Crescent and the Cross
 

If you are even mildly interested in history or religion and have not studied the crusades this is a very good series. I had no idea the Crusades were this bad. The show was very well done. Information could be given out a bit faster during the show but not much faster. The show isn't drawn out like so many other shows are. It really is a very well done series. Next one is on tomorrow monday night at 9/8c.

Even today stories are told of the barbaric Crusades in coffee shops in the Arab world like they happened last week. After 9/11 when Bush said we had to "launch a Crusade against terrorism" it sent shivers down the spine of the Arab world. I always thought this was uber left wing liberal crap that many were bitching just to bitch. I now realize they were right. I had no idea it was this bad.

http://www.historychannel.com/crusades/

Re: Crecent and the cross
 

i'm tivoing these because i plan on picking up THIS board game.

THIS is the 'braveheart' board game, based on that historical scenario. made by the same company as you can basically tell by looking at the two. both are 2-player block-based war games.

i'm beginning to develop an interest in history as a result of this stuff. i wish i'd run into a story about napoleon's battle in marengo, austria because of THIS game, for example.

Re: Crecent and the cross
 

[ QUOTE ]
Even today stories are told of the barbaric Crusades in coffee shops in the Arab world like they happened last week.

[/ QUOTE ] fanatical Muslims tend to dwell.

Re: Crescent and the cross
 

No dude. It's not dwelling. It's really that bad. I mean at the very least it makes a great campfire story.

During the show it sounded like the soldiers dug up 1 month and 4 day old corpses to eat. Can anyone confirm the age of the corpses?


If you can I would very much appreciate it.


-toasty wacki

Re: Crescent and the cross
 

[ QUOTE ]
No dude. It's not dwelling. It's really that bad.

During the show it sounded like the soldiers dug up 1 month and 4 day old corpses to eat. Can anyone confirm the age of the corpses?


If you can I would very much appreciate it.


-toasty wacki

[/ QUOTE ]

Have they done any shows on Arabic history? Trust me, they knew a thing or two about brutality before the crusaders got there.

Re: Crescent and the cross
 

whats your point here wacki? That crusading Christians are monsters? No [censored]. So were those god damned mulims as well. The Crusades were one of humanity's biggest [censored]-ups.

Also, I can see how this show might be amazing. War 1000 years ago was hell on earth.

Re: Crescent and the cross
 

[ QUOTE ]
Have they done any shows on Arabic history? Trust me, they knew a thing or two about brutality before the crusaders got there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, I'm not saying we are the worst by any means. I just didn't realize we were that bad. There were plenty worse I'm sure. Hitler, stalin, Ishii Shiro and many other are far far far worse. Still, for being a "holy war" it was anything but holy. The crusades have to of topped the charts in both sheer numbers of death and horrific deeds performed by a "holy army". I'm not anti-crhistian. I just thought it was an amazing story from a historical standpoint. Interesting enough that I'd tell it to someone else drunk around a campfire one day I'm sure. Hell, I'm drunk now.

-drunk wacki

EDIT: FURTHER RESEARCH MADE ME REALIZE THAT THE CRUSADE MAY NOT OF TOPPED THE CHARTS IN NUMBERS.

Re: Crescent and the cross
 

My understanding, and of course I could be wrong, was always that after the rise of Mohammed in 711, Islam spread throughout the Middle Eastern world basically by Muslim warriors approacing a city, telling them that they had to pay taxes to them. If they accepted, they paid the taxes and basically everyone was ok. If they refused, they were attacked, conquered and forced to pay.

The Crusades were a military conflict with the sole purpose of destroying as many Muslims as possible and driving them out of Jerusalem.

Re: Crescent and the cross
 

[ QUOTE ]
My understanding, and of course I could be wrong, was always that after the rise of Mohammed in 711, Islam spread throughout the Middle Eastern world basically by Muslim warriors approacing a city, telling them that they had to pay taxes to them. If they accepted, they paid the taxes and basically everyone was ok. If they refused, they were attacked, conquered and forced to pay.

[/ QUOTE ] wrong. Muslim warriors approached a city and told everyone there that they had to convert to Islam. Those that refused were killed. Islam was spread by the sword.

Re: Crescent and the cross
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My understanding, and of course I could be wrong, was always that after the rise of Mohammed in 711, Islam spread throughout the Middle Eastern world basically by Muslim warriors approacing a city, telling them that they had to pay taxes to them. If they accepted, they paid the taxes and basically everyone was ok. If they refused, they were attacked, conquered and forced to pay.

[/ QUOTE ] wrong. Muslim warriors approached a city and told everyone there that they had to convert to Islam. Those that refused were killed. Islam was spread by the sword.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, Christianity was spread much the same way throughout Europe. I know of at least a few occasions of mass murder in Germany during the Christianization of the Celts.

I was always under the understanding that the Muslims didn't paricularly care whether or not you converted so long as you paid, but I'll see if I can find some information to back one of us up.

EDIT: I found a couple of articles that say that Muslim invaders did frequently force conversion on those they conquered, but that Christians were certainly guilty of the same thing.