Relevant History

When Serbia was founded, it was a tiny nation pinned between three great empires. Soldiers, spies, and savvy politicians ensured its survival into the 20th Century. Music courtesy of https://www.bensound.com

Good history requires studying events, ideas, and societies from multiple angles. This requires written sources in your language. Dan talks about what happens when there’s a lack of English-language sources.

After reaching its zenith under Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliphate enters into a period of stark decline. Differences of religion and ethnicity threaten to divide the Islamic empire, even as the Caliphs become increasingly reliant on slave armies...

The Umayyad Caliphate stands as a united Islamic monolith in the midst of an uncertain world. But cracks are forming between different Muslim factions, and national divisions are beginning to rear their head. SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER ...

The rising tide of the Umayyad Caliphate threatens to engulf all of Europe. Their only obstacle is a Frankish king named Charles Martel. SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscr...

In the 6th century, Arabia is a crossroads between different civilizations. In the 7th century, a new nation would be born under the banner of the Islamic faith. That nation would become an empire, and that empire would change not just Mediterranean ...

The fall of Rome has left a huge power vacuum in the Mediterranean. In the west, a young warrior-king builds a French kingdom. In the east, a powerful emperor tries to restore the ancient Roman empire. But even if he succeeds, will that empire be the...

As the fabric of the western Roman Empire continues to unravel, emperors take the back seat to barbarian warlords. Even during this collapse, a new Vandal kingdom arises in North Africa. Without the old imperial military power, how will the last Roma...

In the mid-400s, the western Roman Empire broke up into a collection of independent barbarian kingdoms, ushering in the European middle ages. Was this an inevitable result of the breakdown of the Roman system? Or did a combination of Roman weakness a...

The First Jewish-Roman War is most famous for the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. But for 960 rebels in a mountain fortress, the fight for Jewish independence continues. SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevan...