Harem wall painting fragments

Harem wall painting fragments

Neil MacGregor's world history as told through objects at the British Museum. This week, he is exploring life and intrigue in the great courts of the world at the same time as the European medieval period. Today he is with the women of Samarra in Iraq. This ancient city, north of Baghdad, was once home to the Abbasid court and was one of the great Muslim capitals of the world. Portraits from a mural in the palace harem offer a vivid insight into the lives of the rulers and the slave women whose job was to entertain them. What was life really like in this great court?

The historian Robert Irwin, an expert on the tales of the Arabian Nights, looks at how the reality of life in the harem matches the sensual fantasy that has become associated with the period. And Amira Bennison, of Cambridge University, explains what conditions were like for the women of the harem and the qualifications they needed just to get there.

Producer: Anthony Denselow

Jaksot(101)

Olmec Stone Mask

Olmec Stone Mask

Neil MacGregor, in his history of mankind as told through objects at the British Museum, selects a miniature mask to tell the story of the Olmec - the mysterious people of ancient Mexico who lived bef...

25 Helmi 201013min

Basse Yutz Flagons

Basse Yutz Flagons

Neil MacGregor's history of the world recounted through objects at the British Museum arrives in Northern Europe two and a half thousand years ago. Neil explores the early world of the Celts through t...

24 Helmi 201014min

Parthenon Sculpture: Centaur + Lapith

Parthenon Sculpture: Centaur + Lapith

Neil MacGregor's telling of the story of humanity through individual objects at the British Museum. This week he is looking at the emergence of powerful new forces across the globe around the 5th Cent...

23 Helmi 201014min

Oxus Chariot Model

Oxus Chariot Model

Neil MacGregor's world history told through objects at the British Museum arrives in Persia 2500 years ago. Throughout this week, Neil is looking at powerful leaders across the ancient world. Today he...

22 Helmi 201014min

Gold Coin of Croesus

Gold Coin of Croesus

The history of the world as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum. This week Neil MacGregor, the Museum's Director, has been looking at the collapse of old regimes and the emergence...

19 Helmi 201013min

Paracas Textile Fragment

Paracas Textile Fragment

A history of the world described through individual objects at the British Museum. This week Neil MacGregor, the Museum's Director, is looking at what was happening around the world between 2000-3000 ...

18 Helmi 201014min

Chinese Zhou Ritual Vessel

Chinese Zhou Ritual Vessel

Neil MacGregor's history of humanity told through one hundred objects from the British Museum. Three thousand years ago, the world was in huge flux, with new powers creating sophisticated new societie...

17 Helmi 201013min

Sphinx of Taharqo

Sphinx of Taharqo

Throughout this week, Neil MacGregor is describing power struggles across the globe around 3000 years ago, as ambitious new forces set about building sophisticated new societies - from the Middle East...

16 Helmi 201013min

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