Islam

Thousands of Muslims gather in India in 2019 to offer Eid prayers, marking end of holy month of Ramadan

General ancient history

A brief history of Ramadan

Trading and crusading in the Middle Ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Neil Faulkner reveals how the Anglo-Arab Wars of 1870-1920 helped give rise to the first modern jihad

Jihad and the British empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing a woman 'Arib al-Ma’muniyya, playing an instrument while four men listen. A chess board is in the foreground

'Arib al-Ma’muniyya: the enslaved medieval woman who sang her way to wealth. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Statue of Ibn Battuta at the Islamic culture center, Quanzhou, Fujian, China

Ibn Battuta: the most famous traveller of the medieval Arab world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Saladin (1560) by Cristofano Dell Altissimo.

Why does Saladin have such an enduring reputation?

Muslim-Crusader interactions: a clash of civilisations?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of 1616 depicts the Moriscos boarding ships to sail from the port of Valencia

The 17th-century expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain: what happened?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Selim I

The extraordinary life of Sultan Selim I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Our composite image shows Henry II framed by an Arabic arch. Henry claimed he "would sooner accept the errors of Nur-al-Din" than suffer Thomas Becket remaining as archbishop. (Image by Bridgeman/Getty Images)

King Henry II: the Muslim monarch of medieval England?

Who is the greatest leader in world history?

Ayatollah Khomeini

General ancient history

A brief history of Iran

Crowds protest in Tehran

Opinion: is Iran a nation at war with itself?

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, last Shah of Iran, pictured in 1967 with his third wife, Farah Diba, and their son Reza. His attempted reforms during his final years in power alienated many of his nation's people. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The Iranian Revolution: why 1979's uprising still shapes the Middle East. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

ExploreFès, Morocco: Morocco’s spiritual capital. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Islam’s struggle with modernity podcast

Islam’s struggle with modernity. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Elizabethan England’s relationship with the Islamic world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Michael Wood… on radical Islamism. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Islamic enlightenment. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Christopher de Bellaigue in conversation

The Islamic Enlightenment: Christopher de Bellaigue and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in conversation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The call for the First Crusade was initially made by Pope Urban (pictured) in 1095. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Britain and Islam: a matter of faith. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jerusalem's magnificent Dome of the Rock was deliberately designed to put a Muslim stamp on what had previously been a Christian city. (Getty Images)

The midwife of Islam. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Siege of Antioch during the First Crusade, c1200. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Why Islam crushed the crusaders. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jerusalem: blood and gold. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.