Historian and veteran Middle East journalist Michael Rank looks into the most exciting events and personalities of history in this podcast and explains them in five-minute episodes so that you can absorb the facts in the fastest way possible. Learn about the lives of Genghis Khan, Vlad Dracul, and Richard the Lionheart, and such events as the Crusades and the Black Death in these highly entertaining and informative episodes. Michael has sold thousands of books with his unique take on the past with such best-selling titles as "History's Most Insane Rulers: Lunatics, Eccentrics, and Megalomaniacs From Emperor Caligula to Kim Jon Il," and he brings the same energy to this podcast. He focuses on world history, Roman history, military history, the history of the United States, the most famous rulers in history, biographies, biography of famous people, the most famous people in history, the most powerful rulers, medieval history, violent history, world history, United States history, and how to put all these pieces together. This is a great podcast if you know nothing about a topic and need a good launching point into a deeper study.
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HFM 149 | Cannibalism During the Crusades
References to acts of cannibalism are sprinkled throughout many religious and historical documents, such as the reports that cooked human flesh was being sold in 11th-century English markets. But the world’s first cannibal incident reported by multiple, independent, first-hand accounts took place during the Crusades by European soldiers. These first-hand stories agree that in 1098, after a successful siege and capture of the Syrian city Ma’arra.
Some accounts say that soldiers ate the flesh of dead Muslims at the point of complete starvation, and even then they sliced off tiny parts of flesh. Other accounts claim to boil adults alive in cooking pots.
Which account is correct and why such a wide discrepancy. Furthermore, how do we understand this story in the context of the Crusades, which the chroniclers normally cover with heavy layers of chivalry and bravery. Lastly, what do Muslims themselves think of this particularly gruesome story?
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