The ancient succession drama that led to the Sunni-Shia divide

A podcast dramatization of the schism that split Islam into Sunni and Shia

The events following Muhammad's death were a bitter succession dispute that divided Islam into its two major branches. You can relive them in this dramatic narrative from the Conflicted History podcast, which provides an immersive entry point into the issue.

The Sunni-Shia divide has fueled conflict and rivalry throughout the Middle East for centuries

Islam's ancient sectarian split, rooted in a seventh-century dispute over succession following the Prophet Mohammed's death, has shaped modern geopolitics—most visibly in the proxy rivalry between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, whose competition for regional dominance has inflamed conflicts across Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen.

The 1979 Iranian Revolution inspired other Islamist movements and alarmed Sunni governments

By establishing the world's first modern Islamic theocracy, the revolution inspired Islamist movements across the region and alarmed Sunni Arab governments. The resulting rivalry between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia has since fueled proxy conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen that persist today.

Ramadan moon-sighting can spark intra-family disputes

Because different communities—and even different members of the same family—follow different methods for confirming the crescent, Ramadan doesn't always start on the same day for everyone. The result: "moon wars" that pit parents against children, and mosques against each other, on when exactly the fast begins.

A readable narrative account of how Muhammad first received the Quran

The story behind Ramadan's origins involves a lesser-known layer of personal drama for Muhammad, who fled the Cave of Hira in fear thinking he had been possessed by the angel communicating with him. Only his wife, Khadijah, was able to reassure him. The first revelation came during Ramadan in 610 CE, but the full Quran took 23 years for the angel Jibril (or Gabriel) to deliver.

The final war between the Persian and Byzantine empires

The Arab conquests of the seventh century, which swept over Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia, were made possible by a catastrophic generation-long war between the Byzantine and Persian Empires. That war, in turn, was the last act in a struggle that had gone on for centuries, and shaped the whole subsequent history of the Middle East.

The presidential line of succession ensures continuity of government

If the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the vice president assumes the presidency. The line then proceeds to the speaker of the House, Senate president pro tempore, and Cabinet secretaries, beginning with the Department of State, established under the Presidential Succession Act.

Learn how the Egyptians, Romans, and other ancient civilizations worshipped the sun

In Egypt, the pharaoh was seen as the living embodiment of the son of Ra, the sun god. In Mesopotamia, the sun god Shamash was a divine judge whose light could reveal the truth. Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of sun and war, was thought to require sacrifices to prevent the universe's destruction.

The Shah fled Iran in January 1979, ending nearly 38 years of Pahlavi rule

On Jan. 16, 1979, Mohammad Reza Shah left Iran with his wife, officially for a "vacation"—one he would never return from. His departure marked the effective collapse of the monarchy, as millions celebrated in the streets and power swiftly shifted to Khomeini's revolutionary movement.

Salman Rushdie's 1988 satire led to a government-sponsored death threat

Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" mocked religious dogma, including an extended sequence about the Prophet Muhammad. The book was accused of blasphemy and was banned in Pakistan and India. In 1989, Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Rushdie and his publisher.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Variations of marriage existed in ancient West Africa

The enormous landmass of Africa has been home to numerous cultures and countries, and there’s been no singular way to get married. One striking aspect has been the matrilineal belt across central Africa, where wealth was passed down through the female, rather than the male, line. In some regions, it was also acceptable for a woman to take more than one husband.

The story behind Prince's rivalry with Michael Jackson

The Purple One was often compared to the King of Pop, but Prince considered himself the superior artist. This retrospective details the many contentious encounters between the two giants, but it also highlights the sincere admiration they had for each other's work.

Historically, cholera has repeatedly disrupted the Hajj for Muslims

Outbreaks of the disease throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, killed thousands of religious pilgrims as they sought to complete this obligatory pilgrimage.

How to bridge political divides

Can people who believe in opposing ultimate views of the world really live in peace together? That's a core requirement of individuals living in pluralistic societies. Law professor Samar Ali and public affairs strategist Clint Brewer don't agree on much, but they're great friends. In this TED Talk, the two share why political polarization in the US isn’t as intractable as we might think. Learn some tips for getting along in the free world here.

Wealthy patricians and poorer plebeians struggled for power for centuries

During the Roman Republic, the plebs sought political protection, more access to power, and freedom, while the patricians looked to protect their elite status and wealth. Plebeians regularly "seceded," or effectively went on strike and did not fight for the patricians.

In recent decades, Supreme Court nominations have grown increasingly contentious and partisan

This video examines the historical shift from bipartisan, civil confirmation hearings to the deeply divisive process seen today. It focuses on the 1987 nomination of Robert Bork, the most recent nominee to be rejected, as an important moment in this transformation.

King Henry VIII's first divorce is likely the most famous divorce of all time

How often does a divorce change the course of a nation? When English King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in the 1500s, Catholicism was the national religion. Even though Catherine didn't produce a male heir, religious leaders refused to grant his wish. In response, King Henry turned his country upside down for the chance to marry the second of his six wives.

The Alabama–Auburn rivalry, known as the Iron Bowl, began in 1893

First played in Birmingham in 1893, the Iron Bowl has become one of college football’s most heated rivalries, with bragging rights, SEC championships, and national title implications fueling decades of fierce competition.

Modern swordsmen still are trying to figure out how medieval knights fought

There's no line of succession for the secrets to fighting like a medieval European knight. All the primary sources of information on the art are either dead or trapped in vague manuscripts. But that doesn't mean people aren't trying to piece the martial art back together. This article explores one group's attempt to revive the world of historical European martial arts.

What led to the Vietnam War?

On the heels of gaining independence from colonizers, why did Vietnam fracture and begin its internal battle? Though the war took root during an independence movement against French colonial rule, it evolved into a Cold War confrontation with international support. This article explains six events that led to the conflict between North and South Vietnam.

The power and meaning behind the Sikh turban

Sikhs, who comprise the fifth-largest religion in the world, are well known for their elaborate turbans. The tightly wrapped headdress is a symbol of each person's royalty, a reflection of the Sikh belief in everyone's participation in the divine...

Learn about the Linux contingency plan for when its creator retires or passes away

Authored 34 years after the software was coded by Linus Torvalds, the plan dictates that if the maintainers of the code's repository are unable to facilitate a transition to Torvalds' successor, an Organizer will chair a meeting with the invitees of the most recently concluded Maintainers Summit, which will consider options for the ongoing management of the repository.

Both Abigail and John Adams had complicated relationships with Thomas Jefferson

This podcast examines the complex history between the Adams family and Thomas Jefferson—a relationship that fluctuated between close friendship and fierce rivalry, influenced by political conflicts and personal loyalties.

Rival companies AMD and Nvidia's CEOs are related

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia are two of the world's largest manufacturers of processing chips and are fierce competitors. AMD's CEO Lisa Su and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are actually first cousins once removed, but reportedly don't share a close relationship and didn't even meet until later in life at an industry event.

7 things to know about inherited IRA rules

An inherited IRA is any kind of IRA or 401K plan you inherited from someone after they’ve died. Since there are different tax advantages for each type of retirement account, the rules you have to follow widely differ based on the account, your relationship to the deceased, and how you want to use the money. Here are the seven things you must know to navigate an inherited IRA.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.