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A stained glass representation of the First Crusade, Crusaders and the siege of Jerusalem. Source:  jorisvo/Adobe Stock

1095: The Bloodiest Year of the First Crusade (Video)

In 1095, a pivotal moment unfolded as Pope Urban II, in a historic address at the Council of Claremont, rallied fervent believers to embark on a crusade, marking the inception of the First Crusade ...
Harran, City of Sin, Crusaders And Caliphs

Harran, City of Sin, Crusaders And Caliphs

Dusty winds blow around the desolate ruins on the arid plain of Harran, and the mirage of the heat conjures up images of what was once the site of a medieval hub of science. Har means ‘fire’ in...
Urfa Castle, Şanlıurfa, Turkey (Bernard Gagnon/  CC BY-SA 3.0)

From Urfa To Edessa To Şanlıurfa: Spanning 10,000 Years Of History

During the Hellenistic Period from 312 BC to 63 BC, the Seleucid Empire was a major superpower and at its apex encompassed Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, (now modern Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan...
A crusader at his campsite  Source: dieterjaeschkephotos / Adobe Stock

Ancient Crusader Battle Campsite Discovered in Israel Is a First

A highways expansion project in the Tzipori Springs area in Galilee in Israel has uncovered fascinating evidence of a 12th-century Crusader battle camp. Exploratory excavations undertaken by a team...
Excavations at Sidon Castle, Lebanon revealed two mass crusaders graves containing many skeletons that had clear signs of extreme violence, according to the latest research study in PLOS One. Source: Claude Doumet-Serhal / PLOS One

Crusaders Grave Shows Many Were Killed From Behind

Medieval warfare was a bloody and brutal affair. This was especially true during the Crusades, when warriors on each side were motivated by religious passion and a cause they deeply embraced. This...
The Empire of Trebizond: Byzantine Offshoot of Great Power and Wealth

The Empire of Trebizond: Byzantine Offshoot of Great Power and Wealth

The fascinating and exotic history of the Empire of Trebizond, which existed between the 13th and 15th centuries AD, is a great story. This empire occupied the southern coast of the Black Sea, and...
The Templar’s Tunnel (olegmayorov / Adobe Stock)

The Templar Tunnel: Knight’s Strategic Passageway Was Lost for 700 Years

The Templar Tunnel is an underground passageway located in the city of Acre, in what is now Israel. This tunnel was built by the Knights Templar when the city was under the rule of the Kingdom of...
Why the Enormous Nimrod Castle Was Built in a Massive Hurry

Why the Enormous Nimrod Castle Was Built in a Massive Hurry

Because of the thousands of years of human occupation, the Levant is an area rich in ruins and archaeological sites. One of the most fascinating medieval sites in the region is the castle known as...
Komnenian Dynasty mosaic in the Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, Turkey. The Virgin Mary and baby Jesus are flanked by John II Komnenos and his wife, Irene of Hungary.

The Komnenian Dynasty: The Byzantine Royal Family that Kept Coming Back

The Komnenos (also spelled as Comnenus) family was a medieval noble family from Paphlagonia, Anatolia, in modern day Turkey. During the 11th century, the Komnenian Dynasty was founded. This dynasty...
Medieval crusader

The Crusades Beyond the Battlefield

The Crusades were a series of holy wars between the Christians of Western Europe and the Muslims of the Middle East. Traditionally, there were nine major Crusades, which took place between the 11th...
Medieval King Louis IX refused to eat his greens. Credit: diter / Adobe Stock

Crusader King Died Because He Refused to Eat His Greens

A French sleuth may have solved the mystery of the death of France's famed King Louis IX, better known as Saint Louis. He was the last of the crusader kings and it was believed that he died of plague...
The ancient Crusaders' DNA can help us understand historical events. Source: Alessandro Cristiano / Adobe.

A History of the Crusades As Told by Crusaders' DNA

History can tell us a lot about the Crusades , the series of religious wars fought between 1095 and 1291, in which Christian invaders tried to claim the Near East. But the DNA of nine 13th century...
The keep of Kolossi Castle.

The Incredible History of Kolossi Castle - Won By Richard the Lionheart, Home to the Knights Templar, and Birthplace of the King of Wines

Kolossi Castle is a medieval castle located on the island of Cyprus. The original castle was built during the 13 th century, not long after the island was conquered by the Crusaders. Although Kolossi...
‘Children’s Crusader’, 1905

The Children's Crusade: Thousands of Children March to Holy Land but Never Return

The Children’s Crusade is one of the more unusual events that occurred in Medieval England. In the year 1212, tens of thousands of self-proclaimed, unarmed crusading children set out from northern...
“Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 15th July 1099” (1847) by Émile Signol / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library. The Crusaders were mostly successful in the First Crusade.

The First Crusade: Christian and Muslim Bloodshed as Peasants, Princes, and Turks Clash in the Holy Land

The First Crusade (1095-1099 AD) was a military campaign launched by Christendom in an attempt to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims to make the holy site safe once more for Christian pilgrims. The...
Symbol of the Knights Templar

Alternative-Right Claims to March in Step with the Knights Templar – This is Fake History

When market trader Tina Gayle was banned from selling mugs featuring Knights Templar logos in a Loughborough Market, Charnwood Borough Council ruled that they were offensive to Muslims. A story in...
The Krak des Chevaliers: Can this Crusader Fortress Survive the Current Syrian Conflict?

The Krak des Chevaliers: Can this Crusader Fortress Survive the Current Syrian Conflict?

The Krak des Chevaliers, located in modern day Syria, is one of the best-preserved examples of European medieval military architecture done in the Gothic style. It is a massive fortress that was...