Roman Crusades

Following the release of their first three international bestsellers Petrus Romanus, Exo-Vaticana, and On the Path of the Immortals Thomas Horn and Cris Putnam were swamped with interview requests from radio, television, and print media outlets around the world. When they accurately predicted the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI one full year in advance, even naming the very month and year he would step down, global shockwaves raised compelling questions regarding why the Vatican has an advanced telescope perched atop Mt.

The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.

Charles R. King utilizes his academic education in physics and classical history to apply an original analysis to examine one of the most important and misunderstood subjects - the Byzantine Empire and its army. Accessible to both the professional historian and the buff, this analysis enables the reader to approach the Byzantine Army from a new and different outlook. The author uses primary sources and historiography to provide unique insights.

How did we get here, to this time and place in history? Are we repeating history's mistakes because we did not learn about the pivotal events that shaped the modern world? This three-book history course helps you quickly understand the nuances and the impact of three crucial periods portrayed in countless films: the Crusades and of the rise and fall of two great empires, the Roman and British.

A must for lovers of historical fiction, particularly of the Crusading era, and the Byzantine Empire. Stephen Bondar has given us a fictionalized first-person account in the form of a private letter from a member of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus's Varangian Guard, describing the Battle of Myriocephalon (September 17 -18, 1176) in graphic and brutal detail. Although fiction, the author has taken great care to stick close to the real historical sources for this watershed event, which unfortunately, like so much else of Byzantine (Later Roman) history is not well-known to students of...

Are you intrigued by the monumental path Christianity carved through history? This masterful narrative weaves through 1,600 years of history, from Christianity’s origins in the 1st century AD to the transformative Counter-Reformation in 1700.

With subtlety and exceptional sensitivity, historian Zoë Oldenbourg analyzes the complicated tangle of currents and ideas that motivated the Crusades. As Oldenbourg describes them, the Crusades were not simply a religious phenomenon, nor were they motivated by pure aggression. They were the result of a religious climate that led people of all walks of life to leave their homes and follow the unattainable ideal of heaven on earth.

The Crusades are the prototype and epitome of the Holy War. The fight to take control of the city of Jerusalem, believed to be the most sacred Holy City to two distinct religions of Christianity and Islam, has lasted far longer than the two centuries of the Crusades, and its reach has extended far further than Europe and the Middle East.

Shortly after arriving in the new city of Constantinople in the fourth century AD, Tontorix and Diaecus are enticed into the Roman army for the secret purpose of converting military officers from the cult of Mithras to Christianity. Assigned to serve in present-day Cologne, Germany, they come into direct and perilous conflict with the Ripuarian Franks and Alemanni along the border of the Rhine River and must decide how far they will go to achieve their objective.

"It is the first time that I have written a presentation of my books in English, Gentle Reader. ROMAN TRILOGY is a mysterious book, even for me as an author, since the three short novels that make it up emerged at different times in my life and with different origins as well. THE EMERALD SWORD was my first novel, although chronologically it is the third in this saga, it was born from strange dreams that I had in my youth, incredible dreams that were very vivid for me. Now, the translation from Spanish to English of the three novels was daring on my part; I wanted to experiment with the ...

“This book is a brilliant recollection of lives lived in the past. It will make you think and possibly even trigger those memories that are stored within your own subconscious. That’s what it did for me!” - Annmarie Martin “Kelvin’s calm, empirical, and even skeptical approach to spiritual matters has always impressed me. And in his new book he shares with us memories of dozens of lifetimes using that same rational approach. More importantly, he shares how knowing these past lives makes a difference in the here and now. The stories are entertaining. And you will come away with a ...

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) - one of the most prominent Catholic authors of his time - gives a common-sense explanation of why the Crusades were necessary and why they ultimately failed. Writing in 1937, following the demise of the Ottoman Empire, Belloc believed that the West had finally gained the advantage over its mortal foe; however, he also includes a prophetic warning concerning the eventual resurgence of Islam and its enduring desire to destroy Christendom.

Carsten is a young German noble in the 12th Century who has become known as The Butcher for his deadly fighting skills in the Third Crusade. But to really know Carsten, we must go back to his childhood to discover the tragic events that started him along his grim path. As he grows into a young man his life is gripped by a dark fate from which escape seems impossible. At every turn he is plagued by the echoes of his past as he faces a hopeless future. In an effort to break free of the sorrow and brutality brought about by a feud in which he is the central figure, Carsten joins the army of ...

Although many have heard of the Crusades and some of the more famous orders like the Templars, few know about the Livonian Crusade or the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. This organization was one of many Catholic military orders that sprung up during the Middle Ages in response to the papacy’s call for holy war, and the Livonian Crusade is the term used to group together dozens of military actions undertaken by German knights in Eastern Europe. The order would go on to become one of the most influential of religious knighthoods by incorporating into the Teutonic Knights.

In a contemporary world blighted by conflicts and contradictory narratives tailored to sanitize or demonize the participating countries, we need a deep but concise understanding of the essence of the belligerent parties so as to make good judgements, appropriate condemnations, or carry out justified actions. It is along those lines that the writer is taking us on a vivid journey through the seven centuries of Polish history that defined the character of the nation, forged its identity, and established its relations with its neighbors in a manner that greatly determines its foreign and ...

Looking into the past, the Crusades seem incomprehensible. What combination of religious fervor, hatred of people of different faiths, and gall led Europeans of AD 1100 to make their way thousands of miles to conquer the Holy Land? Why did they continue for 200 years? How did the Crusades change the world? The intriguing story is peppered with colorful characters. Over the centuries crusaders saw - and participated in - the evolution of warfare and the transformation of society from feudal fiefdoms to nations and empires.

It could be said that European kings and nobles in the Middle Ages were Crusade mad. The enormous amount of fighting men who periodically sailed off to the Near East to do battle with Muslims are evidence of the widespread popularity of overseas adventurism at the time. The notion of a Crusade, in which large armies assembled from various regions of Europe for the purpose of doing battle with Turkish and Arab Muslims, became so fixed that it was expanded to include Crusades against heretical European Christian sects.

When the Muslims swept out of the Arabian peninsula in the eighth century, one of the first areas to fall under their power was the Holy Land; it was an event that would have long term consequences for three distinct civilizations.

Crusading fervor gripped Europe for over 200 years, creating one of the most extraordinary, vivid episodes in world history. Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they have fascinated generations ever since, and their legacy of ideas and imagery has resonated through the centuries, inspiring Hollywood movies and great works of literature. Even today, to invoke the Crusades is to stir deep cultural myths, assumptions and prejudices.

Much has been written and much has been omitted when it comes to the Crusades, especially in modern parlance. Many talking heads in recent times have conjured up the specter of the Crusades, so many are wondering once again what the Crusades are all about. Inside you will hear about Byzantium, an all-out holy war, the Kingdom of Heaven, the King’s Crusade, the Self-Defeating Crusade, the Final Crusades, the Post-Crusade World, and more.