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Episodes and Stories 3
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Glories of Islamic Art (2006)
Episode 1The first program in the series looks at the achievements of the first Islamic dynasty, the Umayyads, who established their capital at Damascus. Their regime spread throughout greater Syria and they left a rich architectural heritage. This includes two of the great surviving Islamic buildings, the Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The program emphasizes how the early Islamic builders and architects used ideas and materials inherited from their Byzantine predecessors – for instance columns and capitals are clearly “borrowed” from earlier buildings and earlier ages. In just the same way, Islam inherited a strong Christian tradition in the Middle East and adapted Christian tenets and beliefs within their new faith. -
Glories of Islamic Art (2006)
Episode 2The second episode moves on to Cairo, the cockpit of the early Islamic struggles between Sunni and Shi’a faiths. Cairo displays the glories of two of the great Islamic regimes – the Shi’ite Fatimids who swept in from the North African desert – and the Mamluks, slave soldiers who overthrew their masters to set up their own Sunni dynasty. Both have left behind impressive evidence of their strength. -
Glories of Islamic Art (2006)
Episode 3The final episode eplores the last great Islamic dynasty, the Ottomans, and their great capital at Istanbul. Cairo was one of the flashpoints of early struggles between two Islamic faiths, the Sunni and Shia.
