Al Mansur’s long reign transformed the caliphate in countless ways, most of them for the better. It provided a kind of stability the umma desperately needed to absorb the tumult of the Abbasid revolution and adjust to the new status quo. What followed was a golden age of prosperity, to be reaped by al Mahdi after having been sown by his father.
Sep 2024
Episode 89: Al Muttaqi, al Mustakfi, and al Muti’
The Abbasid fall from grace was long and messy. It’s been a while since the dynasty produced a powerful caliph, the last one being the almighty restorer al Mu’tadid who reigned until the opening years of the 10th century. The subsequent decades saw a sustained and accelerating er ... Show More
25m 51s
Sep 2024
Episode 88: Amir al umara’
The creation of the role of amir al umara’ transformed the political landscape in Baghdad. It attracted men of influence to court, and they did not come seeking to serve the caliph, but to dominate his metropolis. Ibn Ra’iq was the first such aspirants, but he and others soon lea ... Show More
29m 26s
Jan 2022
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 6 "The Reign of Commodus"
Marcus Aurelius was the last of the 'Good Emperors'. His son, Commodus, proved to be the exact opposite of his father. A bloodthirsty tyrant, his reign is often seen as marking the beginning of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
20m 35s
Jul 2021
Khalid Ibn al-Walid: The Sword of God
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
11m 25s
May 2023
52. The Slave who Ruled
Born in Ethiopia, 1548, Malik Ambar was taken from his people at the age of 12 and sold into slavery. First he was sold to an owner in Baghdad, where he converted to Islam, but he ended up in India, on the Deccan plateau. From there, his star rose, eventually to become ruler of t ... Show More
56m 48s
Jun 2021
The Three Pashas of the Ottoman Empire Pt. 1
After the Fall of Constantinople, the Ottomans became the most powerful dynasty in existence. But the great empire began to decline, and in the early 20th century, a leader named Talaat and a group of radical nationalists worked to remove the ineffectual sultan and restore the Ot ... Show More
49m 11s
Oct 2023
376. Baghdad: The Forging of Islam (Part 1)
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
53m 3s