History of Modern Greece

As King Richard and Saladin go head to head in the holy land, the invincible Sultan finally meets his match. Richard recovers the coastline for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but he fails to retake the holy land. Meanwhile, Saladin's endless conquests finally meet their match when they face Richard the Lionheart in battle. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's events...

       King Richard and King Phillip left Western Europe for the long journey by sea to the holy land; they made a few stops along the way, including the casual conquest of the island of Cyprus. Meanwhile, back in Germany, the Holy Roman Emperor also decided to go on the Crusade, and he marched by foot through the Byzantine Empire and Anatolia... following the footsteps of the First Crusaders. One...

Saladin and his mighty army defeated the Knights of Jerusalem and the Knights Templar at the battle of Hattin and then conquered Jerusalem. The Holy Land had fallen, and so a third crusade was called. The first two to answer the call were Richard the Lion Heart, King Phillip of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. For the first time in nearly one hundred years, a crusade was called to liberat...

The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's events from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Greek War of Independence in 1821-1832, through to the Greco-Turkish War from 1919 to 1922 to the present day. Website: www.moderngreecepodcast.com Music by Mark Jungerman: www.marcjungermann.com Check out our 2nd Podcast: www.antecedors.com Laugh Love Law Real conversations. R...

The Order of Assassins is an order that dates back to the end of the Fatimid Caliphate and had its headquarters in a castle high up in the northern mountains of Persia. These Assassins were a menace to both the Crusaders and the Turks during the era of the Crusades. We cover the origin of their founding and the mystical legend told by Marco Polo. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Gre...

With a mighty army of crusaders assembled in Jerusalem, they picked their first target. Did they choose an enemy of the Crusader states? No, they decided to besiege the only city friendly to the Crusaders. Did it go well? No, the Second Crusade would ultimately become one of the greatest failures of the Crusader states. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's events fro...

While Kings, princes, and Lords marched or sailed across Europe to participate in the Second Crusade, one king used this opportunity to wage his own personal war against the Byzantine Roman Empire—Roger II of Sicily. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's events from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Greek War of Independence in 1821-1832, through to the Greco-...

King Louis and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, journey across Europe and traverse the hostile lands of Anatolia. They encounter multiple Turkic armies and face a near-total catastrophe before being whisked away to Antioch. Here, Eleanor is caught up in a romantic tangle with her uncle, Raymond. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's events from the fall of Constantinop...

King Conrad embarked across Europe and entered the Byzantine Empire before crossing the Bosphorus into Anatolia. Despite warnings from the Greek Emperor, Conrad was determined to follow in the exact footsteps of the First Crusaders. This decision turned out to be a terrible one and would spell the end of the German Campaign. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's event...

The first wave of Crusaders left Southern England and consisted of a rough coalition of English, Norman, French, Flemish, and Germans. When the rough seas forced their fleet of 200 ships to find a safe harbor in Portugal, King Alfonso convinced the entire army of Crusaders to wait out the summer in Portugal and assist in the siege of Lisbon... the first Great Siege of the Second Crusade. The Histo...

For the first and only time, we read a Papal Bull, the document that officiated the Second Crusade. It is a wild document written by the Pope that declares who, where, why, and how the Second Crusade will be carried out. We also follow Bernard of Clairvaux as he travels across Europe and recruits two Great Kings to fight for the holy land and their very souls. The History of Modern Greece Podcast...

There are many different characters from the second crusdade that all have their own motives for joining the crusade. And once we find out exactly what drove each King to join the campaign, its easier to understand why everything unfolded the way it did. So this episode is going to introduce the Kings of the King's Crusade, as well as follow up on the fate of the mighty Turko Ruler who united...

As the Latin Crusader Kingdoms squabbled amongst themselves, a new superhero was rising in the East. A man named Zengi rose up from the ranks of the Seljuks and united his fellow Turks and Muslims with the sword. Once he had a mighty, multi-ethnic, super coalition of Islamic forces, he pointed his army to the City of Edessa... which just so happened, was unguarded. The History of Modern Greece Pod...

Emperor John Komnenos must deal with the Crusader States in the East. The Latins have betrayed the Greeks almost every day, despite being fellow Christians... they took the land that belonged to the Roman Empire and governed over it as if it were their own. But instead of working together to secure the Crusader States, they were busy fighting amongst themselves. Emperor John II used this time to m...

The formation of the crusader states created a vast new realm in Christendom, but the land was still foreign and hostile to Latin Christians.  When 300 pilgrims were slaughtered on their way to the Dead Sea, it became apparent that there was a need for security to protect the Christian pilgrims. However, due to the rift between the separate Crusader States, it was determined that a group of monast...

When John came to power he realized the most dangerous threat to the empire did not come from without, but it came from within. It was the bad trade deals set up by his father, that allowed Latin merchants to control the imperial navy as well as trade without taxation. This transferred an incredible amount of power and wealth from the Greeks, to the Latins. When John tried to sever the deal and ta...

This is the final episode of the Alexiad mini-series, where we see the last years of Alexios and his battle against the heretics who have infiltrated the Western provinces of his empire.  With the help of his brother Isaac, they were able to weed out the bishop of the Dualist Sect of Bogomils. We also get to see the very detailed death described by Anna Komnene. The History of Modern Greece Podcas...

In this episode, we discuss the amazing life of Tancred after the Crusades, specifically his campaigns and rise to power as the ruler of Antioch after his uncle Bohemond left for Europe and never returned. Tancred became a legend himself, won amazing victories in the Middle East, and brought the kingdom of Antioch to its absolute height. We also discuss the deaths of Kilij Arslan, Robert of Norman...

In the episode, we wrap up the untimely end of Raymond of Toulouse; then we return to the story of Bohemond and return to Anna Komnene's The Alexiad to see how the rematch between Bohemond and Alexios show just how things have changed in the world, and how much Alexios had built up the empire. Bohemond leaves his entire kingdom to Tancred and embarks on a crusade of revenge against the Roman...

As we talked more and more about the Armenian role in the Roman Empire and the Latin Crusader Kingdom, we decided to do an origin story episode of the Armenians. This is to show just how influential they were in Anatolian history, how deep their history goes back in the region, and how they always found themselves squeezed between the empires in the East and the Empires in the West. This episode w...

The Crusade called by Pope Pascal the 2nd is now underway, and they march across Europe and pass through Constantinople. Raymond of Toulouse is now a trusted servant of Emperor Alexios and he escorts the men through Anatolia. But he has a lot of trouble controlling these men, and they soon break off on their own quest to attack the Sultanate of Rum. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the...

History says that the 1st Crusade ended after the Battle of Ascalon, but for all of the main characters in the saga, this was far from over. A political battle was forming over who would be the one to rule the Holy City, and the war between the Normans and the Roman Empire was about to reignite. This episode covers the events that happened in the first year after the capture of Jerusalem. The Hist...

Now that the Crusaders had made it to the Walls of Jerusalem... the final showdown began. If the 1st Crusade was a video game, this was the final boss. The soldiers were cut off from reinforcements, food, water, and supplies. There was no time for a long drawn-out siege, like at Antioch... this was going to be a fight. They were going to take Jerusalem or die trying. The History of Modern Greece P...

Antioch now lay in Christian hands, but the unity of the Crusaders was fractured. Different leaders argued over who would rule over their captured cities. Bohemond refused to honor his oath to Alexios and demanded the city rest under his influence. Meanwhile, the rest of the crusaders march South for Jerusalem. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people's events from the fal...

Less than a day after capturing the city of Antioch, the Crusaders were themselves besieged by a mighty army of 40,000 men, led by the commander Kerbogha. But instead of waiting behind the walls to starve, the Crusaders launched an all-out assault beyond the gates of the city and routed the mighty army of Turks, Arabs, and Persians. The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the Greek people&apos...