Original subtitles

[narrator] Abandoned In the iraqi desert,

Lie the ruins Of a long-forgotten city...

Samarra.

This was once the capital Of one of the greatest empires The world has ever seen.

Today this war-torn area, Long closed to the Outside world...

Conceals a series Of extraordinary palaces,

And a spectacular Spiral tower

Whose shape and strength Confound even 21st century engineers.

This is dangerous.

It may collapse at any minute.

[narrator] Why is samarra Built in the middle Of the desert?

And why is the city abandoned

After just 56 years?

Now investigators venture To the last surviving relics Of this remote site.

They use pioneering Aerial imaging technology

To map medieval structures For the first time.

To help explain samarra's Rapid rise to power.

And shed light on it's Extraordinary fate.

To help solve these mysteries,

We digitally reconstruct The city's strange Spiraling mega structure.

We unearth the secrets Of the biggest mosque Of its time.

An rebuild A ruler's lost palace

To reveal the hidden world Of the desert kings.

Samarra, iraq.

80 miles north Of today's capital, baghdad.

Samarra is one of the Richest archeological sites In the world,

And yet, it's little known Outside the middle east.

The modern day city of samarra Is one of the most Dangerous places on earth.

The area around the city Is frequently attacked

By islamist terror group isis.

Samarra has been off-limits To westerners for decades.

Now, our cameras Have been granted Special permission

To explore the stunning Unique site

Of medieval samarra For the very first time.

In the ninth century,

While europe is emerging From the dark ages,

This city is a shining beacon Of middle eastern glory.

In its heart, An opulent palace

With walled gardens and pools That reflect the desert sun.

It's a vast complex Of buildings that stretches Across 300 acres.

Colored glass glitters On huge domes that rise Above stunning courtyards.

Beyond the palace,

A city of 150,000 people Stretches 25 miles Along the river tigris.

And a unique spiral tower Soars 170 feet above it.

Why is the magnificent City of samarra built?

Estabraq muyad has been Examining the secrets Of her hometown for years.

At the heart of this city, The remains of A huge building,

Now little more Than an empty shell.

And standing over This structure,

The enormous conical Spiraling tower,

The most spectacular Relic of all in samarra.

Enclosed inside the four walls Of the building is a Huge courtyard.

Estabraq thinks identifying The structure may reveal Samarra's original purpose.

To look for clues,

She examines The surviving walls.

She finds a large niche On an inner wall Of the courtyard.

Estabraq suspects This distinctive archway Could be a religious feature.

To be sure, she checks The direction the niche faces.

The niche is a meerab. It points to mecca.

The direction Muslims must face When they pray.

This is clearly a holy site.

In the ninth century, This is the largest mosque In the world.

Behind a wall 35 feet high...

Hundreds of octagonal columns Form 17 aisles,

That lead towards A vast courtyard.

There is space For an astonishing 80,000 people.

Alongside, sitting on A 100-foot-wide base,

An enormous spiraling Sandstone tower.

It's a gigantic minaret

From which the faithful Are called to prayer.

Can this enormous mosque Help explain why Samarra is built?

To find out,

Estabraq ventures up To the minaret summit.

The minaret has stood here For 1200 years.

The summit was damaged During fighting in 2005,

But has been fully repaired.

From the top,

A vast arid plain unfolds For mile after mile.

Estabraq believes It's important the mosque Is clearly visible.

Yet, a tower half its height Would have been ample.

She thinks identifying Its builder may reveal Why the minaret is so huge

And why the mosque And samarra are built In this arid wilderness.

Samarra is built in 836 ad,

To be the capital Of the mighty Abbasid caliphate.

Its territories stretched From modern-day tunisia In the west

To central asia in the east.

It is one of the largest Empires in history.

Its ruler, the caliph, Builds the great mosque As the centerpiece

Of his new capital to proclaim The glories of islam And the power of the abbasids.

The caliph al-mutawakkil Is the tenth ruler Of the abbasid dynasty.

He comes to power in 847 ad When the empire Is at its peak.

He oversees a huge expansion Of samarra.

He doubles the size Of the city

And orders over 20 new palaces.

He decorates each palace With elaborately carved

Stucco panels Of repeating floral motifs,

A new style that defines Islamic art for centuries.

At the city's heart, He builds the great mosque,

A wonder of its era Where 80,000 people gather Five times a day to pray.

But why does he chose Such a unique style For samarra's huge minaret?

Ezzeldin yazeed works On engineering projects across The middle east.

Ezz thinks clues To explain why the minaret Has this unique spiral shape

Lie in the landscape Around samarra.

[ezzeldin] We have one Of the most dangerous Earthquake fault

In the world which passes Through iran and iraq.

[narrator] At least eight Significant earthquakes strike

This region In the ninth century.

In 872 ad, one rocks samarra.

It's now estimated at seven On the richter scale.

Ezz investigates If the conical-shaped minaret

Is built to cope With an earthquake Of this magnitude.

He sets up an experiment That uses a piece Of engineering equipment

Called a shake table.

The shaking table will vibrate With a frequency Which is close

To the frequency Of the earthquakes that affect The minaret in that zone.

[narrator] He begins The experiment By using a model

Of a traditionally shaped Cylindrical minaret.

[ezzeldin] Omar, Let's start, please. Let's shake it.

[narrator] The shake table Stimulates an earthquake

Of six and a half On the richter scale.

So, now we start Shaking the minaret.

And we can see The amount of vibration.

This is dangerous [chuckles] .

It may collapse at any minute.

[narrator] If such forces Were acting on the minaret In the real world

It would almost certainly Crumble to the ground.

We can see the minaret Is almost splitting From the foundation.

[narrator] Now, Ezz repeats the experiment

With the second conical-shaped Minaret, just like the one In samarra.

[ezzeldin] And we are going To shake the table now. So, omar, please start.

We are doubling the amplitude Of the shaking table.

[narrator] Ezz increases The magnitude to seven On the richter scale,

The same as the ninth Century earthquakes.

[ezzeldin] Yet we still Have no vibration whatsoever From the minaret.

[narrator] The minaret Has a large base that Narrows as it rises

Which increases The structure's stability.

The engineers knew That if they increase The foundation

And build that shape, They will have Better performance

When the minaret Is subjected to earthquake.

But a mystery Remains unsolved.

When samarra is built

The abbasid empire Already has a capital city.

It is called madinat al-salam Or city of peace.

We know it By its modern name, baghdad.

Why do the abbasid caliphs Build a second Imperial capital?

Can row upon row of identical Houses discovered under The desert sands reveal clues?

Samarra, the spectacular Capital city of the abbasid Empire in its golden age.

Now, investigators Are on a mission to find out Why the abbasid rulers

Leave their established Capital in baghdad

And build a new one In samarra.

Clues lie four miles north Of central samarra

Hidden under strange mounds Protruding from the desert.

Buried in the sand Are the remains Of decayed walls.

1200 years ago, These are simple Mud brick houses

All of them identical, Built from the same blueprint.

Row upon row of over Three and a half thousand Dwellings

Form a bustling neighborhood To rival samarra itself.

Can these strange ruins Explain why the caliphs

Build their new capital In samarra?

[narrator] Ali al samarra'I Has been fascinated

By this city since He was a child.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] He investigates This hill near the center Of samarra.

The hill is close to where Some of the 3,500

Houses once stood.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The first Archaeologists

To explore here arrived Shortly before world war I.

Their excavations reveal

That the hill has An unusual purpose.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] A small complex Of buildings on the summit

Ensures the caliph can watch The racing in style.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The excavations Also reveal something Surprising.

Houses have been built

Over large sections Of the race course.

Huge numbers of soldiers Move into samarra

And they need accommodation.

A contemporary account Reveals why.

The soldiers aren't From the local population.

They are ethnic turks From central asia.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The founder Of samarra, caliph al-mutasim

Forms a slave army

From foreign, predominantly Turkik soldiers

Who are captured in battle.

They become his personal Bodyguard

Protecting him day and night In the capital, baghdad.

But these foreign troops Frequently clash

With the local population.

Leading to riots In the great city.

So the caliph establishes A new capital at samarra,

80 miles away.

It is designed As a garrison town For the ruler's slave army.

But why does the caliph build His city in this exact spot?

To investigate, Ali uses a high-resolution Drone to survey

The landscape from above.

The area is a danger zone

Threatened by Terrorist attacks,

But ali has special permission From the iraqi authorities

To fly at This historical site.

The drone soars High above samarra,

Bringing into view The vast scale of the city.

Ali immediately notices That something is missing From the ruins below.

[ali speaking]

Ali believes that the caliph

Doesn't need To protect samarra With strong fortifications.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The caliph Chooses to build his capital

In an area that affords him Perfect natural protection.

And a stunning find At the caliph's seat of power

Show how samarra develops From a garrison town

To a city Of unimagined luxury

And how can a slave girl Become a queen.

[narrator] Samarra...

1200 years ago the capital Of the mighty abbasid empire.

A stunning lost city unearthed

In the center Of modern-day iraq.

Near the great mosque Is a large circular courtyard.

Investigator estabraq muayad Believes it's part of one of

The most important Buildings in samarra.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] In the 9th century

The palace is A sight to behold,

A marvel of middle eastern Architecture.

A monumental Three-arched gate,

The bab al-amma, Marks the entrance.

Beyond it, set Into soaring domes,

Colored glass creates Dazzling displays of light.

And beneath the palace,

Pools of water provide relief From the desert heat.

It is a feat of engineering Fit for a king.

Hugh kennedy is a specialist

On the history Of the abbasid empire.

He thinks one of The very few surviving

Wall decorations from samarra May offer vital clues

To what life is like In the caliph's palace.

We are looking at The pictures of three girls

On small fragments Of painted plaster

Which once decorated The reception rooms

Of the palace of the caliphs.

[narrator] Hugh believes Clues on the images can reveal

The identities of these Three young women.

[hugh] The girls themselves Are unveiled And elegantly dressed.

We must assume Because they're unveiled,

That they were slave girls And members of the harem.

[narrator] An important Function of the women

Of the harem is to provide Entertainment for the caliph.

[hugh] This would particularly Happen late at night

When the business Of the day was over.

The slave girls would come In and sing and perform.

And people remember The old poems,

The old stories, The old hunting stories,

The old love stories.

[narrator] These young women Enjoy a unique position At court.

[hugh] At one level These people are slaves

And they are owned, But calling her a slave girl

Doesn't really convey The status.

Because these slave girls Were highly trained in music

Trained in poetry, Trained in dancing.

[narrator] Estabraq Investigates the heights

To which some Lowly women can rise.

She heads to a palace About ten miles

From the center of the city.

It stands on a cliff Overlooking samarra.

This is the best preserved Of all the abbasid palaces,

And the first time a western Crew has been allowed Permission to film here.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] The palace is Two stories high

And surrounded by Large walls and a moat.

One of the two floors Is made up of

Vaults and catacombs.

Builders take five years To complete it.

Estabraq wants to know Who built this palace And for whom.

A clue may lie in its name.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] But are the Caliph's favorite slave girls

And lovers merely kept women?

[hugh] We have lots of Records of love affairs

Between caliphs And their slave girls,

Where the slave girls Play a very active part.

And if the slave girl Is angry with the caliph

She says so, the caliph goes Away unhappy, has to Find a gift,

Has to write a poem, Or something.

Get himself back into favor.

[narrator] Some women May enjoy real Political power too.

[hugh] Some of the senior Slave girls became Wives of caliphs

And they would be Advisors and so on.

In many cases, They had their own households

With their own Financial resources,

Their own treasuries.

[narrator] By piecing Together surviving clues From the palaces,

Experts are gradually Building an image of life In samarra 1200 years ago.

It is a city where A girl can start as a slave

And become a queen And trusted confidante

Of the caliph and have Their own palace.

What is everyday life Like in samarra?

And how can a stunning Discovery here reveal

An intellectual And scientific revolution

That shapes the world Even today?

[narrator] Samarra, 1200 years Ago a city of 150,000 people,

Of spectacular palaces, Stunning buildings,

And unimagined luxury.

What is life like for The ordinary people Of samarra?

Estabraq muayad explores The ruins of the city.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] Each building Is decorated with Elaborate carvings

That rise from the floor To halfway up the wall.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] The interiors Appear to mimic

The lavish decorations Of the caliph's palaces.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] All of the cities Of the vast abbasid empire

And the relics of their Culture have been destroyed Or built over.

Samarra is the last Surviving window into

This world-changing Civilization.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] Evidence reveals That people here

Lived in a golden age Of science and technology.

In the ruins Of samarra's palaces

Archaeologists unearth Thousands of shards Of ceramics,

Fragments of tiles,

The remains of Broken water jugs,

And plates adorned With intricate patterns

That, in their prime, Are coated with A highly iridescent glaze.

It's so shiny it makes The pottery look like Silver or gold.

Medieval potters Regard it as alchemy.

It's a technique Called lusterware

That requires knowledge Of complex chemistry.

So how do the artisans At samarra master it?

Andrew hazelden is an expert In medieval ceramics.

He investigates the secrets Of this ancient craft.

The intention behind luster Is to create what looks Like gold

From metal sulfides.

[narrator] To find out how The alchemists of samarra Do it,

Andrew experiments with a mix Of copper carbonate,

Silver chloride, tin oxide And red ochre.

This is a complicated recipe.

[narrator] Andrew paints The paste onto the surface

Of an earthenware bowl.

He heats a kiln to almost 1300 degrees fahrenheit.

And fires the bowl For five hours.

Finally he adds Damp wood to the kiln.

It's an ingenious way To make smoke and reduce The amount of oxygen.

Andrew believes This could be the secret Of making lusterware.

These were people who had Really expert knowledge Of how this chemistry worked.

This is when You really find out Whether we've created luster.

[narrator] Only now Will andrew know

If the experiment Is a success.

In the bright light Of samarra

This would be glowing like... Well, like the sun, really. Silver and gold.

[narrator] Andrew has Recreated the lusterware.

The same technique is used To decorate the tiles Of the caliph's palaces,

Making the city A fabulous spectacle.

As the sun came Round in the day, it would Catch the tiles.

It would be like A palace that is alive.

Not just like a flat color.

But the luster itself is like A three dimensional color.

So, the palaces themselves Would've been dazzling.

[narrator] The invention Of luster wear is one example

Of vast technological changes Sweeping the empire.

Abbasid scholars rediscover And revive the idea

Of intellectual inquiry From ancient greece And the near east

Lost in the dark ages.

Investigators call This period of history

"The golden age of islam".

The abbasids make unrivalled Advances in science.

They build The first observatory In the muslim world,

And discover new galaxies.

Mathematicians begin working With negative numbers,

And invent algebra,

The foundation Of modern mathematics.

Physicians make Pioneering discoveries

About the working Of the heart,

And begin to unlock The secrets of the Nervous system.

Baghdad becomes The intellectual powerhouse Of the world,

Home to a library called "The house of wisdom"

That attracts the Finest scholars From across the world.

It is one of the Greatest periods Of intellectual inquiry

In human history.

From samarra and baghdad,

Abbasid science, culture And its stunning architecture

Will influence The whole middle east.

[narrator] The caliphs Gather knowledge From far-flung lands.

And then they give it Back to the world.

But how can the abbasids Control their vast empire?

And how is the extraordinary Fate of samarra

Revealed by Its mudbrick remains?

Samarra, in modern day iraq,

A dangerous war-torn area

Long closed To the outside world.

It is the capital Of the abbasid empire

In the most glorious period Of its history,

"The golden age of islam."

But this era is not to last.

Most of the thousands Of buildings in the city

Are made from mudbrick And plaster.

Without regular maintenance,

The plaster crumbles.

[rumbling]

Rain causes The bricks to swell

And then fracture, As they dry.

Over the course Of hundreds of years,

The bricks lose their Structure and collapse...

...Leaving only the footprints Of this mudbrick city,

Once home to 150,000 people.

Why is samarra abandoned?

Ali al-samarra'I believes

A prominent feature Near the great mosque

Could offer clues To the city's rise and fall.

Ali investigates what is Once a vast boulevard

That runs through samarra.

[narrator] Today, little remains.

Much is covered by modern Agriculture and development.

Ali paces out what's left.

He discovers It's over 100 yards wide.

[ali speaking]

[whirring]

[narrator] To find out more, He takes to the air.

From up high, it's possible To appreciate

The sheer scale of the road.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] Today, it's buried Beneath the debris of the Passing centuries.

But in its prime, This enormous road is crucial

To the caliph's ability To control the empire From samarra.

It's one of many huge roads

That link the Caliph's territories.

Citizens, merchants And messages

Speed along these Super-fast highways.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] But ali believes This 4,000-mile road Network alone

Cannot give the caliph control Over the huge empire.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The caliphs are forced To delegate their power.

Hugh kennedy thinks Evidence for this Can be found in egypt.

In the ninth century,

Egypt is an important part Of the abbasid empire.

It is run by ibn tulun,

The son of a turkic Slave soldier from samarra.

[hugh] Ibn-tulun became The governor of egypt,

Which was the second biggest,

And then the most prosperous Area of the muslim world.

[narrator] Ibn-tulun Turns on his masters In faraway samarra.

Ibn-tulun started to Assert his independence

As ruler of egypt, but also Of syria and some parts Of north africa.

[narrator] The turkic threat To the caliphs is growing

Both in the empire And at home in samarra.

Ali investigates another Huge palace in samarra.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The caliph Gives the palace

To a leading Turkic general as a gift.

Its enormous walls enclose A vast courtyard

Over one square-mile in size.

Ali examines a transcription Of a medieval text.

It reveals the ambitious General quickly changes The palace's function.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] Turning the palace Into a mosque means

Soldiers of the slave army Can gather in their thousands.

Once the caliph's bodyguard, They are now a threat.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The loyalty Of the turkic soldiers Is to their own generals.

The leaders of the Turkic slave army in samarra Become so rich and powerful

That they begin to threaten The power of the caliph.

To keep control,

Caliph al-mutawakkil Orders the arrest Of a turkic general.

He strips him Of his possessions,

And leaves him in jail To die of thirst.

But the turkic generals Strike back.

They send assassins To murder the caliph

While he dines in the palace.

[indistinct screaming]

Now, the turkic slave army Commanders rule samarra,

No matter who the caliph is.

It leads to anarchy In samarra.

[hugh] The central government In samarra collapsed.

A whole series of coups And counter-coups

And murders and so on Went on there.

[narrator] Ibn-tulun Uses the chaos

To set up his own dynasty In egypt and syria.

At home, the caliph Feels isolated in his Desert capital.

With thousands of disloyal Soldiers his only company.

In 892 ad,

Just 56 years After samarra is founded,

He makes A remarkable decision.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] Baghdad, once again, becomes The capital of the empire.

Samarra's brief moment In history is over.

[ali speaking]

[narrator] The great palaces, Mosques and minarets

Are left as lonely outposts In the desert.

How does samarra Avoid destruction

By one of the most Ferocious armies in history?

And what happens To the abbasid empire After the fall of samarra?

Samarra, the glorious capital Of the abbasid empire.

But in 892 ad, The caliph flees samarra,

And the great city Is abandoned.

The caliphs strip the city's Grand palaces and great mosque Of their treasures.

All that's left Are empty buildings.

[narrator] What happens To most of these buildings?

Abbasid architecture was Made of brick and plaster,

Wood, hung with textiles,

All these things don't survive Very well.

Estabraq muayad Looks for clues at Samarra's great mosque.

[narrator] Today, The minaret still stands guard Over the ancient city.

But the great mosque Of samarra

Is little more than a shell.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] Over the centuries, Most of the city disappears Beneath the desert sands.

But samarra faces An even greater threat

Than wind, rain And desert storms.

[estabraq speaking]

[horses galloping]

[narrator] Three hundred years After samarra is abandoned,

A ferocious mongol hoard Emerges from asia.

It strikes terror In populations across Europe and the middle east.

[narrator] The remains Of the great mosque

And its stunning minaret Are an easy target.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] They also Destroy all the glass on the Front wall of the mosque.

And then turn their attack on The greatest city of the age.

[narrator] In 1258, A colossal horde Of 150,000 warriors

Lay siege to baghdad.

The largest mongol army Ever assembled.

They seize the caliph.

Wrap him in a rug.

And ride their horses Over him,

Trampling him to death.

[horses galloping]

The raiders destroy Baghdad's great library, The house of wisdom,

Burning it to the ground.

It's said that the River tigris runs red

With the blood of scientists And philosophers

Slaughtered by the mongols.

[estabraq speaking]

[narrator] Medieval baghdad Is utterly destroyed.

Samarra, already abandoned And in ruins, survives.

[hugh] Samarra Is a unique site,

In that we can Get an idea about

What the cities of The middle east looked like

In the time of the great days Of the arab empire.

It was never destroyed Or burnt down

Or anything like that.

[narrator] Samarra serves As the capital of the Incredible abbasid empire

For a mere 56 years.

Yet, the scale And ambition of the city,

Are breathtaking.

Samarra, A golden city in the desert,

In the golden age of islam,

A remarkable testament To an extraordinary culture.

And standing over it all,

Samarra's magnificent Spiral minaret,

Beneath which Up to 80,000 worshippers Once gathered to pray.

A last surviving remnant Of the abbasid empire's Desert kings.