Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores when and how many of the great religious images we are familiar with today came into existence
- Programmes:
- on BBC iPlayer (5)
- Previous programmes:
- by year (5)
- Today's object
- Suffragette-defaced penny
- BBC Radio 4
- Programmes
- A History of the World in 100 Objects
- The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD)
The Rise of World Faiths (200 - 600 AD)
Available now on BBC iPlayer
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Listen to the latest programme
Arabian Bronze Hand
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Fri, 4 Jun 2010.
5/5. A mysterious bronze hand helps tell the story of religious belief in Arabia before Islam.
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Also available
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Hinton St Mary Mosaic
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Thu, 3 Jun 2010.
4/5. Neil MacGregor encounters one of the earliest images of Christ.
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Silver Plate Showing Shapur II
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Wed, 2 Jun 2010.
3/5. Neil MacGregor examines a dramatic image of power and faith from ancient Iran.
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Gold Coin of Kumaragupta I
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Tue, 1 Jun 2010.
2/5. Neil MacGregor examines the rise of religious imagery in India under the Guptas.
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Seated Buddha from Gandhara
Listen now (15 minutes)
Available since Mon, 31 May 2010.
1/5. Neil MacGregor tells the story of one of the world's best known figures, the Buddha.
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Featured
The Rise of World Faiths (200-600AD)
41. Seated Buddha from Gandhara
42. Gold coin of Kumaragupta I
43. Silver plate showing Shapur II
44. Hinton St Mary Mosaic
45. Arabian bronze hand
A small number of major faiths have shaped the world over the last 2000 years. The iconography and other key features of Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism all developed within a few hundred years of each other. Buddhism first began to allow images of the Buddha in human form from AD 100 to 200, while the oldest images of Jesus Christ coincide with the acceptance of Christianity as the predominant religion of the Roman Empire in AD 312. At a similar time, Hinduism developed out of the Vedic religion in Gupta India. The birth of the Prophet Mohammad in AD 570 set the scene for the rise of Islam, which eventually replaced Zoroastrianism in Iran and the earlier religions of Arabia.
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