Living with the Gods - The Search for a State

Neil MacGregor continues his series on shared beliefs with a look at the attempts of some faiths to establish a state of their own.

An over-printed coin from 2nd century Jerusalem tells of the failed attempt of Shimon bar Kokhba to lay claim to a state for the Jews, free from Roman rule - while a white cotton flag, framed in pale blue, flew over Sudan after it had been taken by Mahdist forces and before the Islamic state collapsed in the mid 1890s.

Producer Paul Kobrak

Produced in partnership with the British Museum
Photograph (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.

Published on Thursday, 30th November 2017.

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