David Nirenberg

Filmed in Cordoba, Granada, Seville, and Toledo, this documentary retraces the 800-year period in medieval Spain when Muslims, Christians, and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences, revealing what made this rare and fruitful collaboration possible, and what ultimately tore it apart.

It began much like the common cold. Yet within a day fever took over black swellings the size of baseballs appeared on the neck and finally a highly contagious bloody cough quickly sealed the victim's fate. During the worst biological disaster in the history of mankind the so-called black death released an indiscriminate fury which shook the very foundations of human order. Religious hysteria began to break out and in desperation frenzied masses scrambled to find a scapegoat. When all was said and done nearly one-third of Europe's population had been completely wiped out and devastated survivors were left to contend with a world forever changed both socially and economically. In this feature-length special THE HISTORY CHANNEL-® investigates the origins of this devastating moment in human history and explores the many questions surrounding the terrifying possibility of a modern-day biological threat.

A detailed account of the two millennia of intolerance and persecution suffered by the Jews, from antiquity to the present day.