Islamic History Episodes

We trace the final days of the Byzantine Empire through the eyes of its last emperor.

The conclusion of our two-part series on the 1566 Siege of Szigetvár, featuring Nikola Zrinski's renowned last stand.

"The Battle That Saved The Civilization"

"Woe! Woe to us Hungarians! What an evil age we have entered..."

"More was lost at Mohacs" - Hungarian proverb

'Last fight of the Crusaders'

Author James Waterson provides an in-depth look into the history of the Mamluk Sultanate, with a special focus on the reign of Sultan Baybars.

"He bore the impending demise of his religion, culture and way of life" Boabdil had earned his bloody throne. But there was little time to celebrate. As the armies of Christendom camped outside the last Islamic stronghold in Spain, its citizens knew the end of their world would come soon. …

"Stop, stop! Don't kill him you fool, that's the Moorish King!" Boabdil's path to the throne had not been easy. He had been pressured into overthrowing his father by his mother and was captured during his first battle. After being forced to swear an oath of loyalty to The Christian King Fer…

"You cry like a woman, for what you couldn't defend as a man" Boabdil was heir to a dying kingdom. In the 15th century, Granada was the last Muslim state in Spain. For 250 years it survived, living in the shadow of the Christian kingdoms. But that all changed after the marria…

Khalid ibn al-Walid's life had taken a full 360 turn. Throwing family tradition aside he'd embraced Islam and helped Muhammad smash the old idols he had once worshipped. He was quickly becoming The Prophet's favoured general, who gave him the title Sayfullah (The Sword of God). But the new…

Khalid was a member of the aristocracy in the Arabian trading city of Mecca. When a local named Muhammad began claiming he was the Prophet of God, Khalid and his family fought tooth and nail to stamp out his movement. Less than two years later Khalid was the highest ranking commander in the M…

Ahmad Shah Durrani had made his mark. Every tribesman in Afghanistan recognised him as King. In Delhi, the Grand Mughal cowered behind his peacock thrown, in fear of what the Afghan warlord would do next. But all was not well for the Pearl of Pearls, by vanquishing the Mughals, he had ripp…

Who was Ahmad Shah Durrani? Ahmad Shah Durrani was an Afghan chieftain who rose to power leading Persian armies in the 18th century. After his Persian overlord was murdered he threw off the yoke of oppression and declared an independent Afghan state for his people. But could one man unite …

In this very special episode, I chat with the Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Granddaughter of Ahmad Shah Duranni, whose story I covered on our Afghanistan episode! Madina and I chat about her lineage, family and enduring legacy of The Founder Of Afghanistan.

Abu Tahir was the leader of a mystical offshoot of mainstream Islam known as 'The Qarmatians'. He created a kind of 'proto-communist' enclave on the Arabian peninsula, and successfully defended it from the Abbasid Caliphate. But soon his hatred of Orthodox Islam would drive him to do somethin…

Imadaddin Nasimi wrote heretical poetry in 14th century Azerbaijan. Despite being banned, his altruistic poetry was incredibly popular and helped give rise to the Azerbaijani language. He evaded capture for many years but when he saw a man being tortured in his place, he swapped places. His poet…