BBC Two Orders Crusades Series

LONDON: Impossible Pictures’ 360Production has been commissioned by BBC Two to make Crusades, a three-part series that will trace the 200-year time period of the religious wars.

Medieval history scholar Dr. Tom Asbridge will present the 3×1-hour project, which will be filmed in locations such as Cyprus, Jerusalem, Rome and Istanbul. The series, expected for delivery in early 2012, will look at the time from 1095 to 1291 in which the Catholic church fought to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims.

360Production’s creative director and executive producer of the series, John Farren, said, “This series will reveal subtleties and fresh insights that deepen our understanding, and bring the men and women who lived, loved and fought in the Holy Land for two centuries into a sharp new light. It is a story that has not been told before on television.”

BBC’s commissioning editor, Martin Davidson, added, “Bringing to bear years of work in Islamic archives, Dr. Asbridge will be providing the fullest television account of these extraordinary conflicts, challenging the many myths and falsehoods that have been attached to them.”