With the grandeur and geometric sophistication of the Alhambra as a powerful opening example, this program looks at Islamic culture in southern Spain following the Berber invasion of 711. Scholar Bettany Hughes talks with Professor Antonio Fernández-Puertas of the University of Granada, who has studied Nasrid art and architecture for 40 years; with Professor Lauro Olmo Encisco of Alcala University in Madrid, an expert on the Visigothic site of Recópolis; and with Islamic historian Ali Raisuni, who posits noble motives behind Moorish expansion. These conversations, as well as the program’s energetic visuals and helpful overviews of Islam’s origins, yield valuable insight into the social, economic, scientific, and military dynamics of the period. (53 minutes)