1. Episode 1

Explores the achievements of the first Islamic dynasty, the Umayyads, who established their capital at Damascus. Their regime spread throughout greater Syria and they left a rich architectural heritage. This includes two of the great surviving Islamic buildings, the Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

2. Episode 2

We move on to Cairo, the cockpit of the early Islamic struggles between Sunni and Shi’a faiths. Cairo displays the glories of two of the great Islamic regimes – the Shi’ite Fatimids who swept in from the North African desert – and the Mamluks, slave soldiers who overthrew their masters to set up their own Sunni dynasty. Both have left behind impressive evidence of their strength.