The Crescent and the Cross

The borders between Christendom and the Islamic world have shifted for over a millennium, and at several key moments has erupted into war.

The list of combatants from the past includes: Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Suleiman the Magnificent, the Mahdi, Gordon of Khartoum and now George W Bush and Osama bin Laden.

The Crescent and the Cross, a four-part series, presented by Owen Bennett-Jones, examines several turning points in the relationship between Christianity and Islam covering Muslim Spain, the Crusades, the Ottoman Empire and the struggle for Africa.

Part One starts by look going back over 1,000 years ago, in what we now call Spain, but was then known as al-Andalus.

It has recently become fashionable to argue that the gulf between Islam and Christianity is deep and eternal. The series assesses whether such a claim can survive the scrutiny of history?

First broadcast on 09 November 2009.