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Sep 2020
24m 6s

Episode 5: Wasteful wars

ZAYD
About this episode
I would like to be the first to admit that this episode doesn't quite belong in this podcast. It's just that the Arabs will take down two ancient and powerful empires with a swiftness that beggars belief, and this is my attempt at explaining how such an unthinkable act could ever take place. In this episode we discuss the final war the two empires fought wit ... Show More
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Sep 2020
Episode 6: Omar ibn il Khattab
The reign of Abu Bakr lasted a little over two years, and he kept Omar close in order to prepare him for the role of caliph. But the leadership of the community Omar inherited came with the burden of waging two simultaneous wars against empires that had bordered the Arabs for as ... Show More
24m 50s
Sep 2020
Episode 7: Changing to stay the same
We mentioned many of the accomplishments of Omar ibn il Khattab in our last episode, and in this one we continue our discussion of the second caliph's reign. There was no going back for the Arabs after their historic victories had altered their world irreversibly, and a strong le ... Show More
26m 6s
Oct 2020
Episode 8: Quraysh’s finest
Omar’s bold and sweeping policies defined the caliphate and gave it the tools it needed to evolve past its origins as a tribal confederation. While his predecessor had shied away from such decision making, the old Abu Bakr at least had the foresight to pick his successor. The sec ... Show More
27m 1s
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