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A three-part series revealing the dramatic story of Islam. The first programme examines the life of the prophet Muhammad, the rule of the first caliphs and how the political and religious force of Islam overwhelmed the great empires to the north and east, prefacing rapid and highly successful cultural and military expansion. Part 1 of 3.
The second programme in the series examines the profound influence of Islam on the intellectual development of the West during the Middle Ages. It covers the spread of Islam into Spain and the flowering of science, architecture, art and medicine as well as the achievements of the 'House of Wisdom' in what is now Baghdad. It also tells the story of the Crusades from the point of view of Islam and the recapturing of Jerusalem by Saladin the Great. Part 2 of 3.
The final programme in the series explores the rise of the Ottoman Empire, ending at the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The Ottoman Empire becomes the military powerhouse of its time, an empire of extreme wealth and sophistication, whose strength threatens the great power centres of Europe. This episode also provides a portrait of Suleiman, whose extraordinary legacy of architecture, art and treasure personifies the wealth and achievement of the Ottoman Empire at its height. Part 3 of 3.
We travel to Spanish archives to hear the firsthand accounts written in diaries discovered in the Archives of the Indies and in a private collection held by an ancestor of Pedro Menendez. This episode follows the survivors through their first year - through the artefacts and writings that unveil a very different America. Part 1 of 4.
A fleet of 42 pirate ships led by the Englishman Sir Francis Drake bore down on St Augustine, and burned the entire town to the ground. By 1607 when Jamestown was founded, St Augustine was undergoing urban renewal, but English colonists were ready to attack once again. In 1620 Plymouth was founded, and by 1664, 11 of the 13 British colonies had been established. Part 2 of 4.
In 1763, at the end of the Seven Years War in Europe, Spain ceded Florida to England in order to keep its valuable port of Havana. The entire city of St Augustine, except for a few families, fled to Cuba and Mexico to avoid British rule. This episode ends with the exile of 3000 Spanish residents of St Augustine to Cuba. As the Spanish move out, the British move in - and with them, slavery. Part 3 of 4.
Once the British colonists took control of Florida, they divided it into two parts, East and West Florida, which became the 14th and 15th British colonies. In 1812 the Patriot’s War began. Although East Florida won, in 1821 Spain handed both East and West Florida over to the Americans and Florida became US territory. Part 4 of 4.
On April 15, 1974, Patty Hearst walked into the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. Under video surveillance, and armed with an M1 machine gun, she became a symbol of revolution for radical groups. Part 3 of 6.
