Michael Baizerman Author

Image: The Crusaders' maritime charge against the Tower of Damietta, Egypt The main enemy of a string of Crusader kingdoms spread along the coast of Palestine was the Mamluk Sultanate based in Egypt. The Fifth Crusade was spearheaded against the hostile power in hope to wrest control of the Holy Land.     The stalemate stirred unjustified hopes for the global assault against the Muslim world. King David, Prester John's successor, was destined to play one of the leading roles in this campaign. The following extract describes the confused ambiance prevaling among the Crusaders who pinned their hopes on a non-existent savior:  " After yielding Jerusalem to Salah ad-Din, better known in the West as Saladin, in the wake of the battle of Hattin, the Latin dominion in the Outremer was reduced to a narrow coastal strip stretching from Jaffa to Antioch. The costly enterprise was in constant jeopardy of extinction. Full of determination to turn the tide in the ...

Image: Manuel I Komnenos Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_I_Komnenos The following chapter investigates why the original Letter of Prester John gained so much popularity across the Latin Christendom. The extract belongs to Unit V of my ongoing book, The Enchanting Encounter with the East.  I'm currently working on Unit VI, the last section which will include five chapters: a general introduction about medieval journeys to the Far East and Inner Asia, John of Plano Carpini, William of Rubruck, John of Montecorvino and the bottom line.  Sorry for the long interruption in my updates. Here's a new extract:  Twenty years later, long after the dust of the Second Crusade disaster settled, a bizarre missive was circulating with lightning speed all over the Latin West. Directed to the leading European royal houses, it somehow skipped the most important of all: the Curia Romana. This letter of introduction was penned by the paramount emperor of ...

The image of the Byzantine dromon from the Naval Encyclopedia https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/medieval-ships/ The second chapter of my new project is titled The Galley. It tells a fascinating story of the medieval watercraft and focuses on the rowing fleet in terms of its function and service.  You can read the entire extract at my page on Scriggler: scriggler.com/Profile/michael_baizerman More chapters are about to appear but I will limit myself as my main workload is transferred to my second book, The Enchanting Encounter with the East. I have already written about 90 percent of the draft copy and is now doing additional research on medieval travelers to the East and their accounts of the weird and wonderful world that had been hidden from European intellectuals and was worth strenuous efforts to be unveiled. 

Image: The Khitans at the eagle hunt  Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khitan_people This chapter brings to light the life of Yelu Dashi, the first candidate on the role of Prester John. This Khitan prince, whose dynasty was ousted from power by a rival nomadic confederation, fled to Central Asia where he carved an empire. His outstanding victory over the Seljuk emperor caused the legend of Prester John to take root among the Latin crusaders. In their view, the confrontation with the Muslim host would qualify the opponent to be a Christian.  In reality, the Kara Khitai Empire combined the nomadic and sedentary segments who were loosely united by the imperial regime based on a standing army. The emperor declared the freedom of conscience and did not exaggerate in his demands of tribute and troops from the dependent populations.  The man, who embraced both the Buddhist and the nomadic cultures, had never dreamed of conquering the Near East ...

Dieric Bouts the Elder,  Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchizedek#/media/File:Meeting_of_abraham_and_melchizadek.jpg This short chapter ushers in the era of Prester John, a priest-king of a gargantuan oriental realm and a potential crusader.  The fact that Otto of Freising included this tale into his account of the world history shows its immediate impact. Whether the writer took it as a fact or fiction, this yarn helped materialize the Crusaders' anxiety and expectations on the eve of the Second Crusade.  Here is a brief extract: Otto von Freising, a bishop and a prolific writer, didn't intend to amuse his readers with frivolous tales. His twelfth-century chronicle of world history features a battleground where the forces of good are pitted against the swarms of evil.  Nevertheless, he is the author who baptized our character and breathed life into his somber shadow.    ...

Thanks to the summer vacations, I've got plenty of free time on my hands.  I have started writing Unit V,  The Boots on the Ground: the Dogged Courtship after Elusive Prester John. I recount the well-known legend, trying to find out its historic core.  In the Prologue, I emphasize the distinct features of this character.  1. He is elusive; nobody knows his whereabouts. Besides, he is always in transit, attempting to carry out his ambitious plans. 2. He is a mix of reality and fiction. The value of this character for historians lies in the fact that the narrative taps into historical events, offering their garbled version.  3. He is long-lasting. Officially baptized in the twelfth century, he continued to gain supporters through the seventeenth century at least and because we pick up this topic again and again, he is still relevant to our time.  I also explain that Prester John's title, king-priest, has a Biblical origin. I allude ...

I am happy to announce that I have completed chapter 8 about the Khazars. It appeared to be one of the longest extracts in the whole book. I think that I have managed to relate the history in a non-traditional way. To start with, we still are unaware of the flow of the Khazar history; what we have got are bits and pieces and each of us is trying to glean from them a plausible plot.  I tried to use historical accounts of travelers who had visited Khazaria or whose opinion is supported by the archaeological record rather than be supported by legends. The problem is that few Khazar sources available are written in Hebrew and are rife in myths. It does not mean that the entire content is false; however, it is biased and cannot be related at face value.  With the completion of this chapter, I have nearly finished Unit IV. I tend to write the conclusion called Bottom Line. This makes about seventy percent of the book. As usual, the whole unit will be sent to the p...