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
November 17th, 2009 at 03:45
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
November 17th, 2009 at 07:29
I am so much more excited to be studying abroad in Granada next semester.
November 17th, 2009 at 07:53
o.o …>>> Sarai U R LUCKY!!
enjoy it!
November 17th, 2009 at 21:10
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
November 21st, 2009 at 19:47
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!
November 21st, 2009 at 19:47
Sorry, the saying goes: Seek Knowledge from Cradle Unto Grave!
November 21st, 2009 at 19:50
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.
December 3rd, 2009 at 23:47
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
December 5th, 2009 at 10:25
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.”
December 20th, 2009 at 06:20
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.
December 22nd, 2009 at 06:03
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.
December 22nd, 2009 at 06:24
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 bastard. Even our often corrupt courts know better than that. The innocent cannot be held accountable for the guilty.
January 26th, 2010 at 04:23
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.
February 3rd, 2010 at 23:12
Sabatero come from the word sabbat which means shoe in North Africain dialect(may be Berberian origine!) Sabatero : shoes maker.