13th century: After an appallingly violent military campaign, Islam became the religion of many peoples, from Spain to Indonesia. Yet there was no Islamic Empire, just as there was no Christian Empire. Middle Ages signified: tiny states with warring princes and clans. This film relates the expansion of the Islamic and Arabic cultures which was brought about to a large part by military slaves: the children of non-Muslim Turkoman peoples were trained as Islamic elite warriors. Their triumphs led not only to the spread of war and the new faith, but also to the dissemination of a high culture: medicine, art, architecture, astronomy – a unique flowering of knowledge, culture and intellectual freedom that was felt as far away as Spain. The true threat for the realm of Allah did not come from Europe, but from the steppes of Asia. It was the Mongols who attacked their enemies, mercilessly, violently, insurmountably. In 1258 A.D., Baghdad – the seat of Islamic civilization – fell into their hands.
