The Golden Age of Islam

7 - The Abbasid Revolution

The true Golden Age of Islam is considered the Abbasid Caliphate, which lasted from 750 to 1258 AD and whose capital, Baghdad was the grandest city on earth - the center of intellectual, scientific and cultural achievement.  The reality was more complicated and often didn't match the legend.  In this episode, we look at how this great caliphate came to power and what made it unique. 

1 - The Foundations of Islam

When Europe was in the depths of the Dark Ages, a civilization emerged from the Arabian desert that would change History forever.  The greatest military, political and economic power the world had seen, it would also establish one of the most brilliant intellectual, scientific and cultural traditions in History.  When a humble merchant in a desert town emerged from a cave with a vision, few thought he would survive the wrath of the pagan leaders of his hometown, much less go on to reshape History.  The foundations of this change are what we'll discuss today.

2 - The First Muslim Community

The Islamic calendar begins when the first Muslim community is established in Medina.  From that day forward, Islam will be not only a religion, but an independent state, with its own military and political leadership.  That state will grow to rule much of the world and at its core will be this idea of a united political, military, cultural and religious community.  This would shape a dramatically different world view than that of Christianity.  In this episode, we explore the emergence and development of that state.

3 - The First Caliphs

The first Caliphs after the Prophet Muhammad established a Muslim state that would grow to cover much of the world. These critical leaders--the Rashidun--set the precedent for what Islamic leadership and a Muslim state would be.

4 - The Sunni/Shi'a Split

Few concepts in Islam are as misunderstood today as the split between Sunni and Shi'a. Yet this division plays a very important role in the politics and social dynamics of the Muslim world. In this episode, we examine the reasons for this split, and more importantly, its impact on the subsequent generations of Islamic history and the world today

 

 

 

 

 

5 - The Muslim Conquests

From a small community in the desert city of Medina, the Muslim state established an empire larger than the world had yet seen. This amazing conquest--from Spain to the edge of China--was made possible by the nature of Muslim rule and set the stage for one of the greatest civilizations in history. How did this happen? Why did Islam succeed and persist when others failed or faded quickly?

6 - The Umayyad Caliphate

While Europe lay in the Dark Ages, the Umayyad Caliphate established the largest empire the world had yet seen, the political, military, economic and cultural superpower of its day.  It also set the standards for what a great Muslim empire would be and set in motion trends that would dominate the world for the next 500 years and continue to influence the world today.  Yet its division of the world into a realm of peace and a realm of war continues to worry some oberservers.  In this episode, we look at the transformation of the growing Muslim community into a great world empire which laid the foundations for one of History's Golden Ages.