The Story of the Jews Season 1 Episode 2 - Among Believers

Airdate: 2013-Sep-08

Episode summary:

Simon Schama's epic series continues with the story of medieval Jews struggling to preserve their identity--and sometimes their lives--under the rule of Christianity and Islam. Whether labelled 'Christ-killers' by the Christians or 'dhimmi' (non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic community) by the Muslims, diaspora Jews built new lives and invented new ways of being Jewish in exile in the face of discrimination, blood-libels and persecution interspersed with periods of tolerance, protection and peaceful co-existence. Drawing on some of the extraordinary documents they left behind, this episode offers a vivid portrait of Jewish bankers, merchants, doctors, poets and artists flourishing in Lincoln, Cordoba, Venice and Cairo and tells the tragic story of their mass expulsion from Spain in 1492.

About The Story of the Jews series:

Presented by historian Simon Schama, “The History Of The Jews” is a five-part series that will explore the Jewish experience, spanning ...Show more >