The making of Spain. Episode 1, Conquest

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Summary

The cultures and religions that have shaped the Spain we know today are revealed over the course of a journey through its key cities -- Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Cartagena -- in the com...

The cultures and religions that have shaped the Spain we know today are revealed over the course of a journey through its key cities -- Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Cartagena -- in the company of historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. It's a story packed with surprises and includes some of the great civilisations of the ancient world, as well as the most extraordinary characters. From Hannibal to the Caliphate, the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian, the Jewish Prime Ministers under Muslim rule to the expulsion of the Jews, the Inquisition and the rise of the Habsburgs: Charles V, Phillip II and empire, the Bourbons, Napoleon and ultimately Franco and beyond. We discover how this is a part of the world where the influence of previous cities and their respective faiths are evident at every turn. In this first episode, Simon explores Spain's early years, its emergence as the battleground of empires and its golden age under the Cordoba Caliphate.

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