Just a quick update to let you know if you like this podcast you can get the book on which it’s based for free on my website nickholmesauthor.com. It’s called The Byzantine World War, and it's about the origins of the First Crusade and suggests

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BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT - 'Rome and Attila'

Feb 11th, 2024 1m 30s

I wanted to let you know my latest book, Rome and Attila, is now available on Amazon in ebook and paperback, links in the episode notes. It’s about one of the most infamous figures in history—Attila the Hun. He’s a household name, but remarkabl

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FREE BOOK ON MY WEBSITE

Jun 13th, 2023 41s

I wanted to let you know my book The Byzantine World War is available for free here. It's about the reign of Romanos Diogenes and his defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 which led to the First Crusade. It’s a thrilling story and the book

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BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT - The Fall of Rome

May 1st, 2023 1m 25s

I wanted to let you know my latest book, The Fall of Rome, is now available on Amazon in ebook and paperback. It’s about how the unthinkable happened in AD 410 when Rome was sacked by the Goths. Although it's about Rome rather than Byzantium, y

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DISCOUNTED BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT - The Roman Revolution

Sep 20th, 2022 1m

This is just to let you know that you can get my ebook called The Roman Revolution, which accompanies the first part of my new podcast on the Fall of the Roman Empire, at a discounted price at Amazon for the next few days (until 29th September)

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BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT - The Roman Revolution

Jul 16th, 2022 1m 34s

I thought you might be interested to know that I've just published a book called The Roman Revolution. This is about the Roman Empire in the third century when Rome was truly revolutionized and ended up as a Christian monarchy. This was the ori

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 14 "The Conclusion"

Dec 11th, 2021 23m 24s

On the 29th May, 1453, the city of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks. It was the final end of Byzantium. It was also the final end of the Crusades. Indeed, many historians regard it as the end of the Middle Ages. I regret to say that thi

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 13 "The Final Battle"

Dec 4th, 2021 26m 57s

The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmet II, has decided to launch an all-out attack on the city of Constantinople. But the brave defenders are prepared. They resist wave after wave of Turkish troops until their luck runs out with a cruel twist of fate.

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 12 "The Silence Before the Storm"

Nov 27th, 2021 22m 37s

For seven weeks the Turks had besieged Constantinople. But all they had to show for it were heavy casualties and not a single victory either on land or at sea. The Turkish Sultan, Mehmet II, had a moment of doubt. Should he abandon the siege? F

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 11 "The Strain of War"

Nov 20th, 2021 21m 10s

Constantinople is surrounded. For seven weeks, it has endured Turkish attacks by land and sea. Its defenders have fought heroically but now they are exhausted. But so too are the Turks. Their losses have been huge and the Turkish Sultan, Mehmet

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 10 "The Last Hope"

Nov 13th, 2021 21m 35s

The Ottoman Turks have dragged their ships overland into the Golden Horn and Constantinople is now surrounded on all sides. In desperation, the defenders plan for a night attack to destroy the Turkish fleet and a last appeal to the West for hel

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 9 "The Attack on the Golden Horn"

Nov 6th, 2021 21m 11s

Constantinople was probably the best fortified city in the medieval world. But it had one weak spot. To the north of the city lay the Golden Horn, the wide estuary that was blocked to enemy ships by a great iron chain. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 8 "The Siege Begins"

Oct 30th, 2021 21m 27s

With over 100,000 Turkish soldiers facing them, the 7,000 or so defenders of Constantinople awaited the first attack. All they could do was to hope and pray for a miracle.

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 7 "The Heroes of Constantinople"

Oct 23rd, 2021 20m 27s

As the Turkish army approached Constantinople in 1453, the Byzantine defenders were joined by a handful of Genoese, Venetians and other adventurers prepared to join the fight to save the great Christian city.

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 6 "Gunpowder and Cannons"

Oct 16th, 2021 21m 37s

By 1452, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II had decided to launch a huge attack on the ancient city of Constantinople. But as he gathered his army from all over his dominions, he knew that he would need more than soldiers. To breach the ancient walls

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 5 "The Call to the West"

Oct 9th, 2021 22m 42s

With the Ottoman Turks closing in on Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologus made a last desperate appeal to the West for help. But would it be too little and too late?

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 4 "The Emperor and the Sultan"

Oct 2nd, 2021 20m 52s

The Ottoman onslaught against Constantinople is getting closer. Two new leaders emerge on either side. Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Emperor of Byzantium, and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, better known as Mehmet the Conqueror. Both men w

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 3 "Timur the Lame"

Sep 25th, 2021 21m 24s

In the fourteenth century, the growing power of the Ottoman Turks seemed unstoppable. But there was one man who checked it. This was Timur the Lame, or Tamerlane, as he was called in Europe. Of mixed Turkish and Mongol descent, he created a vas

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 2 "Seljuks and Ottomans"

Sep 18th, 2021 20m 17s

In the thirteenth century, the Mongols destroyed the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia. But after the Mongols left, a new Turkish dynasty began to rise to power in western Anatolia. This dynasty was that of the Ottomans.

The Fall of Constantinople Episode 1 "Byzantium - The Dying Empire"

Sep 11th, 2021 19m 46s

In this new mini-series, we will hear about the fall of Byzantine Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks. Many people see it as a turning point in history, marking the end of the Middle Ages. But what really happened? Find out here.

The Last Crusades Episode 4 "The Triumph of the Ottoman Turks"

Sep 4th, 2021 21m 5s

The year is 1396. The Ottoman Turks are threatening to conquer Eastern Europe and take Constantinople from the Byzantines. A new Crusade against them is proclaimed, and a great international army from Hungary and Western Europe is raised to mee

The Last Crusades Episode 3 "The Rise of the Ottoman Turks"

Aug 28th, 2021 21m 42s

As Crusading enthusiasm faded in Europe in the fourteenth century, in the East an obscure Turkish emir called Osman founded a new dynasty. This would rise to become one of the greatest empires in the world: the Ottoman Turks. The response in Eu

The Last Crusades Episode 2 "The Alexandrian Crusade"

Aug 21st, 2021 21m 42s

Although the Crusading spirit of the eleventh century had faded in Europe after the fall of Outremer in 1291, there was still enough interest in 1365 to launch one last Crusade to recover the Holy Land. It would be remembered for its particular

The Last Crusades Episode 1 "The Fall of the Templars"

Aug 14th, 2021 21m 43s

With Outremer destroyed in 1291, Christian Europe lost its final link with the original crusading ideology focused on the capture of Jerusalem. What then should happen to the three religious Military Orders which had been established to defend

Mongols and Mamluks Episode 12 "The Death of Outremer"

Aug 7th, 2021 25m 1s

The year is 1291. Outremer, as the Crusader states in the Middle East were called, has one last great battle to fight as a vast Mamluk army advances on Acre, the Crusader capital.