A BBC history 770 - 1258 CE

The Islamic Golden Age

Major BBC series rediscovering some of the key thinkers and achievements from the Golden Age of Islam. 
 
Between the 8th and 13th Century, the Islamic world flourished. This 500-year period of monumental political and cultural change became known as its 'Golden Age', characterised by unprecedented advancement in the fields of architecture, invention, medicine, innovation and philosophy, which still inform huge parts of the modern world. 
 
In these 20 episodes, we hear about some of the most remarkable events and individuals of this extraordinary epoch. Beginning with the establishment and expansion of the Islamic State, the series encompasses the rise of Shi-ism, the introduction of paper to the Western world, the brilliance and beauty of Islamic architecture and the intellectual powerhouses of Baghdad and Cairo. We also meet important historical figures, including Harun Al-Rashid (the Caliph from the Thousand and One Night tales), mathematician and astronomer Al-Khwarizmi, philosopher and physician Avicenna, influential poet and mystic Al-Rumi and the great 12th Century hero Saladin. 
 
Each episode is presented by experts in the field, who share their knowledge and passion, among them lawyer and politician Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, scientist Jim Al-Khalili, theologian Professor Mona Siddiqui, Persian scholar Narguess Farzad and award-winning writer Kamila Shamsie. 
 
Also included are two episodes of In Our Time hosted by Melvyn Bragg, the first expanding further on the colourful career of Avicenna, and the second discussing the life and ideas of a prescient intellectual who lived just after the Golden Age: the 14th Century philosopher of history Ibn Khaldun. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
Presented by Hugh Kennedy, Professor Robert Gleave, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Professor Jonathan Bloom, Professor Julia Bray, Narguess Farzad, Jim Al-Khalili, Professor James Montgomery, Professor Peter Adamson, Dr Tony Street, Dr. Sussan Babaie, Dr Simonetta Calderini and Dr Delia Cortese, Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor Charles Burnett, Dr. Amira Bennison, Jonathan Phillips and Kamila Shamsie 
Produced by Sarah Taylor and Mohini Patel 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from November 2013 to February 2014. 
 
Track list: 
1. The Establishment of the Islamic State 
2. Ali ibn Abi Talib 
3. Imam Bukhari 
4. Paper 
5. Harun al-Rashid 
6. Rabia Balkhi and Mahsati Ganjavi 
7. Al-Khwarizmi 
8. Al-Kindi 
9. Al-Farabi 
10. Avicenna 
11. Al-Tabari 
12. Islamic Architecture 
13. Al-Biruni 
14. Al Hakim 
15. Al-Ghazali 
16. Ibn Rushd 
17. Cities of Learning 
18. Salah al-Din 
19. Al-Rumi 
20. Lubna of Cordoba 
 
21. In Our Time: Avicenna 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Peter Adamson; Amira Bennison and Nader El-Bizri 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8 November 2007 
 
22. In Our Time: Ibn Khaldun 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Robert Hoyland, Robert Irwin and Hugh Kennedy 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 February 2010

Kamila Shamsie (Author, Reader) Kamila Shamsie is the author of eight novels, which have been translated into over 30 languages. Her novels include Home Fire (2018) which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction and was long listed for the Man Booker Prize, Burnt Shadows which won the Premio Boccaccio in Italy, and A God in Every Stone which won the Anisfield-Wolf Award. She grew up in Karachi, has an MFA from the University of Manchester in Amherst, and now lives in London.

Major BBC series rediscovering some of the key thinkers and achievements from the Golden Age of Islam. 
 
Between the 8th and 13th Century, the Islamic world flourished. This 500-year period of monumental political and cultural change became known as its 'Golden Age', characterised by unprecedented advancement in the fields of architecture, invention, medicine, innovation and philosophy, which still inform huge parts of the modern world. 
 
In these 20 episodes, we hear about some of the most remarkable events and individuals of this extraordinary epoch. Beginning with the establishment and expansion of the Islamic State, the series encompasses the rise of Shi-ism, the introduction of paper to the Western world, the brilliance and beauty of Islamic architecture and the intellectual powerhouses of Baghdad and Cairo. We also meet important historical figures, including Harun Al-Rashid (the Caliph from the Thousand and One Night tales), mathematician and astronomer Al-Khwarizmi, philosopher and physician Avicenna, influential poet and mystic Al-Rumi and the great 12th Century hero Saladin. 
 
Each episode is presented by experts in the field, who share their knowledge and passion, among them lawyer and politician Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, scientist Jim Al-Khalili, theologian Professor Mona Siddiqui, Persian scholar Narguess Farzad and award-winning writer Kamila Shamsie. 
 
Also included are two episodes of In Our Time hosted by Melvyn Bragg, the first expanding further on the colourful career of Avicenna, and the second discussing the life and ideas of a prescient intellectual who lived just after the Golden Age: the 14th Century philosopher of history Ibn Khaldun. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
Presented by Hugh Kennedy, Professor Robert Gleave, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Professor Jonathan Bloom, Professor Julia Bray, Narguess Farzad, Jim Al-Khalili, Professor James Montgomery, Professor Peter Adamson, Dr Tony Street, Dr. Sussan Babaie, Dr Simonetta Calderini and Dr Delia Cortese, Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor Charles Burnett, Dr. Amira Bennison, Jonathan Phillips and Kamila Shamsie 
Produced by Sarah Taylor and Mohini Patel 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from November 2013 to February 2014. 
 
Track list: 
1. The Establishment of the Islamic State 
2. Ali ibn Abi Talib 
3. Imam Bukhari 
4. Paper 
5. Harun al-Rashid 
6. Rabia Balkhi and Mahsati Ganjavi 
7. Al-Khwarizmi 
8. Al-Kindi 
9. Al-Farabi 
10. Avicenna 
11. Al-Tabari 
12. Islamic Architecture 
13. Al-Biruni 
14. Al Hakim 
15. Al-Ghazali 
16. Ibn Rushd 
17. Cities of Learning 
18. Salah al-Din 
19. Al-Rumi 
20. Lubna of Cordoba 
 
21. In Our Time: Avicenna 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Peter Adamson; Amira Bennison and Nader El-Bizri 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8 November 2007 
 
22. In Our Time: Ibn Khaldun 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Robert Hoyland, Robert Irwin and Hugh Kennedy 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 February 2010

A Fairy Tale Revolution

Duckling

A retelling of 'The Ugly Duckling' from A Fairy Tale Revolution, a series designed to remix and revive our favourite stories

Duckling, written in a clear, poetic voice reminiscent of Wilde's Happy Prince, is at times almost painfully affecting...but brimming over, too, with heart and courage

[A] moving, poetic tale [that] celebrates an outsider's adventurous spirit in a world that's quick to judge

Kamila Shamsie (Author) Kamila Shamsie is the author of eight novels, which have been translated into over 30 languages. Her novels include Home Fire (2018) which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction and was long listed for the Man Booker Prize, Burnt Shadows which won the Premio Boccaccio in Italy, and A God in Every Stone which won the Anisfield-Wolf Award. She grew up in Karachi, has an MFA from the University of Manchester in Amherst, and now lives in London. Laura Barrett (Illustrator) Laura Barrett is an illustrator inspired by the darker side of folk and fairy tales, and enjoys working in the medium of traditional Scherenschnitte (paper cutting). Since graduating from University of the Arts London and with over 10 years of industry experience, Laura has worked with a stellar client list including the BBC and The Guardian. Laura works from her home studio in South East London.

Kamila Shamsie retells 'The Ugly Duckling'. A Fairy Tale Revolution is here to remix and revive our favourite stories. 
 
'A duck unlike other ducks. A raincloud-duck, with the heart of a lion, who struck out into the world on her own...' 
 
On the farm, some eggs are hatching. A flock of sweet ducklings are popping out. But one duckling looks different from all the others... 
 
Cast out and all alone, this odd duckling will need all her bravery and curiosity to survive. Her journey is a search for belonging, but what she finds is the right to be different.

Robert Macfarlane

Deborah Levy

Jenn Ashworth

Kamila Shamsie

Michael Donkor

Michèle Roberts

Lucy Hughes-Hallett

Ross Raisin

Owen Sheers

Nicholas Shakespeare

Nat Segnit

Sophie Coulombeau

Christopher Hope

Scarlett Thomas

Erica Wagner

Nicola Barker

Ian Samson

Kirsty Gunn

Philip Hoare

30 Reflections from Exploring on Foot

22 writers talk about their memorable excursions and the act of walking, and share their creative observations 
 
In these six series, taken from BBC Radio 3's The Essay, an array of novelists, poets, journalists and biographers chart the varied and inspiring walks they have taken around Britain and elsewhere. Here are treks taken at daybreak and after dark; in winter and in spring; in the footsteps of the past; and - in the case of Robert Macfarlane - along the ridges of the South Downs. 
 
Dawnwalks and Night Walks find Nicholas Shakespeare, Nicola Barker, Kamila Shamsie, Ian Sansom, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Owen Sheers, Janice Galloway and John Walsh taking early morning and late-night strolls around locations ranging from their back garden and local cemetery to Manhattan, Paris, Tasmania and the Antarctic. 
 
Springwalks and Winterwalks feature Michele Roberts, Ross Raisin, John Walsh, Kirsty Gunn, Philip Hoare, Deborah Levy, Christopher Hope, Scarlett Thomas, Erica Wagner and Owen Sheers, as they sample the transforming qualities of spring and the wonders of winter. From Poland and the Languedoc to Hampstead Heath and the Yorkshire Wolds, they delight in the details of the landscape and reflect on what it means to them. 
 
Strange Strolls sees Jenn Ashworth, Michael Donkor, Stephanie Victoire, Nat Segnit and Sophie Coulombeau embarking on walks of entertaining eccentricity, revisiting favourite places including Wandsworth Bridge, the Blue Ridge mountains of Appalachia and Ibiza. 
 
And in A Five-Day Journey, Robert Macfarlane walks the length of the South Downs in monsoon rain and in sunshine, discovering its chalk trails and its ghosts. He ponders the relationship between paths and stories; explores the poet Edward Thomas' love affair with tracks; considers the concept of the Aboriginal Australian songline; re-imagines the life of artist Eric Ravilious; and contemplates the sometimes eerie relationship between walking, collecting and creation. 
 
Intimate, evocative and immersive, these 30 uplifting programmes transport us to a wealth of wonderful places, and offer fascinating personal insight into the inner worlds of our walker-writers. 
 
Production credits 
Produced by Duncan Minshull, Ciaran Bermingham and Tim Dee 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on the following dates: 
 
Dawnwalks 
Nicholas Shakespeare 28 March 2016 
Nicola Barker 29 March 2016 
Kamila Shamsie 30 March 2016 
Ian Sansom 31 March 2016 
Lucy Hughes-Hallett 1 April 2016 
 
Night Walks 
Nicholas Shakespeare 27 October 2008 
Owen Sheers 28 October 2008 
Janice Galloway 29 October 2008 
Kamila Shamsie 30 October 2008 
John Walsh 31 October 2008 
 
Springwalks 
Michele Roberts in Poznan 31 March 2014 
Ross Raisin in the Yorkshire Wolds 1 April 2014 
John Walsh 2 April 2014 
Kirsty Gunn in Sutherland 3 April 2014 
Philip Hoare in Sholing 4 April 2014 
 
Winterwalks 
Deborah Levy on Hampstead Heath 18 February 2013 
Christopher Hope in Languedoc 19 February 2013 
Scarlett Thomas 20 February 2013 
Erica Wagner 21 February 2013 
Owen Sheers in Poland 22 February 2013 
 
Strange Strolls 
Jenn Ashworth - The Abiding Mental Riches of Preston 10 February 2020 
Michael Donkor - On Westminster Bridge 11 February 2020 
Stephanie Victoire - Dark Hollow Falls 12 February 2020 
Nat Segnit - The Other Ibiza 13 February 2020 
Sophie Coulombeau - Walking Matilda 14 February 2020 
 
A Five-Day Journey 
Marking 2 November 2009 
Haunting 3 November 2009 
Singing 4 November 2009 
Flying 5 November 2009 
Collecting 6 November 2009 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Kamila Shamsie

Books by Kamila Shamsie

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter