Films with: Zayas, Rodrigo de

A la rencontre de l'autre. Encountering others.

"This program addresses the expansion of the Arab empire into Spain, where Muslims ruled with tolerance for more than seven centuries. The introduction and consolidation of Islamic power in Spain, the creation of the Umayyad emirate by the sole survivor of the Umayyad dynasty, the rise of Cordoba as a cultural rival of Abbasid Baghdad, and the gradual ebb of Arab rule on the Iberian Peninsula are all discussed. Special attention is given to the prosperous reign of Abdel Rahman III and the flowering of a Muslim culture that respectfully welcomed the contributions of Christians and Jews alike."--Container.

DVD 2864

Éveil de l'Europe. Europe awakes.

Why was Islamic philosophy, once the epitome of learning, eventually rejected by Muslims? And why, after assimilating it, did Europeans distance themselves from its formulators? This program seeks to understand the religious climate of the late Middle Ages, in which universities and madrassas became centers of power and models for evolving sociopolitical systems. The potentially heretical nature of philosophy is also analyzed--in Islamic lands the djinni of intellectuality was put back in the bottle, but in Christendom it escaped the control of those who used it, paving the way for Renaissance humanism.

DVD 2873

Public et le privé. Public and private life.

As life among the aristocracy in Damascus and Baghdad attained its zenith of refinement, another important cultural center was developing in Islamic Cordoba. This program focuses on the remarkable cultural contributions of Ziryab, a talented young musician who fled the East for Andalusia and became the era's preeminent arbiter of style and taste. After creating a popular new form of music, he went on to radically reshape Arab high society, inventing new fashions and hairstyles, introducing fine dining, and creating a thriving market for all manner of luxury goods.

DVD 2867