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

Episoder(101)

North American otter pipe

North American otter pipe

The history of the world as explained through objects arrives in North America 2000 years ago and a stone pipe used in ritual. It is one of hundreds of pipes shaped as animals that were found in huge ...

25 Mai 201014min

Warren Cup

Warren Cup

Throughout this week Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum in London, is exploring the ways in which people were seeking pleasure around the world 2000 years ago, from pipe smoking in Nor...

24 Mai 201014min

Head of Augustus

Head of Augustus

Neil MacGregor concludes the first week of the second part of his global history as told through objects from the British Museum. This week he has been exploring the lives and methods of powerful rule...

21 Mai 201014min

Chinese Han lacquer cup

Chinese Han lacquer cup

In a week of programmes exploring the nature of power and the emergence of new rulers around the world 2000 years ago, Neil MacGregor takes us to Han Dynasty China. He tells the story of how the Chine...

20 Mai 201014min

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone

Today's programme finds Neil MacGregor in the company of one of the best known inhabitants of the British Museum - the Rosetta Stone. Throughout this week he is exploring shifting empires and the rise...

19 Mai 201014min

Pillar of Ashoka

Pillar of Ashoka

The history of the world as told through objects at the British Museum arrives in India over 2000 years ago. Throughout this week Neil MacGregor is exploring the lives and methods of powerful new lead...

18 Mai 201014min

Head of Alexander

Head of Alexander

Another chance to hear the first programmes in the second part of Neil MacGregor's global history told through objects from the British Museum. This week Neil is exploring the lives and methods of pow...

17 Mai 201013min

Chinese Bronze Bell

Chinese Bronze Bell

This week Neil MacGregor is exploring the emergence of sophisticated new powers across the world 2500 years ago, from the Parthenon in Greece, to the great empire of Cyrus in Persia and the forgotten ...

26 Feb 201014min

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