The Crusades and Silk Road

A Captivating Guide to Religious Wars During the Middle Ages and an Ancient Network of Trade Routes

By: Captivating History

Narrated by: Jason Zenobia

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Crusades and Silk Road, then pay attention....

Two captivating manuscripts in one audiobook:

• The Crusades: A Captivating Guide to the Military Expeditions During the Middle Ages That Departed from Europe with the Goal to Free Jerusalem and Aid Christianity in the Holy Land
• The Silk Road: A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Network of Trade Routes Established During the Han Dynasty of China and How It Connected the East and West

Here are just some of the topics covered in part one of this audiobook: 

• The First Crusade (1095-1099) - The Pope Calls the Faithful to Arms
• The Armies of the First Crusade Engage with the Enemy
• The Aftermath of the First Crusade
• The Second Crusade (1147-1149) - The Beginnings of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
• The Third Crusade (1189-1192) - The King’s Crusade
• The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) - The Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Children’s Crusade
• The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221)
• The Sixth Crusade (1228) - The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II Takes the Cross
• The Seventh Crusade (1248-1254)
• The Eighth Crusade (1270)
• And much, much more!

Here are just some of the topics covered in part two of this audiobook: 

• Rome, Silk, and Ancient Geography
• Han Silk Production and Trade
• The Kingdom of Loulan
• Buddhists along the Silk Road
• Turfan: An Oasis on the Silk Road
• The Legend of Prester John
• Genghis Khan, Ruler of the Whole World
• The Lord of Xanadu, Kublai Khan: The Emperor of China
• Marco Polo Visits Kublai Khan’s China
• The Final Years of Kublai Khan
• And much, much more!

So, if you want to learn more about the Crusades and Silk Road, get this audiobook now!

©2020 Captivating History (P)2020 Captivating History

Wonderfully detailed, a lot to learn!

You’ll get your time’s worth with this audio, that’s for sure! Takes notes, copious ones!

Enjoyed the history

I enjoyed this book. If it’s a topic you find interesting and you like history told in a direct factual way (without a lot of made up dialogue) it’s a very interesting listen. Zenobia has a decent voice to listen to and doesn’t make it monotone and boring like some other history books that have tended to put me to sleep. If you find the Crusades or the Silk Road you should enjoy this.

Two books in one really - both good

This is actually two different books in one audio book so that's kind of a bonus. I was expecting from the title that there would be more information about the crusades in connection with the Silk Road. In each of the two books there is a little bit of connection between the two but really these are mostly separate topics/book.

The Crusades book is very good for giving you a clear and memorable feel for the scope and framing context of each of the crusades. The sweep of history over the time period of these movements is well orchestrated and you are left with a distinct impression of how each crusade developed. The narration is good at weaving together the kings, popes, sultans, and peoples that joined in or resisted each crusade. The telling is frank and shows how these ranged from religiously inspired ventures, to unapologetic attempts at conquest, to sectarian squabbles.

The second book (Silk Road) should really be called The Mongolian Empire and the Silk Road. Most of the book is the history of the Mongolian empire's history as it relates to the growth of east-west trade. The great khans of the empire expanded the range of their control and allowed such trade to prosper.

Really awesome listen!

I really REALLY enjoyed this book. Both my parents were history buffs with minors in history. We grew up talking about all kinds of history, but this book really blew me away. I knew (or thought I knew) some about the Crusades, but not much about the Silk Road. When I first saw the title I was a bit confused. I guess I had always thought of these two subjects as separate. Obviously I was wrong.

There are two things that I really appreciated about this book. The first was the main introduction. There are a lot of names and places in this book and keeping track can be difficult, especially in audio. But the main introduction gave an overview of everything so it really grounded me and allowed me to keep a sort of outline in my head and pay attention more to names and places. Secondly, I liked how the Captivating History authors were able to weave the lifestyle, geographic, and religious aspects in with the many different historical cultural viewpoints. I think that is the main reason I learned so much more than I had before.

Thank you Captivating History! I'm on to my next book.

I love Captivating Historys books

this is a great book. I confess I knew next to nothing about the crusades of the Silk road before reading. i thought there was just one crusade that lasted a few years. I did not know it lasted centuries. I wish I could give it 10 stars.