Elizabeth I's excommunication by the Pope in 1570 marked the beginning of an extraordinary - and little-known - English alignment with Muslim powers that were fighting Catholic Spain in the Mediterranean. This engagement with, and awareness of, Islam found its way into scores of plays, including Shakespeare's Othello.In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, first released in September 2021, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor Jerry Brotton about England's fascinating relations with the Muslim world, which were far more extensive, and often more amicable, than we might think.Presented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. Edited and produced by Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcast.Watch Mike Loades embark on a hands-on exploration into the amazing history of dogs in his new History Hit documentary, Dogs of the Tudors. Sign up to History Hit for that and hundreds more hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at: https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.