Synopsis
Dr Thomas Asbridge re-examines the story of the Crusades. He traces the epic journey of the first crusaders as they marched from Europe to recapture the city of Jerusalem.
- Programme: The Crusades
- Episode: 1: Holy War
- Channel: BBC HD
- Broadcast year: 2012
- History
Licence: ERA Licence required
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from 01: Holy War

Crusaders Meet the Turks | The Crusades
Crusaders Meet the Turks | The Crusades
Thomas Abridge discusses the beginning of the Holy War, with the crusaders invading Nicea, in Western Asia Minor.

Crusaders versus the Elements | The Crusades
Crusaders versus the Elements | The Crusades
Thomas Abridge discusses the crusaders resilience against the hot weather of the Asia Minor.

Early Christianity | The Crusades
Early Christianity | The Crusades
Thomas Asbridge investigates Medieval Christianity and the background to the concept of the crusade.

Peter Bartholomew | The Crusades
Peter Bartholomew | The Crusades
Thomas Abridge tells the story of Peter Bartholomew and the fire.

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem | The Crusades
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem | The Crusades
Thomas Asbridge discusses the first crusade to Jerusalem.

The Chronicle of the Crusades | The Crusades
The Chronicle of the Crusades | The Crusades
Thomas Asbridge discusses the noblemen that joined the crusades, some of who sought to chronicle the events.

The fall of Antioch | The Crusades
The fall of Antioch | The Crusades
Thomas Abridge discusses the crusaders gruelling siege of the well guarded Antioch.

The fall of Jerusalem | The Crusades
The fall of Jerusalem | The Crusades
Thomas Abridge recounts the events of the brutal fall of Jerusalem.

The Holy Lance | The Crusades
The Holy Lance | The Crusades
Thomas Abridge tells the story of Peter Bartholomew and the Holy Lance.

The Promise of redemption | The Crusades
The Promise of redemption | The Crusades
Thomas Asbridge discusses the Pope's promise of redemption, which reconciled violence and faith in order to draw noblemen into the c...

The Reality of the First Crusade | The Crusades
The Reality of the First Crusade | The Crusades
Thomas Asbridge investigates the experiences of the crusaders and visits Constantinople.
More resources about Islamic civilisations (e.g., baghdad c. 900)

1: Medicine and Religion | History File
1: Medicine and Religion | History File
Programme begins with looking at Ancient Greece, then the Roman Empire then looking at Muslim and Christian links.

1: Medicine, Religion and Natural Causes | History File
1: Medicine, Religion and Natural Causes | History File
This programme looks at ancient Egypt, Hippocrates, Christianity and Islam.

1: Wellspring of Holiness | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
1: Wellspring of Holiness | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore begins a history of Jerusalem by exploring how it came into being and how it became s...

2: Clash of the Titans | The Crusades
2: Clash of the Titans | The Crusades
Dr Thomas Asbridge examines the two figures who have come to embody Crusader war: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.

2: Invasion, Invasion, Invasion | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
2: Invasion, Invasion, Invasion | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore continues his history of Jerusalem by discovering the impact of Islam and the c...

2: The Cross and the Crescent | Africa's Great Civilisations
2: The Cross and the Crescent | Africa's Great Civilisations
Henry Louis Gates Jr explores how the emergence of Christianity and Islam reshaped Africa over centuries.

24: 1979: God Fights Back | People's Century
24: 1979: God Fights Back | People's Century
Religion makes a comeback into people's lives in the Islamic world and elsewhere, as people seek guidance and spiritual sustenan...

Al-Khwarizmi's digit and numerical system | Science and Islam
Al-Khwarizmi's digit and numerical system | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili explains how our numerical system spread to Europe through the work of the Arabic mathematician ...

Algebra | Science and Islam
Algebra | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili describes the invention of algebra by medieval Islamic mathematicians.

Arabic, the language of God | Science and Islam
Arabic, the language of God | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili looks at how Islamic caliphs encouraged scientific research and made Arabic the official language of their vas...

Episode 1 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Episode 1 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Rageh Omaar examines the history of the Ottoman empire. He starts by looking at the unlikely roots of the Ottomans, as nom...

Episode 2 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Episode 2 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Rageh Omaar explores the contrasts between two very different Ottoman sultans, Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th centur...

Episode 3 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Episode 3 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Rageh Omaar ends his series with a look at how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire created a legacy of tension and conflict...

Islamic Medicine | Science and Islam
Islamic Medicine | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili explains the importance of medical knowledge to medieval Islam.

Map-making | Science and Islam
Map-making | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili explains why Al-Ma'mun, a medieval caliph, funded a programme of map-making.

Medieval Islamic Compassion | Science and Islam
Medieval Islamic Compassion | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili talks about the enduring legacies of medieval Islamic medicine.

Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore investigates the extraordinary life of Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem.

Pact of Omar | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Pact of Omar | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the circumstances in which the Pact of Omar between Christian and Muslim rulers was nego...

Printing press | Science and Islam
Printing press | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili looks at how the printing press shifted the centres of scientific research from East to West.

The first crusade | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
The first crusade | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the events of the first crusade.