Between the Crescent and the Cross Episode 1 – A Fire in the Desert

<p>“And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye not be troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6</p> <p>With the Roman Empire gone a new world was born from its ashes in the early medieval era. By the dawn of the 11th century that world’s conflicts, largely religious in nature, were coming to a head. They would soon erupt in a series of wars over the very land that Moses, Abraham, Jesus, and Muhammad all walked. In this episode I explore how the world of the crusades came to be and the histories of the people who fought in them.  </p> <p>Photo: “Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours” by Charles de Steuben, Date Unknown</p>