The First Crusade
The Call from the East
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The First Crusade
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Keeble
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By:
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Peter Frankopan
About this listen
From the author of the number one best seller The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
The First Crusade is one of the best-known and most written-about events in history, but in this new book Dr Peter Frankopan asks vital questions that have never been posed before.
This is the only book to address the history of the First Crusade from the perspective of the East, examining the role of the Byzantine Empire and its ruler, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
Peter Frankopan's focus on the imperial city of Constantinople and events in Asia Minor is the result of a major reinterpretation of Eastern sources which reveal the crucial role of Byzantium in the genesis and execution of the First Crusade.
Frankopan’s revelation of a close cooperation between the pope in Rome and the emperor in Constantinople constitutes an important revision and brand new evidence of the history of the Church. This book questions the traditional view that the Catholic and Orthodox churches had broken definitively in 1054.
Rather than viewing the Crusades as a conflict between Christianity and Islam, the book reveals a complex triangular relationship between the West, Byzantium and the Muslim world.
So, The First Crusade constitutes a paradigm shift - it radically re-shapes our understanding of the aims, expectations and long-term implications of the First Crusade and the Crusades as a whole.
Most importantly it answers: why was there a First Crusade?
©2012 Peter Frankopan (P)2020 W F HowesListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
“Scholarly and yet accessible, and unashamedly partisan, The First Crusade, as any vibrant history should, is bound to set a lot of feathers flying.” (Daily Telegraph)
"Convincing and accessible." (Sunday Times)
"A nuanced and often counterintuitive story of power politics, international diplomacy and war and, ultimately that very rare thing - a truly fresh interpretation of an old story." (Time Out)
What listeners say about The First Crusade
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amanda McFadyen
- 19-03-23
Very Interesting
I’ve listened to several of Peter’s books and heard him on podcasts. He’s always very interesting and informative. A great way to learn the history we were never taught in school!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- warren Evans
- 14-12-23
Fantastic
Really enjoyed from beginning to end . A must for Crusader fans . Hope he does future books on the subject.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 26-07-23
warriors pledge
excellent history
of the 1st crusade.
1st crusade was the best of the failures greediness and treachy all the way
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- James
- 18-02-23
Excellent telling for a important part of history
Forgotten story of how an empire was saved but then an emperor forgotten, this was something I was aware of in other books on the subject so vital depth to understanding
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Marie
- 24-05-23
Crusade
If you are not familiar with the crusades names and places may not mean much but to those that are this book is first rate. It gives a different perspective of the first crusade in a way that is easy to follow.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 17-05-23
Absorbing
The story of the Byzantine emperor Alexos and his dealings with the Crusaders of the West was new to me ,and very interesting.
A good example of how historical report can ignore vital players
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- Paul
- 08-03-23
Brilliant
A new perspective from the Greek point of view, brilliantly read and well written. 5/5
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle customer
- 09-03-21
Fantastic epic account yet history!
I couldn't be more happy to review the history I learnt in school as a child that brought so many fascination, yet incomprehension as to why the Crusades took place . Well in the motto of " Live and Let live" , I thought that nothing would make me understand the cruelty of the crusades but to relive the history of Portugal during the three decades of Muslim occupation and how Somalia and Turkey unleashed hell on earth in the peninsula gave me a new perspective and therefore understanding as to how the Crusades became indispensable for religious motives and secular motives , both well grounded in the need to contain further expansion of Turkey and allies.
Must say that this is epic and grandeur yet hundred per cent academic and a valid authority to the historical context of the Crusades in all its reasoning ,the puritan related to the Christian Faith and the less puritan and more barbaric, related to the Survival of Europe. Thank you, a very grateful reader, listener and now a fan!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Barry O'Connor
- 06-02-24
loved it
Really enjoyed it and all the detail from the Byzantine side of the equation. Very enjoyable
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- Bartosz Nowicki
- 12-03-23
Great
Well researched, amazingly written and brilliantly read.
My first book on the 1st Crusade. Alexios to me will always be the man behind it ;)
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1 person found this helpful