Crusades: the Crescent and the Cross 1 - DVD

1. Part of
Together with the documentary we will follow the footsteps of two waves of the First Crusade. The first crusading army of noble knights was commanded by Count Raymond IV. from Toulouse. At the same time, a large band of paupers under the command of the nobleman Gautier Sans-Avoir and the fanatical preacher Peter the Hermit set out from France without preparation. Their arduous pilgrimage leads to Constantinople and from there across the Anatolian plains to Jerusalem. Thanks to state-of-the-art digital technology, we will witness the turmoil of the Crusaders' key battles, the siege of the cities of Antioch, Maarat an-Numan and Jerusalem. We learn how the Crusaders managed to conquer one city after another almost without any supplies.

2. Part of
After the conquest of Jerusalem, the Crusaders who had settled in the Holy Land were faced with an entirely new dilemma: had to survive in enemy territory far from home. The second part of the documentary about the Crusades tells a completely unknown story about the life and complex relations between Muslims and Christians at that time. After the conquest of the Holy Land, the Crusaders set about repairing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other Christian shrines with great vigour, and built an impressive network of fortresses along the Mediterranean Sea to protect them from invading enemy armies.