Hi.
We’re the Time Twins.
We’re twins.
Obviously.
And we have a time machine.
Just go with it.
Today, we’re going back to the time of the
Crusades to see why those wars had such an
impact on today’s world.
So, how was your trip to the medieval Middle
East?
Was it everything you thought it would be?
That depends.
On what?
On what you thought I thought it would be.
I’m so confused right now.
Uh huh.
What’s up with your face?
Have you been baking?
Yeah, I’ve been baking.
We call ‘em Crusader Loafs.
They’re delicious.
Oh, can I have one-
No, because they don’t exist.
It’s dust.
I’m covered in dust.
Why?
Long story.
It started in Jerusalem.
When?
Before the Muslims took control...but after
the crusader army from Europe took it from
Muslims.
That’s confusing.
You’re saying the crusaders had control
of Jerusalem when you were there, but not
before or after.
Wow.
That’s actually a much clearer way of saying
it.
Thank you.
So, was there like a dust storm in Jerusalem,
or…?
No, actually, the crusader king of Jerusalem
heard about an army of Muslims gathering out
in the desert, so he decided all of his knights
needed to go find them.
Out in the desert?
Out in the desert.
In chain mail.
Yeah, that looks hot.
Is that wool underneath?
Totally wool.
Really uncomfortable.
And we didn’t take a lot of water with us,
either.
That doesn’t seem like a good idea.
It wasn’t.
So we were marching towards the only lake
of water near us, but the other army was already
camped there.
Because the leader of the Muslim army was
smart?
Because he was smart.
What was his name?
Saladin.
And he really didn’t like it that the crusaders
had showed up in the Middle East.
Why?
Some complicated political stuff, and religious
differences.
That seems legit.
Oh, and the fact that the crusading army slaughtered
every man, woman, and child in Jerusalem when
they took it over.
Oh.
Oh wow.
Yeah.
Not cool.
So Saladin was out for revenge?
Kinda.
And, what?
Did y'all charge his army to get to the water?
No, we camped for the night.
Without water?
Yeah.
At a place called the Horns of Hattin.
The Horns of Hattin?
That sounds like an awful place to camp.
Like, that sounds like the place you camp
when you want bad things to happen.
Bad things happened.
Shock.
Saladin’s army started stirring up dust,
and lighting fires, and since the wind was
blowing back towards the Horns of Hattin…
Ah, that explains the dust.
And the smoke.
In our faces.
The whole time.
So I’m guessing the battle didn’t end
well?
Well, it ended well for Saladin.
Yeah, I bet.
Unfortunately, when the Europeans heard Saladin
had taken Jerusalem, they launched another
Crusade to take it back.
And then another.
It’s hard to keep count.
That seems like a lot of Crusades.
It’s a lot.
Seems like a lot of violence.
It’s a lot.
And a lot of dust.
It’s a lot.
Well, maybe you should take an umbrella next
time.
...It was wind, not rain.
Different direction entirely.
Come on, man.
All right, then.
