Salah ad-Din 3: The Horns of Hattin

Battle of the Horns of Hattin

Salah ad-Din (Saladin) enters Aleppo, struggles with Reynald de Chatillon, and faces the armies of Guy de Lusignan at the Horns of Hattin.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Cobb, Paul, M. The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press, 2016.

  • Lēv, Yaacov. Saladin in Egypt. Brill, 1999.

  • Lyons, Malcolm Cameron & Jackson, D.E.P. Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge University Press, 1982.

  • Mallet, Alex. "A Trip Down the Red Sea with Reynald of Chatillon," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 18, No. 2 (Apr., 2008).

  • Man, John. Saladin: The Life, the Legend, and the Islamic Empire. Bantam Press, 2015.

Salah ad-Din 2: A Syrian Election

Statue of Salah ad-Din in Damascus

The story of Salah ad-Din's expansion from Egypt back into Syria, his brushes with Rashid ad-Din Sinan's Assassins, his constant lobbying of the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, his struggles with the Zengid remnants and with a cast of enemies among the crusader states including Baldwin the Leper, Reynold de Chatillon, Raymond of Tripoli, and  King Amalric of Jerusalem.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, my Paypal is here, and I have some things on Redbubble at https://www.redbubble.com/people/humancircus.

Sources:

  • Cobb, Paul, M. The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press, 2016. 

  • Lēv, Yaacov. Saladin in Egypt. Brill, 1999.

  • Lyons, Malcolm Cameron & Jackson, D.E.P. Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge University Press, 1982.

  • Man, John. Saladin: The Life, the Legend, and the Islamic Empire. Bantam Press, 2015.

  • Mirza, Nasseh Ahmad.  Syrian Ismailism: The Ever Living Line of the Imamate, AD 1100-1260. Psychology Press, 1997. 

  • Waterson, James. The Ismaili Assassins: A History of Medieval Murder. Frontline Books, 2008.

Salah ad-Din 1: The City Victorious

Salah ad-Din

Salah ad-Din/Saladin part one, from birth into banishment to ruler of 12th-century Egypt. This is the story of the rise of the Ayyubid founder.

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • Hiestand, Rudolf. "The Papacy and the Second Crusade," in The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences, edited by Jonathan Phillips & Martin Hoch. Manchester University Press, 2001. 

  • Lēv, Yaacov. Saladin in Egypt. Brill, 1999.

  • Lyons, Malcolm Cameron & Jackson, D.E.P. Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge University Press, 1982.

  • Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades through Arab Eyes. Saqi, 2012.

  • Man, John. Saladin: The Sultan who Vanquished the Crusaders and Built an Islamic Empire. Hachette Books, 2016.

  • Phillips, Jonathan. The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom. Yale University Press, 2008.

The Sons of Maimon 3: From Moses to Moses

Maimonides

After David had died, Moses/Maimonides still had a lot of life left to live, so this episode is about that life in Ayyubid Egypt. (MP3)

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. 

Sources:

  • Ben-Sasson, Menahem. "Maimonides in Egypt: The First Stage," in Maimonidean Studies: vol. 1, edited by Arthur Hyman. Yeshiva University Press, 1991.

  • Bareket, Elinoar. Fustat on the Nile: The Jewish Elite in Medieval Egypt. Brill, 1999.

  • Davidson, Herbert, A. Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works. Oxford University Press, 2004.

  • Goitein, S.D. A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza, Vol. IV: Daily Life. University of California Press, 2000.

  • Halbertal, Moshe. Maimonides: Life and Thought, translated by Joel Linsider. Princeton University Press, 2014.

  • Koros, Sarah. "Maimonides' Influence on Modern Judaic Thought and Practice," in Forbes & Fifth. Volume 10, Spring 2007.

  • Kraemer, Joel L. Maimonides: The Life and World of One of Civilization's Greatest Minds. Doubleday, 2010.

  • Rudavsky, T.M. Maimonides. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.

The Sons of Maimon 2: What's Done is Gone

The Medieval Nile

Moses and David ben Maimon make their home in Fatimid - soon to be Ayyubid - Egypt, where the Nile and caravan routes linked the Mediterranean ports to the Red Sea and the crossing to the coast of India, a crossing David would attempt to make. (MP3)

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.


Sources:

  • The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, translated by Marcus Nathan Adler.  Philipp Feldheim, inc.

  • Judaism in Practice: From the Middle Ages Through the Early Modern Period, edited by Lawrence Fine. Princeton University Press, 2001.

  • Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350. Oxford University Press, 1989.

  • Bareket, Elinoar. Fustat on the Nile: The Jewish Elite in Medieval Egypt. Brill, 1999.

  • Cooper, John. The Medieval Nile: Route, Navigation, and Landscape in Islamic Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, 2014.

  • Bramoullé, David. "The Fatimids and the Red Sea (969-1171)," in Navigated Spaces, Connected Places. Archaeopress, 2012.

  • Davidson, Herbert, A. Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works. Oxford University Press, 2004.

  • Goitein, S.D. A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza, Vol. IV: Daily Life. University of California Press, 2000.

  • Goitein, S.D. & Friedman, Mordechai A. India Traders of the Middle Ages: Documents from the Cairo Geniza. Brill, 2007.

  • Halbertal, Moshe. Maimonidies: Life and Thought, translated by Joel Linsider. Princeton University Press, 2014.

  • Jacoby, David.  "The Economic Function of the Crusader States of the Levant: a New Approach," in Medieval Trade in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond. Routledge, 2018. 

  • Kraemer, Joel L. Maimonides: The Life and World of One of Civilization's Greatest Minds. Doubleday, 2010.

  • Margariti, Roxani Eleni. Aden and the Indian Ocean Trade: 150 Years in the Life of a Medieval Arabian Port. University of North Carolina Press, 2007.

  • Peacock, Andrew & Peacock, David. "The Enigma of 'Aydhab: a Medieval Islamic Port on the Red Sea Coast," in The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 2008.  

  • Udovitch, Abraham L. "Medieval Alexandria: Some Evidence from the Cairo Genizah Documents," in Alexandria and Alexandrianism: Papers Delivered at a Symposium Organized by The J. Paul Getty Museum and The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities and Held at the Museum, April 22–25, 1993. Getty Publications, 1996. 

The Sons of Maimon 1: Exile

Maimonides

This is my first episode on Maimonides/Moses and his little brother David, on their exile from their homeland in Al-Andalus, and on their winding way to Egypt, which would be their long-term home. (MP3) 

Sources:

  • The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, translated by Marcus Nathan Adler.  Philipp Feldheim, inc.

  • Judaism in Practice: From the Middle Ages Through the Early Modern Period, edited by Lawrence Fine. Princeton University Press, 2001.

  • Davidson, Herbert, A. Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works. Oxford University Press, 2004.

  • Fromherz, Allen J. The Almohads: The Rise of an Islamic Empire. I.B. Tuaris, 2012.

  • Jacobs, Martin. Reorienting the East: Jewish Travelers to the Medieval Muslim World. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.

  • Kennedy, Hugh. Muslim Spain and Portugal: A Political History of al-Andalus. Routledge, 2014. 

  • Kraemer, Joel L. Maimonides: The Life and World of One of Civilization's Greatest Minds. Doubleday, 2010.

Rabban Bar Sauma 4: Ilkhanid End Times

Ghazan Khan

This episode is the conclusion of the Rabban Bar Sauma series. It's his return to the Ilkhanate and the results of his journey. It's the end of the line for him and the catholicus, and it's the changes that were going on in the Ilkhanate and how they affected the Church of the East and our main characters. (MP3)

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • The Monks of Kublai Khan, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. The Religious Tract Society, 1928.

  • Aigle, Denise. The Mongol Empire between Myth and Reality: Studies in Anthropological History. Brill, 2014.

  • Grousset, René. Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Rutgers University Press, 1988. 

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the Islamic World. Yale University Press, 2017.

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Pearson Longman, 2005.

  • Kolbas, Judith. The Mongols in Iran: Chingiz Khan to Uljaytu 1220–1309. Routledge, 2006.  

  • Lambton, Ann K. S. Continuity and Change in Medieval Persia. SUNY Press, 1988.

  • Rossabi, Morris. Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. Kodansha International, 1992.

Rabban Bar Sauma 3: Barbazoma, Tartarus, Orientalis

Medieval-Genoa.png

This is Rabban Bar Sauma part 3 of 4: the story of the Mongol envoy's diplomatic efforts in Paris, Bordeaux, and Rome, his experience as a pilgrim to the sites and saints of Italy and France, and his attempts to improve the Ilkhanid cause against the Mamluks. (MP3)

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here.

Sources:

  • The Monks of Kublai Khan, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. The Religious Tract Society, 1928.

  • Epstein, Steven. Genoa and the Genoese, 958-1528. University of North Carolina Press, 2001.

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the Islamic World. Yale University Press, 2017.

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Pearson Longman, 2005.

  • Kolbas, Judith. The Mongols in Iran: Chingiz Khan to Uljaytu 1220–1309. Routledge, 2006.

  • Lower, Michael. The Tunis Crusade of 1270: A Mediterranean History. Oxford University Press, 2018.  

  • Nicol, Donald M. Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations. Cambridge University Press, 1992. 

  • Prestwich, Michael. Edward I. Yale University Press, 2008.

  • Rossabi, Morris. Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. Kodansha International, 1992.

Rabban Bar Sauma 2: Ilkhanid Infighting, Ilkhanid Envoy

Arghun Khan of the Ilkhanate

In this episode, our monkish friends attempt to navigate the violent waters of Ilkhanid Mongol politics, and Bar Sauma himself embarks on another long journey, this time heading for Rome.(MP3)

Sources:

  • The Monks of Kublai Khan, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. The Religious Tract Society, 1928.

  • Aigle, Denise. The Mongol Empire Between Myth and Reality: Studies in Anthropological History. Brill Academic Pub, 2014.

  • Benjamin, Sandra. Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History. Steerforth Press, 2010.

  • Grousset, René. The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, translated by Naomi Walford. Rutgers, 2002. 

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the Islamic World. Yale University Press, 2017.

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Pearson Longman, 2005.

  • Kolbas, Judith. The Mongols in Iran: Chingiz Khan to Uljaytu 1220–1309. Routledge, 2006.

  • Pfeiffer, Judith, "Reflections on a 'Double Rapprochement': Conversion to Islam among the Mongol Elite during the Early Ilkhanate," in Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan, edited by Linda Komaroff. Brill Academic Pub, 2006.

  • Rose, Susan. Medieval Naval Warfare, 1000-1500. Routledge, 2002.

  • Rossabi, Morris. Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. Kodansha International, 1992.

Rabban Bar Sauma 1: The Monks of Kublai Khan

Hulagu Khan and Doquz Khatun of the Ilkhanate

First in a series on Rabban Bar Sauma, covering his life from miracle-baby through cave-bound monk and on to pilgrim, with ambassador to the cities of western Europe not far behind. This episode takes us from Yuan China to Jerusalem, or perhaps not quite that far. (MP3)

If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, my Patreon is here, my Ko-fi is here, and Paypal is here. 

Sources:  

  • The History of Yaballaha III Nestorian Patriarch and of his Vicar Bar Sauma Mongol Ambassador to the Frankish Courts at the End of the Thirteenth Century, translated by James A. Montgomery. Columbia University Press, 1927.

  • The Monks of Kublai Khan, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge. The Religious Tract Society, 1928.

  • Nestorian Tablet: Eulogizing the Propagation of the Illustrious Religion in China, with a Preface, composed by a priest of the Syriac Church, 781 A.D. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/eastasia/781nestorian.asp 

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the Islamic World. Yale University Press, 2017.

  • Jackson, Peter. The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Pearson Longman, 2005. 

  • Keevak, Michael. The Story of a Stele: China's Nestorian Monument and Its Reception in the West, 1625-1916. Hong Kong University Press, 2010.

  • Rossabi, Morris. Khublai Khan: His Life and Times. University of California Press, 1988. 

  • Rossabi, Morris. Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West. Kodansha International, 1992.