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3 Episodes 2015 - 2015
Episode 1
60 mins
Spain, or rather the peninsula Iberia, has arguably Europe's most exotic culture, sharing much history with the Mediterranean and especially Africa. The hopelessly divided, largely Celtic tribes were no match for the sea's rivaling superpowers, who craved its rich natural resources, notably mines. The Fenecian lead city Carthage achieved near-total control under general Hasdrubal. His son Hannibal set out from there over the mountain to bring war to rival Rome, but counterpart Scipio earned his victory name Africanus by crushing the North African nest and destroyed its port-capital. Under long Rian rule, Iberia prospered and yielded some major late emperors, notably Trajan and Hadrian. Nevertheless, the Germanic invasions swept over the peninsula, despite Byzantine help, the Vandals leaving only their name to Andalusia, but the Visigoths established a great kingdom, after Rome itself has switched paganism for Christianity. Later Islam would swept over from North Africa, Arabs and Berbers being initially invited by rivaling Christians players. An offshoot of the deposed Ommayad caliphs of Damascus established their own in Cordoba, rivaling the Baghdad Abassids. But it too would fall into division, leaving the way open for Christians to repel them.
Episode 2
50 mins
As the Cordoba caliphate disintegrated, relative tolerance and prosperity gave way to the holy war mentality of the successor emirates and the rising Christian kingdoms, among which Castile claimed precedence, but failed to seize the day in time due to inner fighting. The mythical Reconquista hero Rodrigo 'El Cid' de Vivar is unmasked as a later PR construction of the victor, in fact the brilliant general was an opportunistic mercenary who allied for profit and was duly exiled by his Castilian king for treason and booty theft. Expecting to be crushed by the Catholics, the emirs invited North African zealot Moors, who took over, twice - Almoravids and Almohads. Ultimately, the dynastic union of Castile and Aragon by king Ferdinand and queen Isabella enabled them to chase the last Muslims, the Nasrid emirate of Granada, whose glorious Alhambra palace was 'build 'on the cheap' with wood and plaster, masking centuries of weakness while surviving cleverly. As Granada fell and Colombus was dispatched, the monarchs soon started persecuting, often even after forced conversion, both Muslims and Jews, among whom was Simon's own ancestor, a falsely accused colonial governor in a Mexican province, only one son escaped the stake to Tuscany. The Conquista gild would make Spain the leading world power for centuries under Habsburg rulers.
Episode 3
50 mins
Simon explores Spain's golden age under Philip II through to the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship under Franco, from which Spain has emerged as a modern democratic monarchy.