First Live Session June 5, 2025

This five-week course includes live two-hour sessions with the instructor each week from 3:30 - 5:30pm Eastern U.S. time. Sessions consist of lecture and Q&A.

Click here to enroll

Week 1

Historical Introduction

This week’s session introduces some of the major societies in the Middle East, Western Europe and the Mediterranean, and Central Asia, examining how their ways of life shaped their approach to the conduct of war.

Week 2

Raising Armies

Few medieval societies possessed much wealth and raising large armies presented significant problems. This week we will explore the land forces raised in each of the three regions under examination focusing on their command structures, composition, logistics, and arms and armour.

Week 3

Conquest and Resisting Conquest

Equipped with only small and often seasonal armies, conquering large areas of land could pose serious challenges for medieval rulers. This week we explore how peoples as various as the Crusaders, Seljuk Turks, and Normans managed to bring large areas of territory under their control. We also examine the experience of conquest by families and communities in each of these areas, considering their survival strategies and the impact of invasion.

Week 4

Strategy and Tactics: Winning Wars

This week tackles the question of how commanders set out to win their wars. Their battlefield tactics and broader strategies varied considerably across different regions, so we will focus specifically on encounters between very different societies: Mongol wars against European armies, Crusader campaigns against Seljuk Turkish forces, and Seljuks fighting Mongols. The underlying question here is: how did commanders seek to defeat unfamiliar opponents?

Week 5

Siege Warfare and Technology

Much changed during the Medieval period whether through the arrival of technologies such as gunpowder or the adoption of new battlefield strategies. This week we finish the course with a focus on technological developments taking place in all three regions, but with a specific focus on siege warfare and fortress design.

NOTE: This course is not accredited by Dr. Morton's employer, Nottingham Trent University. It is for personal educational purposes only and does not result in any qualification.

  • Start Learning

    The first live session is June 5, 2025 at 3:30pm Eastern U.S. time (8:30pm GMT)

  • Access

    Course materials are available for three months from the first course session.

Meet your Instructor

Nicholas Morton

Dr. Nicholas Morton is an Associate Professor in History at Nottingham Trent University (UK). He is the author or editor of many works on Medieval Middle Eastern history. His most recent book is: The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East (Basic Books, 2022). Other books include: The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford University Press, 2020) and The Field of Blood: The Battle for Aleppo and the Remaking of the Medieval Middle East (Basic Books, 2018). He also runs a You Tube channel with videos covering the history of the Medieval Middle East (handle: @MedievalNearEast).