Al Andalus

Greg Jenner is joined in medieval Spain by historian Professor Nora Berend and comedian Toussaint Douglass to learn about the colourful life and afterlife of the warrior known as El Cid.El Cid – real name Rodrigo Díaz – was a mercenary in eleventh-century Spain who fought for bot ...  Show more

Greg Jenner is joined in 19th-century China by historian Professor Yangwen Zheng and comedian Sophie Duker to learn about the Qing dynasty ruler Empress Dowager Cixi.A contemporary of Queen Victoria, Cixi rose from low-ranked concubine to de facto ruler of China for nearly half a ...  Show more

Matt Lewis is joined by Professor Brian A. Catlos to explore the nearly eight centuries of Al Andalus, Islamic Spain. From a daring invasion in 711 led by Tariq ibn Ziyad to the emergence of great cities like Cordoba, Matt and Brian delve into the multicultural experiment wher ...

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Muslim Spain. In 711 a small army of North African Berbers invaded Spain and established an Iberian Islamic culture that would last for over 700 years. Despite periods of infighting and persecution, Muslim Spain was a land where Muslims, Jews and C ...  Show more

What is Al Andalus and the history of Islam in the Iberian Peninsula? Join us as we take a closer look at the Muslim expansions into Portugal and Spain. In part one of two of discussing Islam in the Maghreb, we examine the Berber and Moorish influences on art, architecture, cultu ...  Show more

Muslims governed for almost a thousand years in the Iberian Peninsula, with Arabo-Islamic culture leading the way in science and art, philosophy and theology. It’s a period known for its cosmopolitanism – where Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived and worked together in peaceful c ...  Show more