion played no meaningful role. All this changed in the eleventh century, however. Amid political and religious chaos, opposition to Islam grew, and soon a religious iron curtain dropped across Europe.

THE FIRST CRUSADE 1096-1099 • Whether driven by their faith in God, hope for eternal life, a sense of adventure or simple boredom, Europeans flocked to the banner of the cross. Many would never return home, but die in battle or from disease, hunger or exhaustion. For those exposed to the Crusaders’ rampages, the outlook was even worse. The supposedly pious trek quickly descended into an orgy of murder, violence and cannibalism. Nothing was sacred to the Crusaders in their struggle to achieve their main aim: the capture of Jerusalem.

THROUGH ISLAMIC EYES 1097-1099 • “It was the discord between the Muslim princes,” wrote contemporary historian Ibn al-Athir, “that enabled the Franks to overrun the country.” The campaign by religious warriors from Western Europe came at the worst possible time for the Islamic world. Internal unrest meant that the cities of the Middle East could offer neither political nor military resistance to the invading army. But while local warlords were busy securing land and power, the population was slaughtered by bloodthirsty Crusaders.

LIFE IN THE FIELD 1096-1270 • Burning desert sun, thirst, famine and infectious diseases. On the long road to the Holy Land, the Pope’s warriors faced dangers no one had imagined from home. Death was a constant threat and from the First Crusade to the final defeat nearly two centuries later, just as many Crusaders died from the rigours of travel as from the arrows and scimitars of the Muslims.

CITY OF GOD 1099-1291 • The dream of reaching Jerusalem pushed the Crusaders onward. They endured hunger and bloody battles on the exhausting 3,000-kilometre march to reach the Holy City. When the goal was finally reached, the city surpassed all expectations in terms of wealth and glory. But the Crusaders were not the only ones interested in the city. Jerusalem was also sacred to Jews, Muslims and a host of other Christian denominations. Everyone wanted a part of the City of God, and soon the fighting began.

MURDER OF THE JEWS 1095-1099 • Pope Urban II’s call for a Crusade was accompanied by elaborate descriptions of the crimes Muslims allegedly committed against Christians. But no sooner had the first Crusaders left their homelands in north-western Europe than they themselves were guilty of cruel attacks on innocent people. The Crusaders’ brutal murder of Europe’s Jews is one of the darkest and most-overlooked chapters in the bloody history of the Crusades.

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR 1119-1314 • In 1119, nine knights formed a private guard of warrior monks to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy City. The Templars’ combination of weaponry and devotion to God appealed to both kings and the Church, and...