| Terry Jones' Crusades | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Written by | Alan Ereira · Terry Jones |
| Directed by | Alan Ereira · David Wallace |
| Presented by | Terry Jones |
| Composer(s) | Jose Nieto |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Distributor | BBC Entertainment |
| Broadcast | |
| Original airing | January 10, 1995 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Terry Jones' Medieval Lives |
Crusades was a 1995 historical documentary series presented by former Monty Python member Terry Jones. It looked at the crusades and included elements of black comedy.
Contents |
The first episode recounts Byzantine Emperor Alexius's appeal to Pope Urban II for help in fighting Muslim Turks, the first crusaders as they neared Jerusalem, and the first casualties of the crusades: Jews massacred in Worms and Cologne, Germany.
The second episode covers hardships encountered by crusaders as they neared the Holy City, including intense heat and starvation. Also the Siege of Antioch and Turkish retaliation.
The third episode chronicles the response that the Arab world gave to the gains of the Crusades. Jones takes the viewer from Syria to Jordan to shed light on the Arabs counter-crusade led by Muslim leader Saladin. Additionally, experts detail the political intrigue behind Saladin's rise to power as he tried to lead Muslims in winning back Jerusalem from the Christians.
The Crusade of Richard I of England is explored to find the seeds of his eventual failure. The fourth episode examines the massacres during the siege of Acre, the Treaty of Ramla in 1192 when Richard was forced to concede Jerusalem to Saladin, and the establishment of the Empire of Latins in Constantinople after the Crusade of Venetian statesman Enrico Dandolo.
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