logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2022
45m 11s

Episode 52: Power struggle

ZAYD
About this episode
Now that we’ve covered Haroon al Rashid’s foreign wars, we can get started with the messy conflicts which took place within the umma, and within his administration itself. The caliphate’s distant west slowly broke away during his reign, but his armies faced off and defeated various challengers across the rest of his lands. The Abbasid state was still powerfu ... Show More
Up next
Mar 2025
Episode 90: Conclusions
Now that we've completed our journey through the primary sources, it's time to reflect on all we've covered. We search for insights, not just about the umma's social evolution, but also how it remembers its own history. Thank you for listening! 
2h 27m
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
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
Yemen: From Civil War to World War?
The state of Yemen in 2023 is precarious. After the Arab Spring revolution descended into civil war, the Houthis have cemented their power over large swathes of Northern Yemen, while the traditional ruling parties have fractured and, in many cases, disintegrated. In this final ep ... Show More
1h 6m
May 2023
Why Empires Fall
For centuries, the Roman Empire commanded unparalleled control over the world around it. It expanded its borders through trade and conquest, sucking resources from the periphery into its thriving centre - Rome. And then, suddenly, everything changed. The Empire entered a state of ... Show More
41m 22s
Dec 2022
Episode 255 - The Third Crusade (part 1)
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
25m 14s
Jun 2023
The Shimabara Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Christian uprising in Japan and its profound and long-term consequences. In the 1630s, Japan was ruled by the Tokagawa Shoguns, a military dynasty who, 30 years earlier, had unified the country, ending around two centuries of civil war. In 1637 ... Show More
48m 3s
Jun 2023
The Shimabara Rebellion
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Christian uprising in Japan and its profound and long-term consequences. In the 1630s, Japan was ruled by the Tokagawa Shoguns, a military dynasty who, 30 years earlier, had unified the country, ending around two centuries of civil war. In 1637 ... Show More
48m 3s
Jan 2024
Nicholas Morton, "The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187" (Oxford UP, 2020)
Nicholas Morton’s The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medieval Near East, piecing together the fault-lines of conflict which entangled this much-contested region. This was an area where eth ... Show More
58m 49s
Aug 2023
Rome vs Persia: an unwinnable fight
The Roman empire was used to getting its own way – but there was one power it was never able to overcome. Despite frequent bouts of warfare, the Parthian and later Persian empire managed to hold its own against Rome for more than six centuries, until a new force emerged that woul ... Show More
42m 52s