The Middle East: A Brief History

A brief history of the Middle East

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As everyone else has said, this is a really good introduction to the history and issues in this region. The first half which covers the establishments of the different religions eminating from the middle east takes some wading through but is very important and informative. The second half looks at some of the issues in the 20th century and through to September It was written before the Arab Spring but is nonetheless an interesting read when keeping the current happenings in mind.

Jun 29, Carly rated it liked it Shelves: This is a good book in theory, but the editing is horrendous.

I kept running across repeated sentences, spelling and grammar errors, etc. The sequencing is a little choppy too, although it's difficult to fault the author for that since he attempts to cover a few thousand years in a very short book. Would benefit from a re-written, better edited edition. Nov 06, John Dodds rated it liked it Shelves: Concise overview of Middle Eastern history from ancient times to the present day. Useful as a launchpad for wider reading. Jul 21, Andrew rated it really liked it.

Definitely takes the "brief" in "brief history" seriously it spans a couple of thousand years in odd pages. Very succinct and solid piece of work, which, from my humble point of view, appears to try to look at issues from various angles.

The Middle East by Bernard Lewis

Useful as either a primer or a refresher. Aug 11, James rated it really liked it Shelves: A good introductory text for anyone with a general interest or curiosity about the Middle East and its history, why it's so often at the centre of our news reports and why it generates such impassioned opinions in people across the world.

Really brief but insightful book--good analysis and thought provoking considerations on the middle east and some helpful explanations on the seminal issues at stake in both politics and religion. Accessible read as well, especially for someone not familiar with the history of the middle east. Jun 09, Marcus rated it really liked it. It is loaded with facts and history that basically explain why the Middle East is the powder keg it is. I just wish I could keep all the facts straight in my head now.

Truthfully, the book probably needs to be read a couple of times to get everything out of it. Sep 27, Nick Harriss rated it really liked it Shelves: A good introduction to the complexities of this part of the world. It takes a very broad brush approach, but the brevity is one of its strong points. My only criticism is it takes and overly Christian-based angle at times to matters that probably require a less theocratic approach.

Jan 25, Daniel Kukwa rated it really liked it Shelves: From the "A Brief History of This one is particularly fine, and shines a much more concise and enjoyable light on the history of the Middle East and the rise of Islam Recommended by Deirdre M. An excellent and helpful introduction. Feb 10, Tanya rated it really liked it Shelves: Straightforward introduction to the middle east from the Sumerians to now.

It's accessible and informative and manages to also be entertaining. Jul 05, Christopher Earl rated it it was amazing. This book taught me a great deal about the Middle East. Sep 21, Michael Stockinger rated it liked it. Definitely brief, and the history of the region is essential, but man the 20th century is so confusing! It put me to sleep at night, so reading this was a win on both fronts.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Great info to help understand Religion and Current Events in Iraq. Aug 08, Chris rated it it was amazing. Filled with "this is why Islam is wrong" etc. I was looking for a balanced inquiry into each major monotheistic faith. This author did not produce that. Feb 19, Rocky rated it it was amazing Shelves: Still working on this one Terrific start to middle eastern study.

David rated it liked it Feb 21, There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Christopher Catherwood is a writer and historian based in Cambridge. Books by Christopher Catherwood. See 1 question about The Middle East…. Lists with This Book.

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Jul 08, Amin Mosayyebzadeh rated it liked it Shelves: Aug 27, Mark Becher rated it really liked it. I thought the book was a useful overview of Middle Eastern history from the Roman Empire through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obviously that is a lot of ground to cover in less than four hundred pages, so the level of detail is not terribly great. Lewis is aiming instead for a general understanding of the major trends in the region's development. Since the entire subject was new to me at the time of reading this book I had to resign myself to letting many of the dates and names slide past m I thought the book was a useful overview of Middle Eastern history from the Roman Empire through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Since the entire subject was new to me at the time of reading this book I had to resign myself to letting many of the dates and names slide past me for the time being; you just can't hope to catch all of the information the first time through. But it did provide me a useful skeleton outline of events and personalities, so that now as I continue to read in the field I am beginning to recognize details I have seen before rather than constantly coming across new information.

The book is emphatically not a history of Islam; but only touches on it as a part of the history of the region. But I would suggest the work as a necessary historical background for any serious study of the content and especially the development of the Muslim faith. An interesting overview of the history of the Middle East. Trying to condense two millennia of history of an entire region into one book is rather ambitious and at times one does get confused with the details and direction. This is particularly true in the earlier part of the book, covering the earlier history, where of course records are rare.

But whilst I don't come away from this book thinking I understand the history well, I do now have a rough idea of how the history has developed. Where the An interesting overview of the history of the Middle East. Where the book really picks up is in the last hundred pages or so, covering the last couple of centuries.

Here the historical record is far more detailed, allowing a far more in depth analysis and fortunately for me is where my particular interests lie. Overall an interesting read. Jun 18, Aaron rated it really liked it. A good general history of the Middle East with a strong focus on Islamic think Turkish, Lewis's main area of study history from AD to the first gulf war. The most important sections cover culture, local politics and the lower classes, subjects rarely covered in most surveys, which often seem to only bounce from war to war.

Aug 01, Thomas rated it really liked it. Anyone who wants to understand the Middle East should start with Bernard Lewis. Sep 04, Cynthia rated it really liked it. This was a fantastic book! A clear, unbiased presentation of Middle East history over the last years - and told in such a compelling way that it was more than just facts and figures but a dramatic and engaging story. Lewis has a definite knack for story telling, turns of phrase, and well placed vignettes.

Actually, I think there are at least three or four blockbuster movies we could make from this book! This book provides a very detailed account of how Islam influence the Middle East from sixth century and how the West shape the recent picture of Middle East. Readers may find the book focus much on Islam and a bit little of what happened regionally during Middle Age. It's also a good book on mental development of Middle East people.

Extensive and somewhat hard if not your main topic of occupation. I battled through but enjoyed. As someone born in the "West", with little or no contact with Islam, this book clarified plenty of what I had imagined to be. Aug 07, Andrew Rosner added it. This is a somewhat condensed examination of the last two thousand years of history in the Middle East.

Still, as Lewis argues, it has been the defining force for the region since its emergence from the Arabian deserts over fourteen centuries ago. Lewis does a very good job of describing the forces shaping daily life in the Middle East; the bureacratic administration of the Ottoman empire, land tenure, agriculture, languages, literature, even music. And one does get a sense of a once great civilization that has lost its way and is still struggling to cope with the changes wrought by modernity.

Dec 17, Simone rated it really liked it. Although, as some other reviewers here have noted, his style is not highly entertaining, if you are interested in learning something and enjoy challenging your mind, rather than being passively entertained by pop culture versions of history, it's worth the effort.

Lewis takes the panoramic view of the social, cultural, religious, and political history of the region, which I found illuminating ofcurr This is an interesting overview of Middle Eastern history by respected Middle East scholar Lewis. Lewis takes the panoramic view of the social, cultural, religious, and political history of the region, which I found illuminating ofcurrent events.

In particular, the knowledge I gained about the workings and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire has enriched, deepened, and changed my view of events from the Syrian Civil War to the Arab-Israeli conflict. I appreciated greatly that Lewis' tone was neither apologetic nor condescending towards his chosen subject, but rather respectful and as objective as one can be. My main criticism of the book is that it did not entirely live up to its title. Lewis spent the vast majority of the book describing characteristics and events of the Ottoman Empire.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book. Lewis does an excellent job in the middle section of the book analyzing aspects of Middle East culture and government, such as the state and the arts.

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His anecdotes are longer in these sections, and he is better at focusing on subjects that he finds important. His modern history section is tightly written as well and fairly entertaining. First, Lewis has a pro-colonial and pro-Western bias that shines strongly in the modern history section. Lewis certainly believes that West Positives: Lewis certainly believes that Western society and philosophy is "better," and seems to chide Middle Eastern states for not following it as he thinks is best.

Second, the section on pre-Islamic and medieval history is very boring and fact-focused. Unfortunately, this doesn't make for engaging reading, especially when he limits himself to or so pages. Lewis is a good historian and his was an enjoyable enough read more so than Karen Armstrong's book on the same subject. Creates a good understanding of some of the great historical ironies e. A good companion book Lewis is a good historian and his was an enjoyable enough read more so than Karen Armstrong's book on the same subject. I saw this book in the bargain bin and figured I could not go wrong.

My historical knowledge, well my knowledge period, of the middle-east was quite minimal. There is a lot of information in this tome, more than a person could ever hope to retain. That said, I think it is more than possible for most people to slog through and gain great insight into the politics, the religion of this rich and fascinating part of the world.

This read is a major endeavor so be prepared, but if you are truly look Wow. This read is a major endeavor so be prepared, but if you are truly looking for a comprehensive history of the middle-east, this is the book for you. If not, well, find an abridged edition. May 02, Yofish rated it liked it Shelves: A very comprehensive history, more or less from Mohammed to the present. Way too much to listen to 5 minutes at a time in the car.

Just too much information to process and remember. Was it France or Britain in Egypt in the 19th century? Who were Pashas and who were Sultans? Tammarlane did what, again? What's the difference between Nationalism and patriotism? Christian Western Europe staged a remarkable economic and demographic recovery in the 11th century since its nadir in the 7th century.

The fragmentation of the Middle East allowed joined forces, mainly from England, France, and the emerging Holy Roman Empire , to enter the region. In the knights of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem and founded the Kingdom of Jerusalem , which survived until , when Saladin retook the city. Smaller crusader fiefdoms survived until The conquest of Baghdad and the death of the caliph in officiated the end of the Abbasid Caliphate and annexed its territories to the Mongol Empire , excluding Mamluk Egypt and the majority of Arabia.

His absence resulted in the first defeat of the Mongols by the Mamluk Egyptians during the Battle of Ain Jalut in Additionally, societal clashing occurred between traditionalists who wished to retain their nomadic culture and Mongols moving towards sedentary agriculture. All of this led to the fragmentation of the empire in The Mongols eventually retreated in , but the chaos that ensued throughout the empire deposed the Seljuq Turks. In , the region was further plagued by the Turko-Mongol, Timur , and his ferocious raids.

By then, another group of Turks had arisen as well, the Ottomans. By the early 15th century, a new power had arisen in western Anatolia, the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman khans, who in captured the Christian Byzantine capitol of Constantinople and made themselves sultans. The Mamluks held the Ottomans out of the Middle East for a century, but in Selim the Grim began the systematic Ottoman conquest of the region.

Syria was occupied in and Egypt in , extinguishing the Mameluk line. Iraq was conquered almost in 40 years from the Iranian Safavids , who were successors of the Aq Qoyunlu. The Ottomans united the whole region under one ruler for the first time since the reign of the Abbasid caliphs of the 10th century, and they kept control of it for years, despite brief intermissions created by the Iranian Safavids and Afsharids.

In the west, Europe was rapidly expanding, demographically, economically, and culturally. By , the Ottomans had been driven out of Hungary. Although some areas of Ottoman Europe, such as Albania and Bosnia , saw many conversions to Islam, the area was never culturally absorbed into the Muslim world. From to , the Ottomans gradually lost territory. By the 19th century, Europe had overtaken the Muslim world in wealth, population, and—most importantly—technology.

The industrial revolution fueled a boom that laid the foundations for the growth of capitalism. During the 19th century, Greece , Serbia , Romania , and Bulgaria claimed independence, and the Ottoman Empire became known as the " sick man of Europe ", increasingly under the financial control of European powers. Domination soon turned to outright conquest: In the Balkan Wars of —13 the Ottomans were driven out of Europe altogether, except for the city of Constantinople and its hinterland.

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The Ottomans turned to Germany to protect them from the western powers, but the result was increasing financial and military dependence on Germany. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middle Eastern rulers tried to modernize their states to compete more effectively with Europe.

In the Ottoman Empire, the Tanzimat reforms re-invigorated Ottoman rule and were furthered by the Young Ottomans in the late 19th century, leading to the First Constitutional Era in the Empire that included the writing of the constitution and the establishment of the Ottoman Parliament. The authors of the revolution in Persia all sought to import versions of the western model of constitutional government, civil law, secular education, and industrial development into their countries.

Throughout the region, railways and telegraph lines were constructed, schools and universities were opened, and a new class of army officers, lawyers, teachers, and administrators emerged, challenging the traditional leadership of Islamic scholars. This first Ottoman constitutional experiment ended soon after it began, however, when the autocratic Sultan Abdul Hamid II abolished the parliament and the constitution in favor of personal rule. Abdul Hamid ruled by decree for the next 30 years, stirring democratic resentment.

The reform movement known as the Young Turks emerged in the s against his rule, which included massacres against minorities. The Young Turks seized power in the Young Turk Revolution and established the Second Constitutional Era , leading to a pluralist and multiparty elections in the Empire for the first time in After a power struggle between the two parties of Young Turks, the Committee emerged victorious and became a ruling junta, with Talaat as Grand Vizier and Enver as War Minister, and established a German-funded modernisation program across the Empire.

Enver Bey's alliance with Germany, which he considered the most advanced military power in Europe, was enabled by British demands that the Ottoman Empire cede their formal capital Edirne Adrianople to the Bulgarians after losing the First Balkan War , which the Turks saw as a betrayal by Britain. In , as the result of the Cyprus Convention , the United Kingdom took over the government of Cyprus as a protectorate from the Ottoman Empire. While the Cypriots at first welcomed British rule , hoping that they would gradually achieve prosperity, democracy and national liberation, they soon became disillusioned.

The British imposed heavy taxes to cover the compensation they paid to the Sultan for conceding Cyprus to them. Moreover, the people were not given the right to participate in the administration of the island, since all powers were reserved to the High Commissioner and to London. In , the Government of Lord Liverpool created the Six Acts , which established press censorship , the banning of political parties mainly the communist party , the dissolution of municipal elections, as well as the out-ruling of trade unions , meetings of more than five individuals, and the tolling of church bells outside services.

He abolished the caliphate , emancipated women, enforced western dress and the use of a new Turkish alphabet based on Latin script in place of the Arabic alphabet , and abolished the jurisdiction of the Islamic courts.

In effect, Turkey, having given up rule over the Arab world, was now determined to secede from the Middle East and become culturally part of Europe. Another turning point came when oil was discovered, first in Persia and later in Saudi Arabia as well as the other Persian Gulf states, Libya , and Algeria. The Middle East, it turned out, possessed the world's largest easily accessible reserves of crude oil , the most important commodity in the 20th century. While western oil companies pumped and exported nearly all of it to fuel the rapidly expanding automobile industry among other developments, the kings and emirs of these oil states became immensely rich, allowing them to consolidate their hold on power and giving them a stake in preserving western hegemony over the region.

Initially, the Western oil companies established a dominance over oil production and extraction. However, indigenous movements towards nationalizing oil assets, oil sharing, and the advent of OPEC ensured a shift in the balance of power towards the Arab oil states. The British saw the Ottomans as the weak link in the enemy alliance, and concentrated on knocking them out of the war. When a direct assault failed at Gallipoli in , they turned to fomenting revolution in the Ottoman domains, exploiting the awakening force of Arab , Armenian , and Assyrian nationalism against the Ottomans.

The British found an ally in Sharif Hussein , the hereditary ruler of Mecca and believed by Muslims to be a descendant of Muhammad , who led an Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule, after being promised independence. The Allies, led by Britain, won the war and seized most of the Ottoman territories; Turkey just managed to survive. The war transformed the region in terms of increased British and French involvement; the creation of the Middle Eastern state system as seen in Turkey and Saudi Arabia; the emergence of explicitly more nationalist politics, as seen in Turkey and Egypt; and the rapid growth of the Middle Eastern oil industry.

When the Ottoman Empire was defeated by an Arab uprising and the British forces after the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in , the Arab population did not get what it wanted. Islamic activists of more recent times have described as an Anglo-French betrayal. British and French governments concluded a secret treaty the Sykes—Picot Agreement to partition the Middle East between them.

The British in announced the Balfour Declaration promised the international Zionist movement their support in re-creating the historic Jewish homeland in Palestine. When the Ottomans departed, the Arabs proclaimed an independent state in Damascus , but were too weak, militarily and economically, to resist the European powers for long, and Britain and France soon established control and re-arranged the Middle East to suit themselves.

Syria became a French protectorate as a League of Nations mandate. The Christian coastal areas were split off to become Lebanon , another French protectorate. Iraq and Palestine became British mandated territories. Iraq incorporated large populations of Kurds , Assyrians and Turkmens , many of whom had been promised independent states of their own. Palestine became the " British Mandate of Palestine " and was split in half. The eastern half of Palestine became the " Emirate of Transjordan " to provide a throne for another of Husayn's sons, Abdullah. The western half of Palestine was placed under direct British administration.

The Jewish population of Palestine which numbered less than 8 percent in was given free rein to immigrate, buy land from absentee landlords, set up a shadow government in waiting and establish the nucleus of a state under the protection of the British Army which suppressed a Palestinian revolt in Saud created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in While Zaghloul would later become Prime Minister, the British repression of the anticolonial riots led to around deaths. In , Syrian forces were defeated by the French in the Battle of Maysalun and Iraqi forces were defeated by the British when they revolted.

In , the nominally independent Kingdom of Egypt was created following the British government's issuance of the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence.

The Middle East

Although the Kingdom of Egypt was technically "neutral" during World War II, Cairo soon became a major military base for the British and the country was occupied. The British cited the treaty that allowed it to station troops on Egyptian soil to protect the Suez Canal. In Palestine, conflicting forces of Arab nationalism and Zionism created a situation the British could neither resolve nor extricate themselves from.

The rise of German dictator Adolf Hitler had created a new urgency in the Zionist quest to immigrate to Palestine and create a Jewish state. A Palestinian state was also an attractive alternative to the Arab and Persian leaders, instead of the de facto British, French, and perceived Jewish colonialism or imperialism, under the logic of " the enemy of my enemy is my friend ". After the war, however, seven Middle East states gained or regained their independence:.

This plan sought to create an Arab state and a separate Jewish state in the narrow space between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. The Jewish leaders accepted it, but the Arab leaders rejected this plan. About , Palestinians fled from areas annexed by Israel and became refugees in neighbouring countries, thus creating the "Palestinian problem", which has troubled the region ever since. Approximately two-thirds of ,—, of the Jews expelled or who fled from Arab lands after were absorbed and naturalized by the State of Israel.

On August 16, , Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom. Archbishop Makarios III , a charismatic religious and political leader, was elected its first independent president, and in it became the 99th member of the United Nations. The modern Middle East was shaped by three things: These developments led increased U.

The United States was the ultimate guarantor of the region's stability as well as the dominant force in the oil industry after the s. These regimes gained popular support with promises to destroy the state of Israel, defeat the United States and other "western imperialists", and to bring prosperity to the Arab masses.

When the Six-Day War of with Israel ended in a decisive loss for the Muslim side, many viewed defeat as the failure of Arab socialism. This represents a turning point when " fundamental and militant Islam began to fill the political vacuum created". The United States, in response, felt obliged to defend its remaining allies, the conservative monarchies of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, and the Persian Gulf emirates, whose methods of rule were almost as unattractive in western eyes as those of the anti-western regimes.

Iran in particular became a key U. This forced the United States into a close alliance with Saudi Arabia. Between and , conflict arising between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in British colonial Cyprus led to Cypriot intercommunal violence and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The Cyprus dispute remains unresolved.

In , Egypt under Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat , concluded a peace treaty with Israel, ending the prospects of a united Arab military front. From the s the Palestinians, led by Yasser Arafat 's Palestine Liberation Organization , resorted to a prolonged campaign of violence against Israel and against American, Jewish, and western targets generally, as a means of weakening Israeli resolve and undermining western support for Israel. The Palestinians were supported in this, to varying degrees, by the regimes in Syria, Libya, Iran, and Iraq.

The high point of this campaign came in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution condemning Zionism as a form of racism and the reception given to Arafat by the United Nations General Assembly. Due to many of the frantic events of the late s in the Middle East it culimated in the Iran—Iraq War between neighbouring Iran and Iraq. The war, started by Iraq, who invaded Iranian Khuzestan in at the behest of the latter's chaotic state of country due to the Islamic Revolution, eventually turned into a stalemate with hundreds of thousands of dead on both sides.

The fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism in the early s had several consequences for the Middle East. It allowed large numbers of Soviet Jews to emigrate from Russia and Ukraine to Israel, further strengthening the Jewish state. It cut off the easiest source of credit, armaments, and diplomatic support to the anti-western Arab regimes, weakening their position.

It opened up the prospect of cheap oil from Russia, driving down the price of oil and reducing the west's dependence on oil from the Arab states. It discredited the model of development through authoritarian state socialism, which Egypt under Nasser , Algeria, Syria, and Iraq had followed since the s, leaving these regimes politically and economically stranded. Rulers such as Iraq's Saddam Hussein increasingly relied on Arab nationalism as a substitute for socialism.

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