Episode 79: Fortune favors the brute

Reading about this caliph’s reign in our sources is a bewildering experience: everything is simultaneously great and on the brink of destruction. Later histories pick apart developments in the administration throughout al Muktafi’s time in charge in search of a crack or culprit. ...  Show more

Cataloguing the tapestry of Islamic traditions is a task that lies well beyond our scope, but every now and again the topic overlaps with the subjects we are interested in. It’s important to understand where the Qaramita and Fatimids came from, because these two foes will face th ...  Show more

In the 7th century, the world saw the rise of one of the most important religious and political forces in history: Islam. Springing forth from the Arabian Peninsula, within a matter of months, the Islamic Caliphate had become one of the largest empires on Earth. Much of that grow ...  Show more

Abdullah ibn Hudhafah was chosen by the Prophet ﷺ to face the most brutal emperor of his time. He was known for being unfazed by tyrants.

A story of great myth and of huge historical significance, the foundation of Baghdad is a fundamental episode in the development of Islam. The Umayyad Caliphate, the first great Islamic empire, stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the borders of China; no dynasty had ever preside ...  Show more

As soon as news reached the West that Jerusalem had fallen a new Crusade was called. The German, French and English Kings all led armies East but only Frederick Barbarossa went by land. He led a large army across the Balkans towards Constantinople and Isaac Angelos had to decided ...  Show more