When the Moors Ruled in Europe
Join British historian Bettany Hughes as she examines a long-buried chapter of European history–the rise and fall of Islamic culture in what is now Spain and Portugal.
Although generations of Spanish rulers have tried to expunge this era from the historical record, recent archeology and scholarship now shed fresh light on the Moors who flourished in Al-Andalus for more than 700 years.
This fascinating documentary explodes old stereotypes and offers shocking new insights. You’ll discover the ingenious mathematics behind Granada’s dazzling Alhambra Palace, trace El Cid’s lineage to his Moorish roots, and learn how the Iberian population willingly converted to Islam in droves.
Through interviews with noted scholars, you’ll see how Moorish advances in mathematics, astronomy, art, and agriculture helped propel the West out of the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance. What emerges is a richly detailed portrait of a sensuous, inquisitive, and remarkably progressive Islamic culture in Christian Europe.
Watch the full documentary now
well worth the watch…a good use of two hours =)
almost cried in the first 10 min.. I cant get the fact that the Catholic church burnt more than a million books !! why the hell..?!!
very informative this doc was an eye opener…
all the best Vlatko well done..
thanks for sharing
I am so much more excited to be studying abroad in Granada next semester.
o.o …>>> Sarai U R LUCKY!!
enjoy it!
It is a terrible thing such a good thing turned into such violence, they didn’t even have an army probably the most free time in history, and Islam has been turned into such a horrible religion, with such violent societies today, the education was to think for yourself what? the education of today it totally opposite, one can see the images painted of the opposition and this has been happening all over the world today, i do not associate with any organized religion but it is sad that generally we think that we are more civilized, is a total propaganda, we are even in a more of conflict than ever before i wonder how much the interpretations of Islam religions have changed as a result of the conflicts, it seems that sciences, knowledge at that time perhaps was more blended than anytime today, which possibly even changed what they saw of the religion or what effect it had on life; religion today on the contrary is so limiting, isolating, enslaving, this has never happened today, which is an educated masses, the world today is more concerned with wartime, and defenses and constant search for security, and all the attention is towards that, concentrated, the ambitions, power, dominance, acquisition, materialism and all the knowledge which sustained that, and most countries looking at the world are building up their military, and this is constantly continuing, which on the contrary is the cause of world insecurieties and the example of how we really have become more and more divided.
Only with the ending of that which is false can there be peace, that which opposes cannot coexist, war opposes peace
The Prophet Muhammad said, “Any word of wisdom is the stray of the believer, who has the better right to it wherever it may be found.”
And his other more famous saying exhorting the members of his nascent religion in medina: Seek Knowledge Unto Grave!
Sorry, the saying goes: Seek Knowledge from Cradle Unto Grave!
And BTW, Christopher Columbus is said to have carried with him Muslims, who had the idea about exploration and the Maps made by Muslim Explorers who had already been there!
It is now believed by experts that Islam & Muslims had reached the shores of America even before Christopher Columbus.
It’s funny if you look realy good and how she behave and her sound.. She is realy angry and hate realy hate the christians and europeans.. She is of berber orgin, moroocan
But interesting video.. very good
Prince Charles, Heir to the British Monarchy in a recent public speech at Oxford University stated:
“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilisation owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straight-jacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and system of belief, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history.”
Resab, you are correct and Columbus was a murderer, rapist and slave trader. This nation honors this butcher once a year and lies to the children about the true history of this maniac devil.
Christopher Columbus was not the discoverer of America. In his personal log, Columbus wrote that, his purpose in seeking undiscovered worlds was “to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the heathens.” [Columbus' Book of Prophecies]
On his first voyage Columbus described the natives as follows:
“The people of this island and of all other islands which I have found and seen, all are so artless and free with all they possess, that no one would believe it without having seen it. Of anything they have, if you ask them for it, they never say no; rather they invite the person to share it, and show as much love as if they were giving their hearts…” But Colombus’ mission was to take the land for Christendom and convert all these peoples to Christianity or exterminate them and replace their culture.
In whichever island he touched (on his second voyage) his men killed indiscriminately whatever animals and natives they found, “looting and destroying all they found,” as Columbus’ son Fernando put it. The natives were either killed or enslaved. Columbus commented in this regard, that the natives “ought to be good servants… and would easily be made Christians,” because he saw his affairs as the “fulfillment of prophecies in Isaiah.” To any objections from the natives, Columbus responded with, “…with the help of God, we shall … make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of Their Highness. We shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of them.”
Eyewitnesses recalled, “Once the Indians were in the woods, the next step was to form squadrons and pursue them, and whenever the Spaniards found them, they pitilessly slaughtered everyone like sheep… So they would cut an Indian’s hands and leave them dangling… Some Christians encounter an Indian women, and since the dog they had with them was hungry, they tore the child from the mother’s arms and flung it still living to the dog…” After all, the Indians were only infidels.”
Of Columbus’ second voyage, it has been further written: “The Spaniards found pleasure in inventing all kinds of odd cruelties… They built a long gibbet, long enough for the toes to touch the ground to prevent strangling, and hanged thirteen [natives] at a time in honor of Christ Our Savior and the twelve apostles… then, straw was wrapped around their torn bodies and they were burned alive.”
In less than a decade after Columbus’ first landing the native population of the island of Hispaniola (Santo Domingo & Haiti had dropped by a third to a half. Before the next century ended, the populations of Cuba and many other Caribbean islands had been virtually exterminated.
http://www.burningcross.net/crusades/christian-missionary-atrocities.html
The Moors are a fascinating study. Also forgotten, or shoved under a rug is the fact that some of the brightest mathimatical minds were found in the Arab nations.
Resab,
Yes, Muslims have done some wonderful things, so have Christians, Hindus, atheists, and Jews. Muslims have also done some horrific things, as have Christians, Hindus, atheists, and Jews. Someone cannot be held responsible for the crimes of their ancestors, nor can they claim responsibility for their achievements.
The only ‘judge’ ‘god’ that ever held innocent people responsible for crimes of ancestors was, of course, the sick demented petty god of the OT. What a total *******. Even our often corrupt courts know better than that. The innocent cannot be held accountable for the guilty.
I really did not know and I find interesting ,is the Arab origin of
Guzmán el Bueno and El Cid.
Interesting documentary, I love the private library of the Medina Sidonia Duchess.
It’s a very well done documentary.
Thanks for posting.
Sabatero come from the word sabbat which means shoe in North Africain dialect(may be Berberian origine!) Sabatero : shoes maker.
He was dumb, he died thinking he had discovered India!?He died insane and in poverty, and it was his own ignorance that lead him to that situation.
I’m pretty sure there is a typo in the title. I believe it was the moops who ruled in europe.
Wow. who knew that some of the most interesting changes were conveniently forgotten. As someone who has ancestors from Spain,it makes me wonder how far back my bloodline actually goes…
Very nice doc.
I want to thank the admin for this remarkable site, you really did a good job.
Also I want to ask, does anybody knows where I can find the trascripts of this doc, and others like this one like :What the Ancients Did for Us – The Islamic World, and An Islamic History of Europe. Also I’m intersted to find the transcripts of docs, related to the subjetc of illuminati and freemasons, like the doc Wake up call and similiar
I would appreciate a lot, if someone helps me regarding this matter.
Do the factions (sunni, shi’ite etc) come to play at this point? Very interesting documentary.
Obtuse fact number 4378.5
As well as the proportional maths used in the architecture, another interesting form of mathematical art used at the Alhambra in Granada are the wall and floor tilings. In fact the Islamic civilization developed tiling into an amazing and beautiful art form.
There is a direct correspondance between the symmetries all possible types of tiling exibit and the abstract mathematicl structure of groups. In fact the symmetry in tilings are one way of visualising groups. This type of art is also used at the Taj mahal in India.
A little slow paced, but nice documentary overall. A missing piece in the jigsaw of european history.
Quote of the day:
(Bo Abdel’s mom) Do not weep like a woman for that which you cannot defend like a man.
I am definitely gonna use that one on the boys at next friday night’s poker game.
The muslim got their mathematics from China. There is a passage in the Koran that instructs the Muslim to learn from China.
‘The muslim got their mathematics from China.’
Most of the islamic ideas of mathematics were taken from and extended the classical Greek geometry and number theory of Eulid and his amazing timeless classic the Elements.
have a look at Oliver byrne’s edition of the elements which uses colours instead of numbers and letters. its much easier to follow and learn than any other edition i have yet seen.
@Epicurean_Logic:
Right, Arab mathematics was rooted in Greek mathematics. I don’t think much mathematics has come out of China at all but I could be wrong.
And, yes, all groups can be represented by symmetry/permutation groups but groups weren’t recognized as an entity unto themselves until well after the fall of the Caliphate. The Muslim artists developed a good intuitive understanding of symmetry but nothing formal.
I’d recommend “Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times” by Morris Kline for a good overview of the history of mathematics.
@ Eric Howe
‘I’d recommend “Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times” by Morris Kline ‘
i cant find it on the net Eric any idea where to pick it up for free?
‘I don’t think much mathematics has come out of China at all but I could be wrong.’
i know that they like many other culture had a good understanding of Pythagoras theorem pre 600 bc. But it was left to Pythagoras to provide the first known proof ( the one where 4 identical triangles are arranged to form a square, then use algebra.
Hi there, let’s comment about the documentary not the religions themselves. Indeed, there was a great Islamic civilization in what is now Spain an portugal . but let’s don’t forget that though the leader or the elite were orignally Arabs, the overwhelming majority were Spanish and .Portugal , whom they loved their Countries and did good to be what it was. and even after the masscore of Ferdinand and isabella, they tried to develop their Countries to be become what it is now. on the countrary, we – the Arab – haven’t done any good since then, yet to believe in the conceperacy of the west who deleberetly sidetrack us.
thanks to whoever thought about this film and thank you guys for whaching it(especially who drop his comment, I really enjoyed not only the documentary , but also your comment)
”East became east and West became west” – I loved the documentary, but this could’t have been said more wrong, simply becaus the West and the East, th cristianity and the islam are living together in th Balcans asfar as I know as a heritage of the Otoman’s rulings.
hi to all my friends from west or east .this is history facts whether you like it or not.is there for those who seek knowledge and light,farfrom a language of hate and race and superiority we all humans we need to share knowledge and communicate thats the reason GOD created us different races and tongues.this is mentioned in the KORAN holly book.for my friend who mention china .i would like to tell him that arab got math from translating greek books in baghdad.arab never communicate with chinese in inteletuel way like tehey did with greek only because chinese had nothing to offer ok.
iam inviting all of you guys to discover the deep meaning of universal islam is not for my interest but yours you dont have to like arabs but just because islam is religion of heavens and GOD system to all mankind for alltime.the secrets of success of islam on that time is dedicated to those muslims of that time who enjoyed it with others with love and care not hate and violence i agree that muslims today are not good examples for their religion but that doesnt mean islam is mistakes no same thing with christians .ok.individuals are responsibles.this is proves that muslims are like any others are sinfull.mistaken.so if you seek truth for your self and your family you need to be honest seeking it.
whats hurts me the most is the people of called now latins americans.because of the fall of islam in spain those people got misguided by the spanish who invided them.too bad.im feeling soory for them and im blaming my people for not doing strong effort to help them understand who they are .in the eastern part of the world islam is strong and reine.but the western side still needs a lot of work.through peace not violence.
the spanish till today still earnd their economy from what muslims left for them ruins castles palaces,history, tourist enjoyed it.foods ,imagine what the reward hate and misrecognition of kindness of those muslims.still they diny what islam did for them.too bad for a race.’ifu greet a kind man you won him but if you greet the vilain one he revolts’…is afamous arab poetry from .ALMUTANABBY.
nowadays.arab money still circulating to feed europeans and americans throughout their banks and industries oil is the vital factor of economy.so arabs are very open and kind people to others .so why we got all this hate back.its really inexplicable european still supporting israelis killing of innocent muslims.its true we dont blame but ourselves .prophet mohammad s.a.w mentioned that people are different minerals samelike you find gold silver ….you should understand the meaning …
Let’s OPEN our eyes!
British historian Bettany Hughes must be congratulated for bringing back vivid pictures from The Lost Andalusia…. All we (both easterners and westerners) need is open our minds… tear the walls of misunderstanding stemming from misinformation/half-truths passed to us through centuries…
It’ll be conducive to a better future (read: peace, prosperity…) for mankind to recover from past examples the spirit of cooperative learning. There is absolutely NO need of accusing each other….
@Mohammad
Imperialism is imperialism, whether originating in the East or the West. Muslims cannot condemn the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Crusades or the European conquests of Muslim lands, whilst at the same time excusing the Islamic conquests of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Spain and Portugal, the Balkans etc etc. Islam brought new technologies to Andalusia, Britain did the same in what is now Pakistan. Either both are inexcusable or both are not. You cannot have it both ways.
Furthermore, your view of Latin America is laughable. The majority of people in South and Central America are mestizo – that is, of mixed European (mainly Spanish) and Amerindian descent. Of the non-mixed population, whites outnumber Indians by quite a significant margin. Their heritage lies as much in Europe as it does in the Americas. Perhaps you should save your grief for the people of Bosnia, who’s troubles stem directly from Islamic conquest.
I despise imperialism in all it’s forms – Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular. To not do so is to adopt a double standard in your view of history. You should accept that imperialism was the default setting of the world for millenia and that Europeans are very far from being the only ones to blame. Christendom’s second city (Constantinople, now Istanbul) didn’t hold an election to become Muslim after all…
Garlic Sausage pretty much said it all, in your ATTEMPT to enlighten us all mohammad you’ve pretty much spouted racist indoctrinated nonsense. The only point I’m going to touch on is the Chinese (by the way I’m white). To say that Islam didn’t need anything from the Chinese is a ridiculous statement, you clearly have done no research into any of the claims or assertions you’ve made. You know gun powder? something the Islamic world uses a lot! Guess who invented it, amongst many other things! Also, just as some Europeans don’t condemn Israelis killing innocent Muslims, many more Muslims and Christians support killing innocent Jewish people around the world. You can’t just pick and choose information to share based on your own biases, it doesn’t help anyone!
The BBC Documentary Science and Islam is another great doc to watch!
Absolutely brilliant! A great informative, and extremey accurate account of the Andalus reign. I can only say, that the inquisition was uncalled for. It destroyed a culture and heritage that could have flourished to this day, proving to the world that yeah, Islam and Christianity can collaborate and invent together. How shameful. But the Influence of Granada and the Alhambra is everlasting.
Viva Andalucia
to garlic sausage and alike
oh so i was wrong! i believed invading a country/s and slaughtering its inhabitants like in the crusades and spanish reconquesta was differnt to be invited and welcomed in a country where the inhabitants are left unharmed and not forcefully converted to the religion of the rulers and conquerors and capitualte and are forgiven and shown mercy to and left alone like when the Muslim brought learningthrough ruling Spain, securing its borders from rebels, creating an peaceful and inspiration enviroment conducive to the magnificent leaning that went on there bring together Jews, Christians and Muslims under the Muslim Rule to communicate, exchange ideas etc.
When THE so called Christians went on the 1st crusade they slaughtered and massacreded most of the if not all of the mUslims in Jerusale and Sallahuddin took back Jerusalem from the Christians after nearly a 100 yrs of occupation instead taking his revenge and doing exactly the same to the Christians inhabitants, they capitualted, he forgave them and they left and Muslims reclaimed.
That is why Salhuddin was know as a great mercifull leader even among is adverseries.
This is very interesting and informative movie i like it very much this movie help me and my friends to understand a part of history
Thank You a lot Bettany Hughes
maybe i missed it but, at the beginning, did she ever mention which region in africa the moors originate, i know she said muslim and arabic speaking but, the sudanese fit that description too. i wanna know what the moors looked like.
i guess i’ll keep watching.
I really enjoyed this documentary. Very enlightening. Definitely worth watching.