THE CRUSADES

Synopsis:
By the close of the eleventh century, Jerusalem had been in Muslim hands for
over four hundred years.  In 1095 Pope Urban II launched an unprecedented
military campaign to seize it back – a ‘Crusade’ to purge the Holy Land of
‘the infidel’.  Over sixty thousand Christian warriors would journey three
thousand miles and for almost three years to reclaim the Holy City in the
name of God.

But their adversaries, the Turkish warlords of the Middle East would resist
them every step of the way.  In a series of epic battles and bloody
massacres, tens of thousands would die as the crusaders inched ever closer
towards Jerusalem.   The shadow of war between Christian and Muslim hangs
over us today, but it is a war that began nearly a thousand years ago – this
was the clash of the Crescent and the Cross.

In 1099 the Crusaders took Jerusalem in the bloodiest of battles, wrenching it back from the Muslims for the first time in 400 years. But, over the decades that followed, the Islamic world dreamed of fighting back and talked of ‘Jihad’ – to struggle.  They would strive to return Jerusalem to the Muslim faith.

In 1144 the Muslims seized the city of Edessa from the Christians. The news reverberated back to Europe – and the Pope called for a Second Crusade – to stop the rot of Jihad. But this Crusade was a disaster.  It not only failed to expand the Christian empire, it in fact strengthened the resolve of the Muslims.

Under their great leader, Saladin, the Muslim swept through the Christian Kingdom taking town after town. In 1187 he took the greatest prize of them all – Jerusalem. This shocked the west into responding – with a Third Crusade. Led by Richard the Lionheart they defeated Saladin and marched on Jerusalem. But, ultimately, Richard failed to take the Holy City. The Third Crusade had failed.

Fuelled by religious belief, the Crusades generated a bitter legacy that has cast a long shadow on relations between Christianity and Islam up to the present day

Press Comments:
"Wonderfully performed re-enactments... Interesting stuff that should be mandatory viewing for school kids"
New York Post

"A brilliant two part documentary...The Crusades: Crescent and Cross has it all "
Los Angeles Times

"Impressive two part documentary...Truly informative and highly accessible"
The New York Times

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