logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
33m 16s

Episode 75: Masters of Khurasan

ZAYD
About this episode
We have been focused exclusively on the capital province of Iraq ever since the outbreak of anarchy. While we had good reasons to keep a close eye on developments there, Khurasan can no longer be ignored. Not only had it always been a vital part of the Abbasid realm, but the relationship between the Arabs and their neighbors to the East practically defined A ... Show More
Up next
Nov 2023
Episode 76: Homegrown competition
Having covered the caliphate’s East last time, we must now do the same for its west. The anarchy left such a deep impact on the caliphate that we really need to take our time discovering its aftermath. The situation in Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the North was very messy, but ... Show More
32m 1s
Dec 2023
Episode 77: His brother’s keeper
Al Mu’tamid’s reign lasted from 870 to 892. The Abbasid Caliphate was reborn during these decades, midwifed by the caliph’s brother Talha, better known in history by his title al Muwaffaq. The new Abbasid state understood its limits and adopted a pragmatic but uncompromising appr ... Show More
27m 25s
Jan 2024
Episode 78: Al Mu’tadid
Get ready for a blast from the past! Perhaps I should have prepared you for a weak pun instead. Hearing about this caliph’s reign will transport us back to his great-grandfather al Mu’tasim’s days. Much like his esteemed ancestor, the energetic new leader commanded his armies in ... Show More
34m 3s
Recommended Episodes
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
Mar 2024
Khalid Ibn Al-Walid - Battle Of Yarmouk
To Heraclius the Arabs were a backward people living in a desert wasteland. The Arabs he knew were an unsophisticated lot in constant conflict with each other, just barely eking out an existence under the unforgiving desert sun. The Arabs were not a military threat let alone a mi ... Show More
15m 20s
Dec 2020
Ancient Egypt & Geopolitics
One of the luxuries of living in Ancient Egypt was that you were surrounded by massive deserts, protecting you from people who wanted to cut your head off. Well, at some point between 1650 – 1550 BC (who knows really), the Kingdom is invaded by barbarian hill people. The occupati ... Show More
1h 39m
Jun 2019
TGC The Ottoman Empire Part 1 of 2
By understanding the dramatic story of the Ottoman Empire - from its early years as a collection of raiders and conquerors to its undeniable power in the 15th and 16th centuries to its catastrophic collapse in the wreckage of the First World War - one can better grasp the current ... Show More
9h 20m
Jun 2019
TGC The Ottoman Empire Part 2 of 2
By understanding the dramatic story of the Ottoman Empire - from its early years as a collection of raiders and conquerors to its undeniable power in the 15th and 16th centuries to its catastrophic collapse in the wreckage of the First World War - one can better grasp the current ... Show More
9h 24m
May 2018
The Almoravid Empire
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Berber people who grew to dominate the western Maghreb, founded Marrakesh and took control of Al-Andalus. They were desert people, wearing veils over their faces to keep out the sand, and they wanted a simpler form of Islam. They called themsel ... Show More
49m 26s