When the Muslims Ruled in Europe – Documentary full (YouTube Video Transcript)

(00:00:00) Your YouTube transcript will appear here (00:00:09) the year is 1492 Christopher Columbus is (00:00:17) about to embark on his world shattering (00:00:19) voyage to the Americas and on his way to (00:00:24) the coast he stops off here at Granada (00:00:27) [Music] (00:00:39) he's the honored guest at a ceremony (00:00:41) hosted by the king and queen of Spain (00:00:43) Ferdinand and Isabella (00:00:47) [Music] (00:00:49) they are celebrating a grand victory up (00:00:54) until this day Grenada had been ruled by (00:00:57) Muslims but isabella has managed to (00:01:03) wrestle control from them (00:01:08) Ferdinand and Isabella's victory marks a (00:01:10) turning point for Spain and for Europe (00:01:12) the Middle Ages are over and the West is (00:01:15) about to embark on a new epoch of power (00:01:17) and discovery we tend to think of this (00:01:21) as the beginning of an era in fact it's (00:01:23) the climax of a forgotten chapter in (00:01:25) European history the rise and fall of (00:01:28) Islam in the West (00:01:31) [Music] (00:01:56) with Roger Kipling he rotates East is (00:01:59) East and West is West and never the (00:02:01) twain shall meet and it's a worldview (00:02:06) that still has currency today Islam and (00:02:10) Christianity seem to have become (00:02:12) ideological monoliths Citadel's whose (00:02:15) gates are firmly closed to one another (00:02:18) [Music] (00:02:21) but they haven't always lived such (00:02:23) separate lives in the year 711 ad Muslim (00:02:28) forces invaded Spain and created a (00:02:31) society so rich and so powerful it was (00:02:34) the envy of the known world this wasn't (00:02:37) the rigid ferocious Islam of our (00:02:39) imaginations but a progressive sensuous (00:02:43) intellectually curious culture that for (00:02:46) a number of spine-tingling years looks (00:02:49) set to sweep through the whole of Europe (00:02:51) it is an incredible story but one that (00:02:56) has been systematically written out of (00:02:58) history (00:02:58) [Music] (00:03:03) after the Catholic Monarchs took over (00:03:05) the city of Granada they began to (00:03:08) destroy all evidence that the Muslims (00:03:10) had ever been in Spain in the following (00:03:14) century the Spanish authorities (00:03:15) persecuted and expelled 300,000 Muslims (00:03:19) and burned as many as a million Arabic (00:03:22) books (00:03:23) [Music] (00:03:31) this was an astonishing act of ethnic (00:03:34) cleansing it put an end to a (00:03:36) civilization which had flourished in (00:03:37) Spain for seven hundred years these (00:03:43) people have become known as the Moors (00:03:50) [Music] (00:03:52) propaganda sparked by the Crusades has (00:03:56) given us an enduring image the (00:03:59) diabolical more of dark-skinned savage (00:04:03) alien enemy but this character is a (00:04:07) complete invention and tells us nothing (00:04:10) about who these people really were (00:04:12) [Music] (00:04:18) now archaeologists and historians are (00:04:20) starting to piece together the real (00:04:22) story of the Moors in Spain they're (00:04:25) uncovering the remains of hidden cities (00:04:27) discovering the role of Muslims in the (00:04:30) revival of the classics and decoding the (00:04:32) meaning of Islamic buildings a (00:04:36) fascinating picture has emerged I'm (00:04:40) gonna use this new research to explore (00:04:42) what happened when East met West of (00:04:44) Europe if there is one place which (00:04:50) challenges the stereotype of the (00:04:52) treacherous bloodthirsty more it's here (00:04:55) the elaborate palace in Granada the (00:05:01) alambre (00:05:02) is one of the most complete medieval (00:05:04) Islamic palaces in the whole world it (00:05:07) was built by the Muslim kings of Granada (00:05:09) in the 14th century at the height of (00:05:11) their power its name means the red one (00:05:16) because the dark surrounding soil has (00:05:18) given its stones and earthly reddish hue (00:05:23) the Marvel of the Alam Brown is its (00:05:26) mystery not a single account of life (00:05:29) here survives all its archives were (00:05:32) incinerated in the fires of the (00:05:34) Inquisition but the Catholics couldn't (00:05:38) bring themselves to destroy this place (00:05:40) the Alam breh is one of the wonders of (00:05:43) the medieval world and by preserving it (00:05:46) they've kept a box of Secrets that we (00:05:49) can use to decode the civilization that (00:05:51) built it inside the palace walls the (00:05:57) architecture is breathtaking (00:06:01) although the aesthetically courtyards (00:06:03) quite coolly minimal now in its heyday (00:06:06) it would have been not here to color (00:06:08) Grenada was very famous for producing (00:06:10) silks we've had such things billowing in (00:06:14) the breeze and he sought cushioning he (00:06:16) took rugs where people later to eat (00:06:18) their dinner and to listen to music in (00:06:21) fact it's only when you get down to rug (00:06:22) level that you appreciate one of the (00:06:24) bits of magic of the place as you dance (00:06:26) here this pool acts like an infinity (00:06:29) mirror and the whole of the Paris just (00:06:31) looks as if it's suspended in water (00:06:38) [Music] (00:06:42) every detail of the palace decoration (00:06:45) seems to be part of a scheme row upon (00:06:48) row of intricate geometric patterns are (00:06:50) carved into the woodwork of the walls (00:06:51) and windows this is the throne room (00:06:56) it was the symbolic center of the palace (00:06:58) and here the Sultan had a kind of (00:07:00) psychological advantage over his (00:07:02) subjects whereas he'd had stood here and (00:07:04) eerie silhouette they'd have been (00:07:06) blinded by the light that came streaming (00:07:08) in through these brightly colored (00:07:10) stained glass windows (00:07:15) [Music] (00:07:22) the 19th century writer Washington (00:07:25) Irving observed it's impossible to (00:07:27) contemplate this abode of oriental (00:07:29) manners without feeling the early (00:07:31) association of Arabian romance one (00:07:37) almost expects to see some dark eyes (00:07:39) sparkling through the lattice (00:07:42) [Music] (00:07:44) the abode of beauty is here as if it had (00:07:47) been inhabited but yesterday (00:07:51) [Music] (00:07:54) but this is far more than just a (00:07:56) beautiful building there's a specific (00:07:59) reason why it feels so harmonious the (00:08:02) men who built it had a knowledge of (00:08:04) complex geometry which had originated in (00:08:07) the ancient world the first man to set (00:08:09) down these mathematical principles was (00:08:11) the Greek philosopher Pythagoras (00:08:13) Pythagoras saw numbers everywhere in the (00:08:16) universe but his brilliance was to (00:08:19) understand the importance of the ratio (00:08:21) between them (00:08:22) [Music] (00:08:25) professor Antonio Fernandez Pettis has (00:08:28) spent his life studying the Alam breh (00:08:29) he's discovered that the whole of the (00:08:31) building from the ground plant the wall (00:08:33) decoration is based around one single (00:08:35) ratio I think everything is so perfect (00:08:42) because his average is under control of (00:08:44) the proportional I am very very simple (00:08:47) you notice that there is something magic (00:08:50) about this building recently marvelous (00:08:53) in the surroundings it's very very (00:08:58) simple is the relation between the (00:09:01) ground and the elevations of the (00:09:03) buildings is a simple as that the king (00:09:09) ordered a new palace he has a limited (00:09:12) area to build the palace - west east and (00:09:17) south he was limited then he did (00:09:20) something genius ingenious and beautiful (00:09:24) the king of Granada asked his architects (00:09:27) to harmonize each and every space within (00:09:29) the palace according to a single set of (00:09:32) proportions a family of rectangles each (00:09:35) related to the other if you want to get (00:09:40) proportional rectangle you have the same (00:09:43) base take the diagonal put it up yes and (00:09:49) though you've got successive rectangle (00:09:52) proportional rectangle (00:09:55) the key to the Alam Burris design is (00:09:57) this simple relationship between the (00:09:59) side of a square and its diagonal if we (00:10:03) use the diagonal to make a rectangle and (00:10:05) then the diagonal from that rectangle to (00:10:08) make another we get a progression of (00:10:10) rectangles the fourth rectangle is (00:10:15) double the size of the first and the (00:10:17) diagonals in this sequence are in fact (00:10:19) the square roots of two three four and (00:10:21) five (00:10:22) a magical sequence and are we doing all (00:10:27) this just with two sets where's and a (00:10:29) piece of string yes that's very clever (00:10:33) yes every part of the intricate network (00:10:37) of spaces all the courtyards hallways (00:10:39) the placement of every column was (00:10:42) designed using inspired variations of (00:10:44) this proportional system proportion is (00:10:47) also in the elevation (00:10:49) you have the kiosk here you built I (00:10:53) Square and with the diagonal you swing (00:10:56) it up (00:11:00) nothing violated this incredibly (00:11:02) elaborate system the alambre is a (00:11:06) triumph of mathematics as much as it is (00:11:08) of aesthetics (00:11:09) [Music] (00:11:14) mathematical ingenuity is the root of (00:11:17) its beauty (00:11:17) [Music] (00:11:23) but no one talks about this everyone (00:11:26) looks at the air Alondra just as an (00:11:27) aesthetic experience when you go to a (00:11:31) concert and you listen mosa you listen (00:11:37) better than you listen worthy you don't (00:11:41) know perhaps music but you notice that (00:11:45) there is something magic yes it happens (00:11:48) with that the same you feel it the (00:11:53) lumber is so enchanting it's all too (00:11:56) easy to view it as a fairytale palace (00:11:58) isolated from history but that is (00:12:02) romantic nonsense this palace was the (00:12:05) product of a very real very gritty (00:12:08) history the elaborate was built by a (00:12:11) religious Empire which at the pinnacle (00:12:14) of its power dominated land from China (00:12:17) to Africa an empire which had the wealth (00:12:20) and intellect to build such masterpieces (00:12:23) an empire whose history goes back to the (00:12:28) deserts of 7th century Arabia (00:12:30) [Music] (00:12:38) the alam bruh was the creation of the (00:12:40) richest most intellectually powerful (00:12:43) civilization in the world the roots of (00:12:47) this cultural and religious explosion (00:12:49) lie not in Spain but in the deserts of (00:12:51) Arabia (00:12:53) [Music] (00:13:00) at the beginning of the seventh century (00:13:01) in Saudi Arabia something happened which (00:13:04) was to change the religious makeup of (00:13:06) the world forever (00:13:07) [Music] (00:13:11) a merchant called Mohammed asserted that (00:13:14) he had been visited by the Archangel (00:13:16) Gabriel who had revealed to him the true (00:13:18) words of God these revelations which (00:13:22) came to Mohammed throughout his life (00:13:24) became known as the Quran and the (00:13:28) religion was Islam this is a time when (00:13:33) people were experimenting with all sorts (00:13:35) of cults and religions many of which (00:13:38) fell by the wayside but the Prophet (00:13:41) Muhammad and his followers made an (00:13:43) important move they traveled to a desert (00:13:46) oasis where they founded a city called (00:13:49) Medina with a foothold in Medina Islam (00:13:54) was no longer just a nomadic desert cult (00:13:56) it had an urban center with a social (00:13:59) structure as the religion grew bigger so (00:14:03) it grew more ambitious (00:14:08) territorial expansion was a (00:14:10) characteristic of nomadic Arabs well (00:14:12) before the arrival of Mohammed tribal (00:14:15) leaders would initiate rat Xia all raids (00:14:18) on their neighbors and with the advent (00:14:20) of Islam these gained some kind of (00:14:23) spiritual significance this is what one (00:14:27) commander was reported to have said in (00:14:28) one of the earliest ever Arabic (00:14:30) chronicles this land is your inheritance (00:14:33) and the promise of your Lord you've been (00:14:37) tasting it and eating from it you have (00:14:40) been killing its people and taking them (00:14:42) into captivity you are Arab chiefs and (00:14:47) notables if you renounce this world and (00:14:50) aspire to the Hereafter God will give (00:14:54) you this world and the Hereafter they (00:14:58) believed they were inspired by the power (00:15:00) of God (00:15:01) [Music] (00:15:04) within decades Islamic Arabs had reached (00:15:07) as far as Persia in the East in the West (00:15:10) they'd conquered Egypt Jordan and much (00:15:13) of North Africa and were within spitting (00:15:15) distance of Europe (00:15:18) but Islam wasn't only interested in (00:15:20) territorial expansion it was also a (00:15:23) faith committed to the pursuit of (00:15:26) learning among the prophets first (00:15:30) revelations was the instruction seek (00:15:33) knowledge this meant from the earliest (00:15:40) days of Islam literacy and religious (00:15:42) study went hand in hand whereas a number (00:15:46) of other religions of the day preferred (00:15:48) to keep literacy the privilege of a (00:15:50) clerical elite islam actively encouraged (00:15:53) it (00:15:54) in the ancient muslim city affairs in (00:15:58) morocco there are many examples of this (00:16:01) unique integration of religion and (00:16:03) education this is the korean mosque in (00:16:09) phezzan it stole the heart of religious (00:16:11) life here (00:16:13) it was founded in 1959 by a woman both (00:16:17) sister religious and as an educational (00:16:19) establishment mosques were used for (00:16:27) teaching grammar and literacy to (00:16:28) ordinary people in time colleges known (00:16:36) as madrassas were set up this is the (00:16:39) madrasa bou inania (00:16:41) its walls are covered with the rich (00:16:43) rhyming prose of the quran was key if (00:16:49) apathy then complain mosque is only part (00:16:52) of the conflicts which contains both it (00:16:54) and the madrasah we're in a log scale (00:16:57) often when the Sultan Abu anon found any (00:16:59) place he built a mosque alongside (00:17:01) madrasah his most symbolic llama llama (00:17:05) sketchy LD mosque built for prayer was (00:17:08) also a place which encouraged education (00:17:10) and learning or fail Arsenio Moscone for (00:17:14) the value in your principle as you can (00:17:16) see there is no separation (00:17:19) [Music] (00:17:21) okay look when the Quran was given to (00:17:25) the Prophet who was illiterate the angel (00:17:27) told him read these inscriptions carved (00:17:35) onto the walls are verses of poetry (00:17:38) control total of the Levant can be found (00:17:42) throughout the madrasa but i think the (00:17:45) most important section is here it is (00:17:50) what it says in Arabic is I am the (00:17:53) apogee of knowledge come you Muslims (00:17:59) come and learn because we've knowledge (00:18:02) you can become what you want to be in (00:18:06) the future (00:18:08) [Music] (00:18:12) Electric Nativa during the medieval (00:18:15) period knowledge was high on the agenda (00:18:17) in the Islamic world Muslim societies (00:18:20) produced many books in the various (00:18:23) spheres of knowledge and these books (00:18:25) came to be known worldwide it wasn't (00:18:32) just an enlightened attitude to reading (00:18:34) which placed learning at the heart of (00:18:35) the Islamic world necessity was also the (00:18:38) mother of invention because the Arabs (00:18:42) were nomads and desert traders who often (00:18:44) had to travel in the cool of the night (00:18:46) they were well versed in using the Stars (00:18:48) as guiding devices this developed into a (00:18:52) very sophisticated study of astronomy (00:18:54) then the establishment of Islam that (00:18:57) knowledge was applied a new way whenever (00:19:00) a mosque was built the prairies had to (00:19:02) be orientated in direct relation to (00:19:05) Mecca and there are a number of (00:19:06) religious festivals that had to fall on (00:19:08) certain days in the lunar year these (00:19:12) were complex mathematical problems for (00:19:14) which the Muslims devised precise (00:19:16) solutions Islam became a culture which (00:19:20) naturally embraced scientific and (00:19:22) mathematical investigation this (00:19:27) uninhibited attitude towards learning (00:19:29) when when Muslims encountered the (00:19:31) teachings of other cultures they seized (00:19:33) upon them vigorously (00:19:36) [Applause] (00:19:42) in the very early days of Islam Muslims (00:19:45) came into contact with a body of (00:19:47) knowledge which had been ignored by most (00:19:49) of northern Europe for centuries the (00:19:54) works of the ancient Greeks it's once (00:19:58) you look at a globe that it becomes (00:19:59) particularly easy to understand why the (00:20:02) Arabs were such natural inheritors of (00:20:04) Greek learning from the Bronze Age (00:20:07) onwards (00:20:07) they'd been a constant exchange of (00:20:10) artifacts and information all across the (00:20:12) eastern Mediterranean and in effect a (00:20:14) number of Greek ideas stem from Eastern (00:20:16) and Egyptian influences the bulk of this (00:20:20) knowledge was preserved in the great (00:20:21) schools and library at Alexandria and (00:20:24) then in 641 ad the Arabs take over the (00:20:28) city and at a stroke have direct access (00:20:32) to this precious learning (00:20:36) many of these texts found their way to (00:20:39) face this is an Arabic translation of (00:20:44) Aristotle with an additional commentary (00:20:46) by the Muslim scholar (00:20:48) avaris translation is done in Iraq and (00:20:51) then a virus does this commentary in Al (00:20:54) Andalus portal there's even an early (00:20:56) Arabic translation of the Bible it's (00:21:01) extraordin isn't it Arabic the lingua (00:21:03) franca there everybody's writing in (00:21:05) Arabic even the Bible chuckles so early (00:21:08) and that ends the Gospel of Mark the (00:21:10) Apostle the contrast with Europe at this (00:21:14) time could not have been greater here (00:21:18) ancient Greek texts and the rational (00:21:20) investigation they contained often (00:21:22) feared as blasphemous when the Prophet (00:21:25) Muhammad was born Christianity had (00:21:28) already been battling with paganism for (00:21:30) 600 years trying to persuade believers (00:21:33) to turn away from their old gods to the (00:21:35) one new God and because of that (00:21:38) Christians were often suspicious of (00:21:41) Greek and Roman pagan texts (00:21:43) [Music] (00:21:44) for instance in 529 ad the Christian (00:21:49) emperor justinian closed down the (00:21:51) athenian schools of philosophy set (00:21:57) against this vibrant Islamic culture (00:21:59) Europe can appear an introspective in an (00:22:02) intellectually cautious place it was (00:22:05) certainly a countenance in crisis after (00:22:09) the fall of Rome (00:22:10) there was a power vacuum in Europe with (00:22:12) rival tribes squabbling for territories (00:22:15) it was the start of what later Christian (00:22:17) scholars would describe as the Dark Ages (00:22:22) [Music] (00:22:23) while Europe lay unprotected and (00:22:26) vulnerable Islam was consolidating land (00:22:29) and power (00:22:32) by the beginning of the 8th century the (00:22:35) Arabs had converted the Berber tribes at (00:22:37) the very tip of North Africa and before (00:22:41) long troops were gathered on the coast (00:22:43) their eyes fixed on Europe (00:22:53) this little stretch of water between (00:22:55) Spain and Morocco is only 9 miles wide (00:22:57) but it's come to represent some kind of (00:22:59) cultural chasm between Europe and Africa (00:23:03) but in the 8th century when sea travel (00:23:05) was the way to get around that wasn't a (00:23:08) barrier it was a highway (00:23:16) [Music] (00:23:19) [Applause] (00:23:23) [Music] (00:23:28) in July 7-eleven 7000 Berber tribesmen (00:23:32) stormed across the Straits of Gibraltar (00:23:34) and invaded Europe (00:23:37) [Music] (00:23:39) the Muslims then began an incredible (00:23:41) process of expansion (00:23:45) in just four years (00:23:47) they'd colonized almost the whole of (00:23:49) Spain but cross the Pyrenees and were (00:23:51) only halted at pottier in France were it (00:23:57) not for this reverse an army which had (00:23:59) swept across two continents might easily (00:24:01) have crossed the English Channel and (00:24:03) occupied Britain the Muslims called the (00:24:07) country they came to al-andalus the land (00:24:11) of the vandals this refers to the (00:24:13) Germanic tribe who ruled Spain at the (00:24:15) time the Visigoths Spanish historians (00:24:21) have traditionally seen the Muslim (00:24:22) invasion of Spain as a terrible and (00:24:24) violent attack an assault on Christian (00:24:27) Europe in fact here in the Visigothic (00:24:38) science of rock operas near Madrid (00:24:40) archaeologists have found evidence which (00:24:42) offers a rather different explanation (00:24:45) the city of Raqqa police in fact a was (00:24:49) the Royal City founded by the Visigoths (00:24:52) in order to demonstrate the power of the (00:24:55) new state dimension were a spectacular (00:25:00) for this period and this complex is the (00:25:04) the most important discovery in Western (00:25:07) Europe what was it at the time that the (00:25:10) the Muslims were invading but what was (00:25:13) the state of the city then they found it (00:25:15) not only here in this part of Iberia (00:25:17) that in everywhere of al-andalus (00:25:20) a they founded a cities in crisis social (00:25:27) crisis of urban crisis the traditional (00:25:30) explanation is this idea that when the (00:25:33) Arabs came the society collapses and the (00:25:37) city policy is not source is not third (00:25:40) the collapse of the city started (00:25:43) building the Visigothic period (00:25:48) if you read the Orthodox Spanish (00:25:50) histories then you'll learn that (00:25:52) predatory Muslim hordes forcibly (00:25:55) appropriated Visigothic Spain (00:25:57) unnecessarily were some invasion battles (00:26:00) but at many places like here a track up (00:26:03) lists it seems that the newcomers were (00:26:05) actually welcomed with open arms (00:26:07) we even have treaties where the (00:26:09) Visigoths soozee a Stickley hand over (00:26:12) their land in return for effective (00:26:14) muslim protection when you're excavating (00:26:17) did you find any evidence of violence at (00:26:20) the time of the Arab invasion we don't (00:26:22) have evidence of violence not not at all (00:26:25) in in this area was a peaceful and their (00:26:28) ecology in so in another landscape no (00:26:31) explanation the Muslims started to build (00:26:38) a new society (00:26:43) the enthusiasm for learning that the (00:26:45) Islamic world had spent years nurturing (00:26:47) was about to be transmitted to Europe we (00:26:52) went into Spain not to fight against the (00:26:55) people there but to save them from the (00:26:58) tyranny of the Latins and others that (00:27:00) govern them at the time al-andalus they (00:27:06) found a paradise on earth when the Arabs (00:27:11) changed location changed geography from (00:27:14) their inhospitable barren homeland and (00:27:20) move to a rich and fertile country this (00:27:25) was to transform the Arab mind this is (00:27:32) the secret of how such a great (00:27:35) civilization came to be born the (00:27:40) foundations of a new society had been (00:27:42) laid a self-confident progressive and (00:27:45) sophisticated civilization had arrived (00:27:48) among the failing states of Europe (00:27:52) and the continents history was about to (00:27:54) be transformed (00:27:55) [Music] (00:28:02) the Muslim invasion of Spain had been (00:28:05) swift and effective but it lacked a (00:28:07) strong leadership the first wave of (00:28:10) invaders were north african tribesmen (00:28:12) then he recently converted to islam and (00:28:15) without connections to the power base of (00:28:17) arabia but this was about to change in (00:28:27) the capital of the Muslim world a (00:28:29) political coup left all the members of (00:28:31) the ruling dynasty massacred all that is (00:28:35) except for one a prince called Abdul (00:28:38) Rahman (00:28:40) abdul rahman was in his late teens when (00:28:43) his family was massacred he managed to (00:28:45) escape the slaughter and fled to the (00:28:47) hills west of damascus (00:28:49) [Music] (00:28:52) his mother had been from North Africa (00:28:55) and abdur-rahman must have grown up (00:28:58) hearing tales of al-andalus (00:29:01) and so he made a dangerous journey (00:29:05) across the Nile and the deserts of Egypt (00:29:09) heading for those distant lands (00:29:12) [Music] (00:29:21) abdur-rahman brought culture and (00:29:23) learning from the center of Islamic (00:29:25) world straight to the heart of (00:29:27) al-andalus (00:29:31) when abdur-rahman arrived in Spain he (00:29:33) came here to Cordoba when a city was in (00:29:36) complete disarray that Roman bridge had (00:29:39) collapsed into the river but after (00:29:42) Rahman set to rebuilding the city you (00:29:46) have to remember that it's in this (00:29:48) context that the Arabs arrived (00:29:49) not as marauding destroyers but (00:29:52) sometimes the Savior's Abdul Rahman (00:29:57) brought cutting-edge technology for (00:29:59) irrigation to Spain almost immediately (00:30:02) the landscape was transformed (00:30:05) [Music] (00:30:10) [Applause] (00:30:12) palm trees lemon and orange groves (00:30:16) avocados artichokes and pomegranates (00:30:19) none of which had been seen in Europe (00:30:22) because of abdur-rahman sophisticated (00:30:25) trade network this new agriculture (00:30:27) created huge wealth and these riches (00:30:34) were used to build one of the greatest (00:30:37) cities in the world while the (00:30:42) inhabitants of London were still living (00:30:43) in wooden houses the people of Cordoba (00:30:46) had built a cosmopolitan city with a (00:30:48) population of over 100,000 the largest (00:30:52) settlement in Europe reports from (00:30:57) European visitors to Cordoba describe a (00:30:59) city with 70 libraries and over 300 (00:31:03) public baths (00:31:07) the accounts tell of houses with running (00:31:10) water and roads illuminated by (00:31:13) streetlights you often have to take (00:31:16) medieval sources with a fairly (00:31:18) substantial pinch of salt because an (00:31:20) conifers were extremely fond of (00:31:22) exaggeration but in fact the new (00:31:25) excavations here at Cordoba are actually (00:31:27) revealing a city that was just as rich (00:31:30) as the one that they described these (00:31:32) monumental palace walls belonged to a (00:31:34) Muslim aristocrat and this channel over (00:31:37) here is part of the water system that (00:31:39) brought Cordoba its famously effective (00:31:42) sewage works as well as the fountains (00:31:44) and the baths that so impressed all (00:31:46) those European visitors Cordoba was (00:31:53) described by a 10th century German (00:31:55) visitor as the ornament of the world (00:32:03) one of the reasons it's been so (00:32:05) difficult to investigate Islamic Kolbert (00:32:07) is that the city's being built up on (00:32:10) itself like a kind of layer cake but (00:32:13) here the archaeologists have taken away (00:32:14) the modern level to reveal that Islamic (00:32:17) layer there and then down at the bottom (00:32:19) a Roman mosaic abdur-rahman built (00:32:25) cordova on top of what had been one of (00:32:26) the largest cities in rome in spain (00:32:28) outshining all that went before and his (00:32:34) greatest achievement was this the Great (00:32:38) Mosque of Cordoba (00:32:43) [Music] (00:32:59) [Music] (00:33:07) [Music] (00:33:09) with a floorspace the size of four (00:33:12) football pitches this is the largest (00:33:15) mosque in western Islam (00:33:19) the forest of 600 marble columns (00:33:21) disappear into the distance (00:33:23) creating a mesmeric infinity effect (00:33:28) on the columns arches balanced on top of (00:33:31) one another (00:33:33) it's shell-shaped brownish has an (00:33:36) extraordinary acoustic making any words (00:33:38) spoken inside audible to the entire (00:33:41) congregation (00:33:43) [Music] (00:33:51) [Music] (00:33:58) [Music] (00:34:06) when the mosque was first built these (00:34:08) archways would have been opened to allow (00:34:10) people and like to stream in and out and (00:34:13) this courtyard was a central part of the (00:34:15) complex people would come here to richly (00:34:17) purify themselves before they worships (00:34:19) or just to gossip and do business (00:34:25) abdur-rahman x' original mosque was only (00:34:27) a fraction of the size of the building (00:34:29) that stands today over a period of two (00:34:32) hundred years rulers would extend the (00:34:34) mosque three times it's been suggested (00:34:38) that the mosque was enlarged because (00:34:39) speech new ruler of the city wanted to (00:34:41) stamp his authority on the building but (00:34:47) there's also a more straightforward (00:34:48) explanation the Cordoba mosque had to (00:34:53) accommodate the burgeoning number of (00:34:55) worshippers the Muslim population of (00:34:58) Spain was growing fast (00:35:03) [Music] (00:35:08) modern Spain has been reluctant to (00:35:10) acknowledge that its indigenous (00:35:11) population converted to Islam in droves (00:35:16) standard history books present the (00:35:18) Muslim occupation of Spain is something (00:35:20) that was superficial just a surface (00:35:24) colonisation by an Arab elite not a (00:35:27) presence that had any kind of lasting (00:35:29) impact on the bulk of the population new (00:35:34) archaeological evidence is turning that (00:35:37) idea on his head (00:35:41) [Applause] (00:35:42) [Music] (00:35:43) all over Spain cities like Cordoba were (00:35:46) established even Madrid was founded by (00:35:51) Muslims the original Arab walls still (00:35:54) stand behind the royal palace Muslim (00:35:58) communities spread through Spain we see (00:36:00) remains dating from the time of (00:36:02) al-andalus almost everywhere not only in (00:36:05) the south of Spain but also in other (00:36:06) parts of a Spain they are emerging lots (00:36:08) of sites fortresses villages and cities (00:36:11) almost everywhere people were Arab eyes (00:36:14) loosing the form of Latin they were (00:36:16) speaking unto them and their way Islam (00:36:18) is in the sense that they dropped (00:36:19) Christianity aren't converted to Islam (00:36:22) in massive numbers were these forced (00:36:26) conversions or was the idea of Islam (00:36:28) particularly attractive it's always very (00:36:30) difficult to say why someone converts to (00:36:33) another religion said but I think (00:36:36) there's no evidence of any force or (00:36:39) force first conversion at all in a way (00:36:41) the Islamization internalization of (00:36:44) territories like London's is very (00:36:47) similar to what happened to the Roman (00:36:49) Empire when people wanted to convert to (00:36:51) the values and the control values to the (00:36:54) religious values and to the way of (00:36:56) living or what seemed to be a superior (00:36:58) civilization which have lots of (00:37:01) advantages I think it's very easy to (00:37:03) forget that at this moment in time (00:37:05) Islam is a culture of innovation isn't (00:37:08) it he said it's drawing in ideas from (00:37:09) these it's a culture of phenomena (00:37:12) innovation the opportunities of living (00:37:15) because of the markets because of the (00:37:17) trade relations and so on which were (00:37:19) much more interesting (00:37:21) [Music] (00:37:26) the Islamization of Spain did more than (00:37:28) change the name of the gold that people (00:37:30) worship people converted because this (00:37:33) was a religion which had something to (00:37:34) offer them it had wealth it had social (00:37:36) structure and it had intellectual power (00:37:41) the Arabs brought in one innovation that (00:37:44) did more than any other to change the (00:37:46) cultural makeup of Europe and it's this (00:37:49) paper the idea almost certainly came (00:37:53) from the Chinese via trade exchange and (00:37:55) it is revolutionary technology unlike (00:37:59) parchment and vellum it's cheap and it's (00:38:01) easy to mass-produce and when the Arabs (00:38:04) come to Spain they start to open paper (00:38:06) making factories paper allows me to do (00:38:10) three things very effectively you can (00:38:13) gather information you can analyze and (00:38:17) develop ideas in a very precise way and (00:38:20) then you can disseminate your newfound (00:38:22) knowledge to a wider world and in the (00:38:25) 10th century that was a potent mix (00:38:30) cordobas love of books became legendary (00:38:32) whilst the Royal Library of France (00:38:34) contained 900 books in this period just (00:38:38) one of cordobas 70 libraries amassed (00:38:40) over half a million these books contain (00:38:44) some of the most sophisticated studies (00:38:46) of astronomy in the world in Northern (00:38:49) Europe at this time there is nothing but (00:38:52) there is nothing that can be considered (00:38:55) the result of sophisticated astronomy (00:39:00) why do you think Muslim scholars were (00:39:02) particularly interested in the heavens (00:39:04) and the revolution of the Stars I think (00:39:07) they were interested in science in (00:39:09) general terms for example calculating (00:39:15) the sacred direction if you have to say (00:39:18) your prayers you must have faced towards (00:39:20) Mecca calculating the direction of Mecca (00:39:25) from a given place is not so easy it is (00:39:28) a complicated mathematical problem for (00:39:31) which the Arabs had exact solutions from (00:39:35) the 9th century (00:39:37) one of the ways in which the Muslims (00:39:39) solved these problems was by developing (00:39:41) a Greek instrument called the astrolabe (00:39:44) this is a calculator foretelling the (00:39:46) time of night or day if it's lined up on (00:39:50) a star above the horizon the angle can (00:39:52) be registered with the movable needle (00:39:56) the measurement is then transferred to (00:39:59) the reverse side of the astrolabe where (00:40:00) a base plate represents the geographical (00:40:03) location and a star grid like a map of (00:40:06) the heavens shows the position of the (00:40:08) Stars (00:40:09) [Music] (00:40:10) by aligning the needle to the grid using (00:40:13) the measurements the time can be read (00:40:15) off the face of the astrolabe just like (00:40:17) a clock the astrolabe enables nighttime (00:40:23) navigation which helped to advance see (00:40:25) travel and this in turn set the stage of (00:40:28) the coming era of worldwide exploration (00:40:31) and discovery core turbine scientists (00:40:37) were streets ahead of the rest of Europe (00:40:38) especially when it came to Medicine this (00:40:42) account's comes from an Islamic (00:40:44) physician who encountered a Christian (00:40:46) doctor at work they brought me a knight (00:40:48) who had an abscess on his leg and a (00:40:51) woman suffering from consumption (00:40:52) I made a plaster for the night and the (00:40:55) swelling opened and improved for the (00:40:57) woman I prescribed a diet to revive her (00:40:59) consumption but then the Frankish doctor (00:41:03) arrived and objected bring me a strong (00:41:07) Knight with a well-sharpened battle ax (00:41:09) he said the knight struck a blow the (00:41:12) marrow of the legs spurted out and the (00:41:14) wounded man died on the spot (00:41:22) as for the woman their doctor affirmed (00:41:25) the devil must have entered her head (00:41:28) then he grasped a razor and cut an (00:41:30) incision in the shape of a cross (00:41:32) exposing the bone of the skull and (00:41:34) rubbing salt into the wound the woman (00:41:37) died in the instant I returned home (00:41:40) having learned much about the medicine (00:41:43) of the Christians (00:41:45) [Music] (00:41:46) the hospitals of Cordova were performing (00:41:48) operations which wouldn't be seen in the (00:41:50) rest of Europe for hundreds of years the (00:41:54) city's most famous surgeon was a man (00:41:56) called Abu cassis he spent 40 years (00:41:59) compiling a hugely influential medical (00:42:02) compendium chapter 30 dealt with surgery (00:42:05) and these are just some of the (00:42:07) instruments that were illustrated in (00:42:09) that chapter this is a specialist device (00:42:16) used by surgeons for the relief of (00:42:19) hypertension and these two over here (00:42:24) were employed to perform successful (00:42:28) tracheotomies and in fact the abou (00:42:30) cassis method was still popular well (00:42:32) into the 20th century (00:42:34) [Music] (00:42:36) as well as large scientific collections (00:42:38) more everyday documents have survived (00:42:41) from Islamic Cordoba these give a (00:42:43) detailed insight to the society that was (00:42:45) created here what kinds of things are (00:42:48) being recorded on these bits of paper (00:42:49) this document as it was written (00:42:51) everything absolutely everything so does (00:42:54) that mean the people in the lower (00:42:56) classes of society could read yes there (00:42:58) are poor people with a very good (00:43:00) education education is a way to be a (00:43:04) better Muslim so being a better Muslim (00:43:06) is this means that you know they could (00:43:09) earn and soon you know everything of the (00:43:12) law the law is not the King law it is (00:43:16) the god law divine law divine law have (00:43:19) you got any physical examples of (00:43:21) existence I have I have one whether it (00:43:24) is a contract about plowing the land for (00:43:29) two years we have to plant it with wit (00:43:32) and food and he gets from this this (00:43:36) proportion of the production the Muslim (00:43:39) give the new thing the land is mine I (00:43:42) ran to use the land and you give me a (00:43:44) part of the production (00:43:50) people are interested not in having (00:43:53) hunting lands like Lord or Squire in (00:43:56) England the landlord rent his land and (00:44:01) it's empowering as well because if (00:44:03) you're the lowest rung of society and (00:44:04) yet you have some rights your own land (00:44:07) and you can keep a lot of the produce (00:44:08) yes (00:44:18) [Music] (00:44:20) [Applause] (00:44:21) every piece of evidence from Cordoba (00:44:23) adds to the picture of a civilized and (00:44:25) highly sophisticated city (00:44:27) it had Medical Center's an organized (00:44:29) legal system and libraries full of (00:44:32) academics and scientists working on (00:44:34) ideas which were lightyears ahead of (00:44:36) anything else in Europe by the 10th (00:44:39) century Cordova had become the official (00:44:41) capitol of al-andalus people flocked (00:44:48) here to work either in the city's shops (00:44:50) and markets or on rented land outside (00:44:56) in the year 912 a new ruler came to (00:45:00) power he was to take Cordoba to even (00:45:03) greater heights abdur-rahman the third (00:45:07) was Sony 21 when he became ruler (00:45:09) recordable with a resounding statement (00:45:14) of self-confidence he declared himself (00:45:16) the Caliph the commander-in-chief of the (00:45:20) faithful with that title he claimed to (00:45:23) be the supreme leader of the Islamic (00:45:25) world at a stroke he repositioned Muslim (00:45:30) Spain so it was no longer a Western (00:45:33) outpost but instead a key power in Islam (00:45:36) and to complement his role as caliph (00:45:40) Abdul Rahman a third built himself one (00:45:43) of the biggest royal palaces in the (00:45:46) world (00:45:47) [Music] (00:45:51) while the English kings of the same (00:45:53) period were living in modest wooden (00:45:55) halls abdur-rahman the third needed (00:45:59) 10,000 workmen to construct this (00:46:01) enormous Palace complex which was (00:46:04) decorated with African white marble (00:46:15) the alabaster palace surrounded by acres (00:46:17) of date-palms was described as a (00:46:20) concubine lying in the arms of a black (00:46:22) eunuch it was called Medina Al's aha (00:46:27) after the caliphs favorite archeologists (00:46:33) have reconstructed barely 10% of the (00:46:35) original side luckily they are they (00:46:37) don't meanie (00:46:38) the idea here is that the Calif (00:46:40) dominates what he's really doing with (00:46:45) the landscape is demonstrating that (00:46:47) Medina or Farah is the strongest (00:46:49) territory in the peninsula (00:46:54) lfyou light tile of Anwar via our (00:46:56) excavations reveal the city to be of the (00:46:58) cutting edge of technical architectural (00:47:00) unscientific develop now to do these on (00:47:07) such an enormous scale requires (00:47:08) incredible sophistication nothing like (00:47:13) this existed in the world at the center (00:47:16) of the complex lies Abdul Rahman throne (00:47:19) room what do you think drove Abdul (00:47:23) Rahman to build such an opulent place (00:47:26) what if he's hello to you are there (00:47:28) among these built during the last year (00:47:31) of his life it was a symbol of (00:47:33) consolidation of his economic and (00:47:36) political power (00:47:39) Hill Valley fascism - I existed on this (00:47:41) throne the Calif must have felt himself (00:47:43) master of all al-andalus his destiny (00:47:50) visitors from all over Europe were (00:47:53) received here a monk from Germany called (00:47:55) John of course left a record of his trip (00:47:58) he had to try and imagine the impression (00:48:00) in this place would have made on dawn of (00:48:01) course the balls were studded with tiles (00:48:05) made of silver and gold and on the roof (00:48:07) there was a lucrative representation of (00:48:09) the heavens mechanical liens broad in (00:48:13) the corridors and in the rafters there (00:48:15) were mechanical birds that twittered (00:48:17) away here in the center of the room (00:48:19) there were two bowls filled with mercury (00:48:21) that would catch the light and then send (00:48:23) it shattering back out to dazzle the (00:48:25) visitors (00:48:27) this is what was written about the (00:48:29) climax of his visit when John arrived at (00:48:32) the dais where the Caliph was seated (00:48:34) alone almost like a Godhead he saw (00:48:37) everything draped with rare and costly (00:48:39) coverings they do not use Thrones or (00:48:42) chairs as other people do but recline on (00:48:45) de vans or couches when conversing or (00:48:47) eating their legs crossed over one (00:48:49) another there is actually one detail at (00:48:53) this account misses out the Caliph did (00:48:55) have a throne and the Kanaka throne that (00:48:57) raised and then descended as if he was (00:49:00) levitating among his subjects a refined (00:49:06) court culture developed in the palace of (00:49:08) madinat al-zahra and this was to have an (00:49:11) unexpected influence on the rest of (00:49:13) Europe what would the soundscapes of the (00:49:19) palaces have been in the tenth century (00:49:20) perhaps the most basic level would be (00:49:24) the sounds of all the different (00:49:25) fountains and small running currents (00:49:29) artificial rivers running from room to (00:49:31) room (00:49:35) on top of that we could have heard layer (00:49:38) upon layer of different types of music (00:49:41) and singing a variety of different (00:49:44) professional instrumentalists we could (00:49:47) easily heard of duped players sitting in (00:49:49) a corner or in any of the various (00:49:51) different entry ways (00:49:54) [Music] (00:49:57) there would be a slightly more formal (00:49:59) presentation of a singing girl what were (00:50:07) these sing is expected to do were they (00:50:09) concubines as well well in some sense (00:50:11) we're doing an injustice by just (00:50:14) referring to them as singers these women (00:50:17) were entertainers at every level they (00:50:20) had to be able to converse they had to (00:50:22) be able to discuss intelligent subjects (00:50:24) they had to be able to compose poetry (00:50:26) recite poetry for Arabs poetry is the (00:50:33) single most important part of their (00:50:35) culture if we look at a picture of the (00:50:38) entire world there are only three (00:50:41) cultures that we know of that had (00:50:43) developed end rhyme by the seventh (00:50:46) century China India and the Arabs this (00:50:52) early Arabic love poetry directly (00:50:54) influenced the development of literature (00:50:56) in the rest of Europe (00:51:00) one of the primary characteristics of (00:51:02) this poetry is a constant focus on the (00:51:05) feelings of the lover the poet is always (00:51:08) complaining of the pangs of love and the (00:51:10) distance of the beloved and we quite (00:51:12) frankly almost never hear from the (00:51:14) beloved love is a welcomed malady those (00:51:20) who are free of it one not to be immune (00:51:22) and those who are stricken one not to be (00:51:27) cured the pain of separation and (00:51:33) unrequited love are concepts that are (00:51:35) very familiar to us and there is a (00:51:37) direct connection to that early era (00:51:39) poetry in England some of our earliest (00:51:48) and most enduring stories are romantic (00:51:50) tales of knights and damsels a courtly (00:51:53) love tradition brought here by (00:51:55) travelling French poets called (00:51:56) troubadours (00:51:58) [Music] (00:52:01) and those troubadours were inspired by (00:52:05) their singing slave girls of al-andalus (00:52:09) the courtly love tradition has long been (00:52:11) seen as something European it came to (00:52:16) form the basis of the Western concepts (00:52:18) of romantic love but is cornerstone of (00:52:21) our culture originated in Islamic Spain (00:52:26) perhaps one of the most exciting moments (00:52:29) the transferor who will Arab music and (00:52:31) poetry from the south to the north (00:52:33) happens in the year 1064 in the city of (00:52:36) Barbra through neighboring French (00:52:41) Knights besieged the city which folds (00:52:45) it's booty includes hundreds of singing (00:52:48) girls who go to the second-in-command (00:52:49) William the eighth of Aquitaine he would (00:52:54) receive a large number of Moorish (00:52:57) singing girls which he then took back (00:52:59) with him to France he died at a fairly (00:53:02) young age and his heir William the ninth (00:53:05) inherited this household at age fifteen (00:53:08) and William the ninth is known to us in (00:53:11) literary history as the first troubadour (00:53:15) [Music] (00:53:16) so it's almost positive that William the (00:53:20) ninth would not only have grown up as a (00:53:22) child in a household in which there were (00:53:25) Arab singing girls at the age of fifteen (00:53:27) he actually became their master (00:53:34) it's one of the few moments where we can (00:53:36) say that there's a transfer of singing (00:53:39) the girls from this point to that point (00:53:41) and then the point of reception is (00:53:43) precisely where the first flourishing of (00:53:46) troubadour poetry emerges but the (00:53:53) glorious Court of Medina al-sakhra was (00:53:56) not last forever within the palace was (00:54:00) so in the very seeds of its destruction (00:54:05) [Music] (00:54:07) abdur-rahman 1/3 had invested much of (00:54:09) his money an interest in art and culture (00:54:11) and had paid very little attention to (00:54:14) the military there were no generals at (00:54:17) court and citizens didn't have to serve (00:54:19) in the army isn't that a more important (00:54:22) aboard this is important don't be mean (00:54:23) the mere fact that the army can't (00:54:25) recruit from its own citizens means that (00:54:28) it has to recruit more and more (00:54:29) foreigners effectively mercenaries (00:54:32) scenarios this is part of the reason for (00:54:35) the conflict which led to the ultimate (00:54:37) collapse of the country (00:54:43) when an ambitious courtier usurped the (00:54:45) Caliphate the court split into factions (00:54:49) once the 300 year old dynasty cracked it (00:54:53) didn't take long for the palace to come (00:54:55) under attack (00:54:56) [Applause] (00:55:02) Medina al-sakhra was quickly smashed and (00:55:05) plundered (00:55:06) [Music] (00:55:11) these are the tell-tale signs that the (00:55:13) palace was violently destroyed their (00:55:16) scorch marks on the marble made when the (00:55:18) molten LED that supported the joist in (00:55:20) the roof melted as the palace was burnt (00:55:23) to the ground (00:55:25) Victoria of course the history of Spain (00:55:28) would have been very different if Medina (00:55:32) Farah had continued to exist and if the (00:55:35) Caliphate not disappear (00:55:42) Rockman the Third's unique dynasty had (00:55:45) come to a terrible end and in the north (00:55:49) of the country another religious power (00:55:51) was eyeing up the rich lands of (00:55:53) al-andalus its name was christened 'm (00:55:57) [Music] (00:56:09) Ilan de luces Golden Age was over by the (00:56:13) beginning of the 11th century (00:56:14) abdur-rahman dynasty in Cordoba had (00:56:16) collapsed into chaos and disorder (00:56:20) but what happened next was even more (00:56:23) devastating (00:56:24) [Applause] (00:56:26) in 1095 pope urban ii made a call to (00:56:29) arms (00:56:30) he ordered a war to remove islam from (00:56:33) the holy lands pope urban speech is (00:56:38) agitprop at its finest when an armed (00:56:42) attack is made against an enemy let (00:56:44) there be one resounding cry from the (00:56:46) soldiers of god it is the will of god it (00:56:49) is the will of god the crusades had (00:56:53) begun it didn't take long for this (00:56:56) zealous warrior mentality to rouse the (00:56:59) christians of northern spain and what (00:57:01) followed was as treacherous as any of (00:57:04) the crusades in the holy lands the (00:57:07) Christians had always held onto the far (00:57:09) north of the country and now they were (00:57:12) gaining ground al-andalus had fragmented (00:57:15) into a hodgepodge of isolated (00:57:17) city-states (00:57:21) suddenly Muslim Spain found herself (00:57:23) under attack (00:57:26) her palaces were raided and her cities (00:57:29) laid to siege between the 11th and the (00:57:33) 13th centuries an army of Christian (00:57:35) Kings took over the lands of al-andalus (00:57:38) [Music] (00:57:42) every year this conflict is reenacted in (00:57:45) towns across Spain Castillo knows this (00:57:51) the victors version of history (00:57:53) glamorizes what was actually a (00:57:55) dishonorable and genitive war comes they (00:58:00) break everything they come in summer (00:58:04) when the earth is almost dry they they (00:58:09) put it fine after that they cut the (00:58:13) trees the agriculture of al-andalus was (00:58:20) very sophisticated the more (00:58:24) sophisticated something the more fragile (00:58:27) is so the more easy is to break it (00:58:32) irrigation if you break the canal (00:58:37) there's no more water so for some years (00:58:43) people are starving so the scorched (00:58:46) earth listening (00:58:47) soon a brutal system of protection (00:58:50) rackets emerged there is an alternative (00:58:54) you pay me I don't destroy I don't burn (00:58:59) your house how could you give me I don't (00:59:03) cut your teeth how much do you give me (00:59:05) this one it is it is a way of the Mafia (00:59:09) in in Chicago for one century all the (00:59:13) different century all the Christian (00:59:15) Spain lives at expense of Muslim Spain (00:59:22) one by one the fragmented city-states of (00:59:25) al-andalus were terrorized (00:59:31) their solution was to fight fire with (00:59:33) fire (00:59:34) by bringing in troops from Morocco this (00:59:41) is the capital from the top of a column (00:59:43) in Cordoba (00:59:43) it's a buzzing little scene you've got (00:59:45) four musicians to her playing pipes and (00:59:48) to her playing lute but at some point (00:59:53) the faces of the musicians have been (00:59:55) smashed in this wasn't perpetrated by (00:59:59) Christian Raiders but by the new Muslim (01:00:02) Power who had come to help al-andalus (01:00:10) the troops who came as military support (01:00:12) were strict fundamentalists with a (01:00:14) fearsome fighting reputation they were (01:00:17) called the Almoravids the Almoravids (01:00:21) were a tribe of nomads from the sahara (01:00:23) they had black skin and wore veils that (01:00:26) covered everything apart from their eyes (01:00:29) when they entered a battle they wrote (01:00:31) light-footed versatile through horses (01:00:33) and took with them camels and elephants (01:00:36) but they were fiercest of all when it (01:00:38) came to religion they preached a return (01:00:41) to basic Muslim values and when they (01:00:44) came to al-andalus they were shocked by (01:00:46) what they found (01:00:47) there are people from the desert that is (01:00:50) people new born to the religion so they (01:00:53) have a hard feeling of it (01:00:58) evangelical Islam yeah absolutely (01:01:00) not accustomed to civilization yeah what (01:01:03) did they think had gone wrong with Islam (01:01:05) here they felt they had to purify things (01:01:07) they said this is people very accustomed (01:01:11) to civilization to science they are (01:01:13) talking with Christian with Jews this is (01:01:15) a mix that we don't like it we want (01:01:17) purified people with the barbaric (01:01:24) Christian Raiders on one side and these (01:01:27) new fundamentalist Muslims on the other (01:01:29) al Andaluz was crushed it descended into (01:01:33) corruption a Christian King would (01:01:37) provide military aid to a weak Muslim (01:01:40) king in return for a substantial payment (01:01:42) of gold coin (01:01:47) the whole of al-andalus was subjected to (01:01:50) this system of extortion the trouble is (01:01:56) modern Spain chooses to remember this (01:01:58) war rather differently the latter (01:02:03) Reconquista the reconquest is presented (01:02:07) as a valiant crusade in which Spain is (01:02:09) returned to its rightful Christian (01:02:11) owners this pantomime version of history (01:02:15) is personified in many of Spain's (01:02:16) national heroes the greatest of whom is (01:02:19) a night called Guzman el bueno (01:02:24) every town in Spain has a street named (01:02:27) after Guzman el bueno (01:02:29) he's one of the country's best loved (01:02:31) historical figures the story of when (01:02:36) Guzman defended the town of tarifa from (01:02:38) Muslim raids is well known in Spain (01:02:42) Guzman's descendants the Medina Sidonia (01:02:44) family became one of the richest (01:02:46) landowners in the country the Duchess of (01:02:50) Medina Sidonia (01:02:51) has discovered something remarkable (01:02:53) about her illustrious ancestor is the (01:03:00) first of the Griezmann family we know (01:03:01) about he is the founder of the family (01:03:04) gary venice turkish he came here and (01:03:06) lived in this very house (01:03:14) figuring this is our little family this (01:03:17) is a family archive although it's more (01:03:19) than that it is a rich source of (01:03:22) documents from the medieval period and (01:03:25) later was it right that one of your (01:03:28) ancestors was involved in the Spanish (01:03:30) Armada the 7th Duke was involved in that (01:03:34) campaign mr. window these document dates (01:03:42) from 1288 we know my ancestor was in (01:03:48) along the loose a year before because he (01:03:51) bought a farm and this document mentions (01:03:55) it's a permit for him to export 300 (01:03:58) bushels of wheat they raised him up on (01:04:01) the field yesterday look you can see the (01:04:03) word wheat and what it says is that he (01:04:08) is allowed to take this overseas to (01:04:10) where he is from (01:04:13) so because of the grammar you can tell (01:04:16) that he comes from overseas not that he (01:04:19) was just visiting from overseas oh it (01:04:21) wasn't see but or lament yes probably (01:04:25) refers to a place which was part of (01:04:27) Morocco much larger than than now the (01:04:30) place we neither wheat know he could (01:04:32) grow neither (01:04:34) [Music] (01:04:36) the doctors have discovered that her (01:04:39) ancestor the great Christian Knight (01:04:41) Guzman albano was actually a Muslim (01:04:52) well this is really a piece of human (01:04:55) history it dates to 1297 the king refers (01:04:59) to Guzman as my bachelor because he is a (01:05:02) foreigner vassal if it wasn't written (01:05:08) here I wouldn't believe it (01:05:11) here are my frequent it was very common (01:05:14) for Muslims to ally themselves with (01:05:15) Christian fractions (01:05:17) especially when Christians were warring (01:05:19) with each other it must have been quite (01:05:23) a surprise to discover that your your (01:05:24) ancestor was a Muslim see yes a great (01:05:28) surprise this is because there had been (01:05:30) a chronicle which dated back to the (01:05:33) sixteenth century in which the Guzman (01:05:36) family had cleaned up its political and (01:05:39) ethnic past Whitman was said to have (01:05:43) been born in them they didn't just do (01:05:48) this with the Goodman family but with (01:05:50) all the families that had doubtful (01:05:52) ancestors ancestors of doubtful race (01:05:55) they cleaned it all up (01:06:00) voiceover and when I got so little (01:06:03) unisex younger we have a whole load of (01:06:05) documents here from the Spanish register (01:06:08) when they turn everything we know about (01:06:11) Spanish history upside down the Spanish (01:06:17) are simply imprinting history so kunafa (01:06:20) they have turned history into my face (01:06:26) the idea that the Christians and the (01:06:28) Muslims were fighting a holy war was (01:06:31) created in Spain long after the (01:06:33) reconquest actually took place (01:06:37) even Spain's most famous hero the swash (01:06:40) buckling El Cid is caught up in this (01:06:43) fantasy in films and books (01:06:47) El Cid is celebrated as a kind of (01:06:49) Christian pinup a crusader in the fight (01:06:55) against the terrible more but El Cid (01:06:58) spent his life like our bueno as a (01:07:00) mercenary fighting for whomsoever would (01:07:04) pay him the name seed means the master (01:07:07) in Arabic so else it's an Arabic name (01:07:10) yes in fact he was the king of Valencia (01:07:13) when Valencia was an Islamic city and he (01:07:16) didn't change anything there so he had (01:07:18) Muslim allies that's it that's not the (01:07:21) story you hear it no I think the history (01:07:24) is much more interesting that the (01:07:27) history you hear so he was a Christian (01:07:29) King but he didn't force the Muslims (01:07:31) that he controlled to convert no no it (01:07:34) was in fact we cannot see the Rican kiss (01:07:38) as a process of compassion this is a (01:07:41) process of trial and error of people (01:07:44) gaining lands and people gaining (01:07:46) prestige it's just real politic it's (01:07:49) it's all about that's it we are painting (01:07:51) now everything within religious ideology (01:07:54) but it's not it's a religions a kind of (01:07:57) convenient excuse rather than the (01:07:58) driving force (01:07:59) absolutely a religion it's always an (01:08:02) excuse el sidrón Guzman help when I went (01:08:07) simply Christian soldiers fighting a (01:08:09) Muslim enemy if anything this was a (01:08:12) civil war with both sides desperately (01:08:15) scrabbling for land and wealth the idea (01:08:21) that the reconquest was something cut (01:08:23) and dried black and white something that (01:08:26) cleaned up society is absurd I don't (01:08:28) know who came up with that idea (01:08:30) the Spanish historian palencia who said (01:08:33) that the Reconquista was nothing but a (01:08:36) civil war between Spaniards of two (01:08:38) different faiths (01:08:42) Spain is full of dazzling reminders of (01:08:46) how the righteous Christians won the (01:08:48) country back from the diabolical more (01:08:51) [Music] (01:08:52) the country's most popular saint is (01:08:54) called Santiago Matamoros son James the (01:08:58) more Slayer (01:09:00) but this romanticized version of history (01:09:03) distorts the true nature of this (01:09:05) conflict this was not a holy war (01:09:12) Al Andalus was destroyed in a dirty grab (01:09:15) for land which lasted for over 300 years (01:09:23) and in this conflict the more refined (01:09:25) society was the one least equipped for (01:09:28) war (01:09:29) [Music] (01:09:37) it was the Christians who had little to (01:09:39) lose and most to gain (01:09:50) and what happened when the Christians (01:09:54) began to take over exposes a curious (01:09:57) respect for Muslim culture when the (01:10:02) Christian King Peter took control of (01:10:04) Seville in 1248 this is what he had made (01:10:08) [Music] (01:10:12) it is a beautiful building it was built (01:10:17) for a Christian and yet in every way it (01:10:20) resembles an Islamic palace (01:10:24) [Music] (01:10:29) on the walls there are inscriptions from (01:10:32) the Koran and above the door (01:10:34) there are dedications to its owner (01:10:35) calling him caliph rather than King (01:10:42) the conqueror has been conquered by the (01:10:45) culture it's a tiny bit unexpected that (01:10:53) when this Christian king rebuilt this (01:10:55) palace he made it appear so Arabic it (01:10:59) feels as if we're in the Alhambra here (01:11:01) well this palace has many relations with (01:11:04) the lumber especially with the court of (01:11:06) Lyons both builders king mohammed v of (01:11:10) Granada and King Peter the first of (01:11:13) Castile were friends you have to (01:11:17) consider that in Europe at this time (01:11:20) there was not an architecture of such (01:11:22) splendor comparable to London and this (01:11:26) made a have very big attraction for the (01:11:29) Christians and this is why this (01:11:31) architecture was used by the Christian (01:11:34) to show you the nobility of the kingdom (01:11:36) the power the authority this room (01:11:40) covered with this marvelous dome (01:11:46) it symbolizes power because he's the the (01:11:51) heavens that turns around the king but (01:11:59) the legacy of al-andalus was to affect (01:12:02) more than the architecture of Europe (01:12:06) in the midst this terrible struggle (01:12:08) something incredible was to happen which (01:12:11) would fire the minds of Europeans and (01:12:14) expand our intellectual horizons at the (01:12:27) same time that it was being splintered (01:12:28) by Christian encroachments al-andalus (01:12:31) was at the center of one of the most (01:12:32) influential shifts and thinking that (01:12:34) Europe has ever seen (01:12:37) [Music] (01:12:46) between the Middle Ages and the modern (01:12:47) era Europe underwent a massive (01:12:50) intellectual and cultural revolution (01:12:55) this shift known as the Renaissance (01:12:58) transformed the human experience it (01:13:00) prompted the exploration of science and (01:13:02) the arts and changed the way that men (01:13:04) and women saw themselves in relation to (01:13:06) God the Renaissance and the Scientific (01:13:09) Revolution that followed were critical (01:13:11) stages in the development of Europe (01:13:17) the origins of the Renaissance are (01:13:19) generally believed to lie in Italy where (01:13:22) a renewed interest in the classics had a (01:13:23) huge impact on art and culture but the (01:13:27) foundation to the Renaissance were laid (01:13:29) much earlier and not in Italy but in a (01:13:32) town called Toledo in Islamic Spain (01:13:41) Toledo was one of Allen de luces (01:13:43) vulnerable city-states and in 1085 the (01:13:46) Christians seized control of it (01:13:53) unusually the handover went very (01:13:55) smoothly and as a result the Muslims (01:13:57) already living in Toledo were allowed to (01:13:59) remain as citizens and their mosques (01:14:01) were left untouched the city that (01:14:05) emerged accommodated both Muslim and (01:14:08) Christian Spain at this time is a (01:14:12) paradox on one hand tensions between (01:14:15) Muslims and Christians are becoming (01:14:16) unbearable and yet on the other there is (01:14:19) a hugely beneficial intellectual (01:14:22) evolution that is only possible because (01:14:24) Muslims and Christians are living (01:14:26) side-by-side (01:14:31) when Toledo fell to the Christians its (01:14:34) doors were opened to travelers and (01:14:36) intellectuals from all over Europe these (01:14:39) people mixed with the Muslims in the (01:14:41) city learning their language and reading (01:14:43) their books many of the adventurers came (01:14:48) from England in the late 1100s an (01:14:52) Englishman known as Dale of Morley (01:14:54) travelled to Europe to study that as his (01:14:58) autobiography reveals he was disgusted (01:15:01) with what he found there I stopped a (01:15:04) while in Paris and there I saw asses (01:15:07) rather than men's pretending to be very (01:15:10) important (01:15:11) they had desks in front of them heaving (01:15:13) under the weight of two or three (01:15:14) immutable tomes but because they did not (01:15:17) know anything there were no better than (01:15:19) marble statues I did not want to get (01:15:22) infected by a similar petrifaction but (01:15:25) when I heard that the doctrine of the (01:15:27) Arabs was in fashion in Toledo (01:15:29) I hurried there as quickly as I could so (01:15:32) that I could hear the wisest (01:15:34) philosophers in the world (01:15:37) just as the fall of Alexandria had made (01:15:39) a massive body of Greek knowledge (01:15:41) available to the Arabs (01:15:42) 400 years previously now the Christian (01:15:45) conquest of Toledo past this storehouse (01:15:48) of knowledge onto Europeans who flocked (01:15:50) here in their hundreds at the backs of (01:15:54) shops and in courtyards groups of men (01:15:56) started to gather together Christians (01:15:58) Muslims and Jews to work contacts that (01:16:01) have been stored in the archives of (01:16:03) mosques and churches these were (01:16:05) extraordinary manuscripts translations (01:16:09) of Aristotle and Plato were nuclear as (01:16:11) well as original works by Arabic (01:16:13) mathematician and astronomers and (01:16:14) alchemists this was a resource like no (01:16:18) other in the rest of Europe it was (01:16:20) intellectual dynamite people came from (01:16:26) all over Europe all these works that (01:16:29) were lost in Europe could be found in (01:16:31) Toledo there was loss of wisdom here how (01:16:35) did the translators work together here (01:16:36) in Toledo in the first period there was (01:16:39) usually two people working together and (01:16:42) then a loud person who was learning in (01:16:44) Latin would write it down in Latin and (01:16:46) now that was I think the target of (01:16:49) working together and it was very clear I (01:16:50) think it really made it more accurate (01:16:52) because it was a Teel work (01:16:56) however these manuscripts being kept in (01:16:59) Toledo well most of the translations (01:17:02) were carried out in the 12th and 13th (01:17:04) century that means for almost 900 years (01:17:08) most of them in here we have the preface (01:17:16) in bread that's where we learn about the (01:17:18) process of translation in this case we (01:17:21) read this book was translated by Jer of (01:17:24) cremona it is a medical treatise by even (01:17:28) Cena back Avicenna and it was translated (01:17:31) up Arabica from arabic in latinum into (01:17:35) latin in it's a very rich document you (01:17:40) get a sense of how valued these things (01:17:42) were and there is all these little (01:17:45) glosses on the right-hand side (01:17:47) people have been adding comments or (01:17:50) explaining words that were not clear (01:17:53) [Music] (01:18:01) [Applause] (01:18:01) [Music] (01:18:03) [Applause] (01:18:04) [Music] (01:18:08) as I said looks like it's a workers (01:18:11) arrest of losers yeah this is the (01:18:13) rhetorica by aristotle rhetorica arrests (01:18:16) rottenness here we are is man's work (01:18:18) unit hermana Sally - yeah her manager (01:18:21) manager even Germans came all the way to (01:18:24) tell her to find all these texts in this (01:18:27) case it is a commentary by other Luis on (01:18:31) the text of Aristotle and both are (01:18:34) translated together so it's got added (01:18:36) value because you've got new Arabic (01:18:37) thoughts coming into the classical yeah (01:18:39) they are adding they are supplementing (01:18:41) now they are completing what was (01:18:44) transmitted from the ancient world (01:18:48) knowledge really is power that at this (01:18:50) time in history is having a book of was (01:18:52) something very very valuable gia and (01:18:55) Jonas process the words slipped from one (01:18:58) language to another (01:19:00) absolutely academia that world came into (01:19:03) Western languages as chemistry but we (01:19:07) have another war alchemy that comes (01:19:10) originally from Greek through Arabic (01:19:13) they added the article in Arabic al (01:19:16) indulge a alchemy (01:19:20) English is full of words which came into (01:19:22) the language from Arabic in this way (01:19:24) [Music] (01:19:30) many of them describe mathematical (01:19:33) concepts which were completely new to (01:19:36) Europe algorithms are named after an (01:19:42) Arabic mathematician and the concept of (01:19:45) zero comes from the Arabic cifra which (01:19:48) means empty that's where we get our word (01:19:50) cipher from but of course the most (01:19:53) obvious and lasting impact is the use of (01:19:56) Arabic numerals and in this Spanish (01:19:59) Latin text which dates from around about (01:20:01) 986 ad we have the first example of (01:20:05) Arabic numerals written in Europe here (01:20:09) they are (01:20:09) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 imagine trying to do (01:20:20) something like multiplication with Roman (01:20:22) numerals (01:20:25) once the numbers get above a certain (01:20:27) amount they are ridiculously unwieldy (01:20:31) [Music] (01:20:33) this new agile numerical system made (01:20:37) everyday things like bookkeeping and (01:20:38) accounting more accessible mathematics (01:20:42) develops and the construction of complex (01:20:45) architectural projects became much (01:20:48) easier (01:20:49) [Music] (01:21:02) recently archaeologists renovating the (01:21:05) roof Timbers of Salisbury Cathedral in (01:21:07) England made a discovery which clarifies (01:21:10) this story (01:21:11) [Music] (01:21:20) on some of the beams that support the (01:21:23) roof there are a series of numbers that (01:21:25) were carved around 1200 ad when the (01:21:28) cathedral was built that's of 3 and (01:21:32) obviously it's familiar to us today but (01:21:36) in its time it's a curious and (01:21:38) progressive symbol at this time everyone (01:21:45) in England was still using the clunky (01:21:47) old Roman numerals but here in the (01:21:49) rafters of one Cathedral a new trend (01:21:52) appears to have caught on these numbers (01:21:57) the numbers that we use today the fact (01:22:00) that they're here is proof that the (01:22:02) ordinary craftsmen who carved them (01:22:03) benefited from an explosion of knowledge (01:22:06) that started in arabia and spread (01:22:08) through Europe via Islamic Spain and the (01:22:14) travelers from Toledo brought more than (01:22:16) just practical knowledge back to England (01:22:18) after a number of years (01:22:20) Daniel Morley returned from Toledo his (01:22:23) cases crowned with documents and volumes (01:22:27) and when he arrived in England he made (01:22:29) an appointment to pan this precious (01:22:31) booty over to his patron who was a (01:22:33) bishop this benefactor was one of a team (01:22:36) of scholars who wanted to establish (01:22:38) their town as a center of learning and (01:22:42) the name of the town was Oxford (01:22:44) [Music] (01:22:46) the universities that were founded in (01:22:48) Paris belong you're an Oxford at this (01:22:50) time based their new curriculum on the (01:22:52) radical ideas which were pouring out of (01:22:54) Toledo one of Daniel at Molly's (01:22:57) compatriots the man called an lardo (01:22:59) baths published this volume just after (01:23:02) he got back from Toledo and it's a (01:23:04) collection of 76 very basic questions (01:23:07) like why is the sea salty why are there (01:23:11) tides how does the globe (01:23:14) hang in the air and do animals have (01:23:16) souls (01:23:17) the questions are seemingly simple but (01:23:20) they embody a new spirit of rational (01:23:23) inquiry where a blind faith in God is (01:23:26) challenged and a lardo bath admits his (01:23:30) debt to the Muslims in pursuing this (01:23:32) line of inquiry (01:23:33) he writes from the Arabs I have learnt (01:23:35) one thing to lead by reason I will (01:23:40) detract nothing from God (01:23:41) but very carefully listen to the limits (01:23:44) of human knowledge only where this (01:23:47) utterly breaks down should we refer (01:23:50) things to God (01:23:53) the Muslims developed a massive program (01:23:56) of translations in which they translated (01:23:59) from Greek into Arabic everything that (01:24:03) had reached them and this was something (01:24:08) that was promoted but the whole society (01:24:11) and the result of this is that they (01:24:14) translated practically all Greek (01:24:17) knowledge there is a first period in (01:24:22) which they translate and they learn they (01:24:25) assimilate later they had learned enough (01:24:29) and they began to produce original works (01:24:33) by themselves and to criticize great (01:24:36) science and of course one cannot say (01:24:40) that the Arabs were mere transmitters of (01:24:42) Greek science they were the people that (01:24:46) continued the work of Greek scientists (01:24:49) until they led all this research into a (01:24:54) final crisis and this final crisis with (01:24:58) the crisis that brought the Renaissance (01:25:01) and the Scientific Revolution (01:25:06) if they had not than this Renaissance (01:25:10) and Scientific Revolution would have (01:25:12) been impossible it would take time for (01:25:15) these groundbreaking ideas to become (01:25:17) assimilated into Christian Europe but (01:25:19) once they were Western intellect was (01:25:22) transformed the works of Aristotle were (01:25:25) taught in the new universities the (01:25:29) medical treatise of Avicenna were used (01:25:31) in hospitals and Arabic translations of (01:25:34) Greek geometry and and those new Arabic (01:25:36) numerals were passed on to craftsmen and (01:25:39) architects this was a critical stage in (01:25:44) the growth of Western thought we should (01:25:49) no longer see the Renaissance as a (01:25:50) rebirth but the continuation of an (01:25:53) intellectual movement which had been (01:25:55) nourished centuries earlier by Muslims (01:26:01) the Italian Renaissance is famous for (01:26:04) reviving classical learning but in fact (01:26:06) what's happening here 400 years earlier (01:26:08) seems to be just as vital do you think (01:26:10) that Muslim scholars aren't given to (01:26:12) credit for what they're doing in Islamic (01:26:14) Spain at this time it is not something (01:26:15) that you would learn about in school (01:26:17) probably even at the university it was a (01:26:20) pretty conscious process of neglect and (01:26:24) now we are still suffering from that (01:26:27) it's really selective history writing (01:26:29) that's right (01:26:34) it is due to the conflict that existed (01:26:37) between the two worlds these remarkable (01:26:42) ideas were leeching out of al-andalus at (01:26:45) precisely the same time that the (01:26:47) Christians were flooding in the frontier (01:26:53) which had started far north of Madrid (01:26:54) was gradually pushing southwards then in (01:26:58) 1236 Cordoba fell followed by Valencia (01:27:01) and Seville until by twelve hundred and (01:27:03) fifty only the kingdom of Granada (01:27:05) remained Muslim from now on Spain would (01:27:15) concentrate on cleaning the Muslim (01:27:17) presence from its country the Islamic (01:27:21) influence on Europe has been quietly (01:27:23) laid down but when it came to the (01:27:26) physical expulsion of the Muslims from (01:27:28) Spain that would be an act that was (01:27:30) anything but subtle it was shocking and (01:27:33) absolute (01:27:39) [Music] (01:27:46) the history of Al Andalus was about to (01:27:48) take a new and sinister turn in the city (01:27:52) of Granada the Muslims were to fall (01:27:54) victim to one of the most shocking acts (01:27:56) of ethnic cleansing that Europe has ever (01:27:57) seen long after the rest of al-andalus (01:28:01) had fallen to the Christians Granada (01:28:04) remained defiantly Islamic protected by (01:28:07) mountains and those giant watchtowers (01:28:09) and forts 70,000 Muslims who lived here (01:28:12) managed to hold off attack for another (01:28:14) 200 years but time was running out (01:28:20) while Granada occupied a small territory (01:28:23) in the south of Spain the rest of the (01:28:25) country was now divided between Castile (01:28:28) in the West and Aragon in the east (01:28:31) two very powerful kingdoms the king of (01:28:34) Castile was about to be forced to pass (01:28:36) his kingdom to his niece Isabella (01:28:41) Isabella was headstrong and passionate (01:28:44) but she also had an acute political mind (01:28:47) in 1469 at the age of 18 she married her (01:28:51) second cousin Ferdinand the dashing heir (01:28:55) to the throne of Aragon now the two most (01:28:58) powerful Catholic dynasties in Spain (01:29:01) were united and the reconquest was (01:29:04) edging ever closer to completion (01:29:07) [Music] (01:29:09) Granada was blocking Isabella's vision (01:29:12) of a unified Spain and so it had to be (01:29:15) reclaimed (01:29:16) [Music] (01:29:18) [Applause] (01:29:21) the city was laid to siege for a year (01:29:23) before it finally surrendered on the 1st (01:29:30) of January 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella (01:29:33) dressed in an elaborate Moorish outfits (01:29:35) which had had especially made with great (01:29:39) pomp and circumstance they entered the (01:29:41) palace of a Lambro and took the keys to (01:29:44) the city (01:29:45) as the Muslim ruler bo Abdul left in (01:29:47) tears it was said that his mother's (01:29:49) passed out at him do not weep like a (01:29:52) woman for that which you cannot defend (01:29:55) like a man (01:30:00) Isabella's victory in Grenada put an end (01:30:02) to an incredible Society in the seven (01:30:07) hundred years that they've been in (01:30:08) Europe the Muslims of al-andalus had (01:30:10) built a culture which was the very (01:30:12) pinnacle of civilized life influencing (01:30:15) Europe in ways that we're only just (01:30:17) beginning to understand (01:30:21) and Isabella would endeavor to ensure (01:30:23) that Islam in the West would never enjoy (01:30:25) such a relationship again a few years (01:30:29) after Ferdinand and Isabella came to (01:30:31) power they set up an organization that (01:30:34) affected the most extreme form of (01:30:36) religious control that Europe has ever (01:30:38) known (01:30:40) the Inquisition the purpose of the (01:30:44) Inquisition was to track down and (01:30:46) eliminate anyone he wasn't an orthodox (01:30:48) member of the Catholic Church (01:30:52) those found guilty of heresy were (01:30:54) subjected to a sinister public ceremony (01:30:57) called an auto-da-fe in this eerie (01:31:01) ritual vestiges of which are still (01:31:03) performed today guilty were forced to (01:31:06) repent their sins while their accusers (01:31:08) watched on hidden under hooded caps (01:31:18) the sinners were then detained some were (01:31:22) burnt at the stake most had their homes (01:31:25) and livelihoods taken from them (01:31:29) in 1526 the Spanish Inquisition came to (01:31:33) Granada to deal with the Muslim problem (01:31:38) Muslims were labeled heretics and given (01:31:41) a stark choice convert to Catholicism (01:31:43) leave the country or be punished (01:31:52) the Muslims of Granada were segregated (01:31:54) from the rest of the population their (01:31:58) ghetto survives as the old quarter of (01:32:00) the city today many of the houses the (01:32:08) Muslims were forced out of still (01:32:10) standing Antonio or hawala lives in one (01:32:14) it's almost inverted because you didn't (01:32:16) have any windows looking out onto the (01:32:18) street the focus is in the middle here (01:32:20) yes the corner is the center of the (01:32:23) family life so all the doors and windows (01:32:27) are open to the quarter and close to the (01:32:30) to the street privacy was one of the (01:32:34) most important characteristic of these (01:32:36) houses outside the house they were (01:32:39) Christian they went to the chart with (01:32:42) the priest they celebrate the wedding in (01:32:44) the Christian way but then later they (01:32:48) came home to celebrate again the wedding (01:32:51) in the Muslims - what happened there (01:32:54) when they when the Inquisition came (01:32:56) knocking on the door well as you see (01:32:58) these houses have the bent entry so from (01:33:03) outside even if the door is open is not (01:33:06) possible to see what happens in the (01:33:09) corner the inquisitors went from door to (01:33:12) door seeking out those they still (01:33:15) suspected of being Muslim a number of (01:33:18) civic leaders had already been expelled (01:33:19) and so often there was only women and (01:33:21) children left they herded them up and (01:33:24) held them in churches by night so they (01:33:26) could be tried the following morning (01:33:29) some of the women cried out that they (01:33:31) were like lambs being taken to the (01:33:33) slaughter and wished that instead they'd (01:33:36) been allowed to die in their own home (01:33:38) [Music] (01:33:40) the Inquisition was so brutally (01:33:42) efficient that within 20 years all (01:33:44) Muslims in Spain had been forcibly (01:33:46) converted to Catholicism but this wasn't (01:33:50) enough many still continued to practice (01:33:53) their faith in private and so in 1609 (01:33:56) the Spanish crown ordered the removal of (01:33:59) all Muslims from Spain (01:34:02) perhaps the most shocking thing in the (01:34:05) expulsion is they were not actually (01:34:07) expelling Arabs nor were they expelling (01:34:09) Berbers the huge majority of the people (01:34:12) that were being expelled by blood by DNA (01:34:15) if you will were as Iberian as their (01:34:18) Christian cousins and the north who were (01:34:20) kicking them out of the peninsula it's (01:34:22) really quite an enormous ly different (01:34:24) vision of what the explosions were and (01:34:27) what they meant when we realized that (01:34:28) the people who were being thrust out (01:34:30) were as native to their insula as the (01:34:34) Christian Kings why do you think the (01:34:36) Catholic authorities felt they had to (01:34:39) expel the Moors in 1609 the Spanish (01:34:42) Empire for it was indeed by then the (01:34:44) Empire simply felt pressed by in so many (01:34:48) different directions they were very much (01:34:51) afraid of the Turks who were in fact (01:34:53) raiding from North Africa and raiding (01:34:54) along the southern coast of Spain they (01:34:57) were fighting wars still in the miracles (01:34:59) it was one internal problem that they (01:35:03) simply could not deal with any longer (01:35:07) in ten years over a quarter of a million (01:35:11) Muslims were expelled from Spain (01:35:14) forbidden to take any possessions with (01:35:16) them most sought refuge in North Africa (01:35:20) [Music] (01:35:23) when Isabella and Ferdinand our age this (01:35:26) is where they were buried it's a little (01:35:29) corner of the Alam bruh and it's (01:35:30) decorated with inscriptions from the (01:35:32) Quran (01:35:33) [Music] (01:35:37) they read there is no true god but allah (01:35:46) many ways it's a curious choice for a (01:35:49) christian in two months but it does (01:35:51) speak of that complicated relationship (01:35:53) that was enjoyed by the catholics and (01:35:55) the muslims on one level it says that (01:35:58) Isabella and Ferdinand were still half (01:36:00) in love with all things Islamic but on (01:36:03) the other its a bold and uncompromising (01:36:06) statement of control and in Cordoba the (01:36:16) new Catholic rulers did something (01:36:18) unbelievable in a daring act of what can (01:36:22) only be described as inspired vandalism (01:36:24) architects who gouged out the center of (01:36:26) the mosque in its place built one of the (01:36:29) most spectacular cathedrals in Spain (01:36:35) [Music] (01:36:41) the result is a shocking and blasphemous (01:36:44) conflation of two of the world's most (01:36:46) powerful religions it is unnerving ly (01:36:50) beautiful but possesses an underlying (01:36:52) schizophrenia as if a terrible and (01:36:55) silent battle is being carried out in (01:36:57) the very architecture of the building (01:37:00) [Music] (01:37:08) [Music] (01:37:16) Spain's troubled relationship with its (01:37:19) Muslim past (01:37:20) continued into the 20th century the (01:37:23) dictator Franco invented his own version (01:37:25) of his country's heritage (01:37:29) franco this spirit was somehow (01:37:31) interrupting what was for him a (01:37:34) continuum history he wanted somehow to (01:37:37) if not deleted he wanted to forget about (01:37:39) it so what he did was to explain the (01:37:42) whole Muslim or the whole al-andalus as (01:37:45) a kind of continuum from the visigothic (01:37:48) period to the Catholic kings and by (01:37:53) saying that the Muslims in al-andalus (01:37:55) were not such big good Muslims but much (01:37:59) more crystallized so this is the (01:38:03) political use of history he wanted to (01:38:07) explain the identity of Mima Spaniards (01:38:09) and for Franco that identity was a (01:38:12) continuation from the visigothic period (01:38:14) right through to the Catholic exactly (01:38:19) Seraphin fan Hall is an academic whose (01:38:21) books on the history of al-andalus (01:38:23) are bestsellers in Spain do you think (01:38:26) that Spanish people today are proud at (01:38:29) all of the Arabic s episode in their (01:38:31) history or are they ashamed of it (01:38:36) strictly speaking it's not her past is (01:38:39) the pastor of other people as a (01:38:44) modern-day Spaniards I would feel very (01:38:46) little connection with the Arab past (01:38:50) Spanish people don't live like them we (01:38:54) don't dress like them (01:38:57) we don't feel like me Anissa sentido I (01:39:00) don't know how you can say we are the (01:39:02) same because we are not the same we have (01:39:04) nothing in common and if I weren't a (01:39:11) professor of Arabic studies I would have (01:39:13) absolutely no feeling for Muslim culture (01:39:20) for a very long time people have (01:39:23) protested and urged that history been (01:39:26) truthfully told that they not be fed (01:39:28) this nonsense but this is the (01:39:31) inheritance of the Inquisition the (01:39:33) Inquisition's character is alive and (01:39:35) well I can tell you one thing Spanish (01:39:39) people have a tendency to prevent others (01:39:41) from speaking their minds a tendency to (01:39:44) try and control the way others behave (01:39:46) and think you can be sure that when you (01:39:49) try and speak the truth you pay for it (01:39:54) and so al Andaluz fell East became East (01:40:00) and West became West two distinct (01:40:03) cultures politically and religiously (01:40:05) divided (01:40:06) [Music] (01:40:09) and yet what the history of the Moors (01:40:11) shows is that these two cultures are (01:40:13) also linked in ways that we might never (01:40:15) have imagined (01:40:16) [Music] (01:40:18) the West has been inspired by Islam but (01:40:22) more than that it was in the very act of (01:40:24) fighting the Muslims that Europe (01:40:26) consolidated its identity (01:40:29) [Music] (01:40:34) when we started Christopher Columbus was (01:40:36) setting sail for the new world and as he (01:40:39) pointed his boats westwards Spain (01:40:41) aligned herself with him turning away (01:40:44) from the East the Muslims had been (01:40:47) fought and now they were to be forgotten (01:40:49) as time went by memories of the Islamic (01:40:53) past were molded until they became a (01:40:55) more comforting storybook version of (01:40:57) history but this is a case where truth (01:41:01) really is stranger than fiction the (01:41:04) story of al-andalus isn't a simple tale (01:41:06) of good versus bad East versus West it's (01:41:10) intriguing and complicated it's (01:41:12) brilliant and brutal it's very human and (01:41:15) it's very messy and it's for precisely (01:41:18) that reason that it needs to be (01:41:20) remembered not written out of the (01:41:22) history books (01:41:25) [Music] (01:41:31) well if you want to know more about the (01:41:33) many cultures that have shaped and (01:41:35) changed Britain visit origination (01:41:37) insight at channel for calm slash (01:41:40) culture coming up next on for father Ted (01:41:43) is tempted by a saucy novelist (01:41:46) [Music] (01:41:52) [Applause]