The Battle of Lepanto
In Our Time: History
11/12/15
•48m
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Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Battle of Lepanto, 1571, the last great sea battle between galleys, in which the Catholic fleet of the Holy League of principally Venice, Spain, the Papal States, Malta, Genoa, and Savoy defeated the Ottoman forces of Selim II. When much of Europe was divided over the Reformation, this was the first major victory of a Christian force over a Turkish fleet. The battle followed the Ottoman invasion of Venetian Cyprus and decades in which the Venetians had been trying to stop the broader westward expansion of the Ottomans into the Mediterranean. The outcome had a great impact on morale in Europe and Pope Pius V established a feast day of Our Lady of Victory. Some historians call it the most significant sea battle since Actium (31 BC). However, the Ottomans viewed the loss as less significant than their victory in Cyprus and, within two years, the Holy League had broken up.
With
Diarmaid MacCulloch Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford
Kate Fleet Director of the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies and Fellow of Newnham College, University of Cambridge
And
Noel Malcolm A Senior Research Fellow in History at All Soul's College, University of Oxford
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
Previous Episode
The Empire of Mali
October 29, 2015
•47m
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Empire of Mali which flourished from 1200 to 1600 and was famous in the wider world for the wealth of rulers such as Mansa Musa. Mali was the largest empire in west Africa and for almost 400 years controlled the flow of gold from mines in the south up to the Mediterranean coast and across to the Middle East. These gold mines were the richest known deposits in the 14th Century and produced around half of the world's gold. When Mansa Musa journeyed to Cairo in 1324 as part of his Hajj, he distributed so much gold that its value depreciated by over 10%. Some of the mosques he built on his return survive, albeit rebuilt, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Great Mosque of Djenne.
With
Amira Bennison Reader in the History and Culture of the Maghrib at the University of Cambridge
Marie Rodet Senior Lecturer in the History of Africa at SOAS
And
Kevin MacDonald Professor of African Archaeology Chair of the African Studies Programme at University College, London
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
Next Episode
The Salem Witch Trials
November 26, 2015
•45m
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