Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World

Marco Polo was a tremendous admirer of Kublai Khan and of his Genghisid legacy more generally. This episode, we explore that admiration, the character of Kublai, and the anecdote of the treacherous minister. www.humancircuspodcast.com Sources: The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian, translated by William Marsden, edited by Thomas Wright. George Bell & Sons, 1907.Larner, John. Marco Polo and the D...

The three Polos depart for the summer palace of Kublai Khan. There'll be Assassins, baked corpses, and papal elections along the way! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/humancircuspod/ Donate to the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/A7071B1K Sources: - The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian, translated by Wil...

The journey of Venice's most famous merchant and traveller begins today, but we won't see much of him in this episode. We'll look at Venice in the early 13th century and touch on the 4th crusade, Mediterranean-Asian trade, and the Pax Mongolica, before following the other Polos, Niccolo and Maffeo, east on their own little adventure. Enjoy!  Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com...

It’s a busy episode. We’re catching up on the Mongol world and all that was happening away from the specific journeys of European friars. That means the rise of Hulagu and Kublai, the Mongol expansion into Persia and Syria in the west and Song China in the east, the death of Mongke Khan, and a civil war over the future of the empire. Thanks for listening everybody! Website: humancircuspodcast.com...

Friar William wraps up his affairs at the court of Mongke Khan and heads for home. Today, we cover his last audience with the khan, cross the walls of Alexander, and advise King Louis IX as to the future of the crusades. Thanks for listening! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/humancircuspod/ Donate to...

Friar William goes through stone-cracking cold, frozen toes, and the threat of demons to reach the camp of Mongke Khan. There, his interpreter causes him more problems, and he falls into the bizarre religious life of the camp before being drawn into a debate between Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians before the khan. Thanks for listening! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/ci...

We go east again this episode, in the company of a friar who carried a letter to the son of Batu Khan. Was he there on behalf of King Louis IX? Was his mission more personally religious in nature? Why was he so concerned with the noses of Mongol women? All (or most) will be revealed... Thanks for listening!   Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusP...

Today, a quick rewind into what it means to be a Mongol, some early reactions to the Mongol invasion, some King Louis IX, the death of a khan, and the question of who is to be next. Also, I horribly butcher Eljigidei's name (Sorry, Eljigidei). Thanks for listening! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/hum...

Giovanni Carpine returns, to the podcast, and to Lyon. This episode we hear about his journey to the kurultai, the great council which raised Guyuk as the new great khan, his diplomatic dealings with Guyuk, and the news and views he brought home with him. Thanks for listening! Website: humancircuspodcast.com  Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.inst...

Giovanni Carpine starts off a new series and a new set of travellers in the surprisingly interconnected world of the 13th century. Over the next number of episodes, I'll be focussing on contacts between Latin Christian Europe and the Mongols, and the travellers who went one way or another in establishing those contacts. Up first, Carpine is sent east in 1245 to find the Mongols, learn everything h...

Edward Webbe was, maybe, a 16th-Century adventurer who moved in and out of captivity and other forms of trouble. His troubles took him from Elizabethan England to Muscovy, Crimea, Constantinople, Italy, and possibly to Persia and the lands of Prester John. On the way, there will be slavery, warfare, unicorns, and one man's quest for gainful employment. Thanks for listening!  Website: humancircuspo...

This, as you'll see from the title and length is a little bit of an unusual episode. It's a short one that answers a request to properly wrap up the end of the Thomas Dallam series. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @humancircuspod, my website is www.humancircuspodc...

Thomas Dallam's travels conclude, or at least the part of them that I'll be covering here. There will be comedic chaos on the trip up the Hellespont, awkward interactions with the local ambassador, one incredibly stressful musical performance, and the unwelcome rewards of a job well done. Hope you enjoy it! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod...

The 1599 voyage continues, and Thomas Dallam draws ever closer to the Ottoman court at Constantinople. There are carrier pigeons, imprisonments, problems with presents, and adventures ashore. Thanks for listening!  Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/humancircuspod/ Donate to the podcast: https://ko-fi.c...

The journey of Thomas Dallam begins in earnest. This episode, our adventurous organ maker finally leaves London for Constantinople, encountering storms, pirates, infinite porpoises, and Algiers along the way. Thanks for Listening! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/humancircuspod/ Donate to the podcast:...

We're back to Constantinople again this episode for another try at the mini-episode format. Here, I'm talking about Esperanza Malchi, a Spanish-born Jewish woman who rose to prominence in the Sultan's palace during the final years of the 16th century. She's a somewhat mysterious figure. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information out there about her (or else I would have done a longer episode),...

Edward Barton takes up residence in Constantinople, struggles with his unofficial position, navigates the death of a sultan, and eventually goes to war alongside the Ottomans against a Christian foe. And Thomas Dallam's departure creeps closer.  Thanks for listening! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/h...

Elizabethan England's engagements with the Islamic world continue in this episode, this time taking us back to Constantinople with England's first ambassador there, William Harborne. There's piracy, palace intrigue, and Harborne's steadfast distaste for French and Venetian diplomats. Enjoy! Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instag...

The doomed King Sebastian lands in Morocco, and I take a moment from the Dallam timeline for a mini-episode. Thanks for listening!  Website: humancircuspodcast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/circus_human Email: HumanCircusPod@gmail.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/humancircuspod/ Donate to the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/A7071B1K Shop: www.redbubble.com/people/HumanCircus  Learn more about your ad ch...

The prelude to Dallam's Ottoman adventure continues with Elizabethan England's trade and where it took them. Today, that means Morocco, and England's often forgotten 16th-century friendship with its sultans. We'll get into antagonism with Spain, Portuguese misadventure in North Africa, and the trade for sugar, saltpetre, and shot. There's a lot of interesting stuff there. Thanks for listening!  If...

We begin the journey of Thomas Dallam, Elizabethan organ-maker and ill-prepared ambassador to the Ottoman Sultan. This first episode, we're not actually going to get to Dallam though. We're setting the stage, introducing some of the background, and following a man named Jenkinson to Safavid Persia. Jenkinson is an interesting figure in his own right, and it's also a way to dip into the world of tr...

This is the 4th and final episode in my little series on Johann Schiltberger. Our wandering friend has come a long way and been through a great deal, but here he is, on the edge of making it back to Bavaria. In this episode, we'll look at how things fall out after the death of Timur, we'll see where that leaves Schiltberger, and we'll trace his path towards home. There will also be time for some o...

Episode 3 is here, and it follows Johann Schiltberger on his merry way, after the Battle of Angora and into the life of Timur, the limitlessly violent Turko-Mongol conqueror. There will be pyramids of heads, flaming camels, and elephants, poisoned-scimitar wielding elephants. Timur's story is actually fascinating in itself, and we'll also look at his Imperial home, Samarkand, by way of a somewhat...

Today, we'll follow Johann Schiltberger's journey under Bayezid's control. There will be an escape attempt, epic battles, an epic snake battle, and some Ottoman history. I hope you like it. Thanks for listening everybody! Enjoy. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. I'm on Twitter @circus_human, Instagram @hu...

We begin the travels of Johann Schiltberger, a 14th/15th century, Bavarian Marco Polo who left his home for the crusade against the Ottomans and didn't make it back for a long, long time. In the intervening 30 years, he travelled widely as a prisoner, first with the Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid, and then with Timur (aka Tamerlane) and those who succeeded him, reporting on the world and its monsters, mi...