Founding monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the de facto unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; to remove the obstacle that this consanguinity would otherwise have posed to their marriage under canon law, they were given a papal dispensation by Sixtus IV. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen years old and Ferdinand a year younger.
3 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Athelstan
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the reign of King Athelstan, whose military exploits united much of England, Scotland and Wales under one ruler for the first time.
1 July 2010
Featuring: Sarah Foot, John Hines, Richard Gameson
Genghis Khan
Melvyn Bragg discusses Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire, one of the largest contiguous empires the world has ever seen.
1 February 2007
Featuring: Peter Jackson, Naomi Standen, George Lane
The Augustan Age
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the political regime and cultural influence of the Roman Emperor Augustus.
11 June 2009
Featuring: Mary Beard, Catharine Edwards, Duncan Kennedy
Culture1st-century RomansJulio-Claudian dynastyAncient Roman adopteesJulii CaesaresRoman pharaohs1st-century Roman emperorsPeople in the canonical gospelsDeified Roman emperorsFounding monarchsAugustusPeople of the War of MutinaCharacters in Book VI of the AeneidShipwreck survivors1st-century BC Roman consuls, 1st-century BC Roman augursBurials at the Mausoleum of Augustus, Ancient Roman military personnel