Middle Eastern History

How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...

A moving, riveting and immersive story of six Iranians who, together, lived the entire arc of modern Iranian history—the promise of the 1979 revolution, its betrayal by the Islamic mafia state and a people's undying spirit of resistance. Fuelled by Iranians' dreams of social justice and political freedom, the 1979 revolution swept aside the shah's ailing, repressive monarchy. But in...

Riveting and original ... a work enriched by solid scholarship, vivid personal experience, and acute appreciation of the concerns and aspirations of the contending parties in this deeply unequal conflict - Noam Chomsky The twentieth century for Palestine and the Palestinians has been a century of denial: denial of statehood, denial of nationhood and denial of history. The Hundred Years'...

Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maoz Inon are unlikely peacemakers, dedicated to finding a solution to the bitter war that has decimated historical, ancient land and ended family lines. Despite the losses they have suffered, the resolve of their friendship has taught them that strength and unity are more powerful than the violence of separation. Throughout their travels, they...

NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Douglas Murray, international bestselling author and renowned cultural commentator confronts what he views as the most pressing issue of our time: why Western support of the Palestinian cause is ultimately playing into the hands of a much more dangerous force.Drawing from intensive on-the-ground reporting in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon, Murray presents a compelling case that places...

The story of a hotel. The story of a nation. When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistan's first luxury hotel symbolised a dream of a modernising country connected to the world. More than fifty years on, the Inter-Continental is still standing. It has endured Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a grievous civil war, a US invasion and the rise, fall...

From one of our foremost public intellectuals, an essential reckoning with the war in Gaza, its historical conditions, and moral and geopolitical ramifications. Memory of the Holocaust, the ultimate atrocity of Europe's civil wars and the paradigmatic genocide, has shaped the Western political and moral imagination in the postwar era. Fears of its recurrence have been routinely invoked to justify...

Enemies and Neighbours by Ian Black is a masterful, comprehensive exploration of the century-long conflict between Jews and Arabs over the Holy Land. Starting from the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of British colonial rule in 1917, the narrative delves into the intricate and turbulent history that has shaped modern-day Israel and Palestine. Black offers a compelling,...

Winner of the Jewish Book of the Year Award Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn is an illuminating voyage into the heart of one of the world's most intriguing countries. Authored by Daniel Gordis, a prominent intellectual and insightful analyst of Israeli society as noted by The Forward, this remarkable narrative takes readers on an enthralling journey from...

Renowned Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe's groundbreaking work on the formation of the State of Israel. Along with the late Edward Said, Ilan Pappe is the most eloquent writer of Palestinian history. NEW STATESMAN Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, civilians were massacred and around a million men, women, and children were expelled from their homes...

Penguin Classics relaunch The Jewish War by Josephus is a superbly detailed and evocative record of the Jewish rebellion against Rome between AD 66 and 70, marked by treachery and atrocity. Originally a rebel leader, Josephus changed sides after he was captured, becoming a Rome-appointed negotiator. This unique position allowed him to observe these turbulent events firsthand, from the siege...

If there's a more important or timely book in 2024, I'm yet to come across it. Five big shiny stars. GOOD READING MAGAZINE Samah Sabawi has written a story of courage and struggle. Her generosity is such that above all she has gifted us a story of love of family and country. TONY BIRCH The story of a family over...

In this unique book, His Holiness the Dalai Lama tells the full story of his 75-year struggle with China to save Tibet and its people. The Dalai Lama has had to contend with the People’s Republic of China his entire life. He was 15 years old when communist China invaded Tibet in 1950, only 19 when he had his first...

Antoun Issa powerfully captures his mother's true experiences of love, heartbreak and new hope during the violence of civil war. Beirut, 1974. Laila Khalil has just come of age for marriage. The eldest of five in a poor Catholic family, Laila knows that she must fulfil her family's expectations. But her heart is drawn to the handsome Nicolas, a coiffeur...

A timely and measured examination of how U.S.Iran relations reached their current impasse and what it will take to move beyond years of distrust.The United States and Iran have been locked in a decades-long standoff, fuelled by missteps, misunderstandings, and clashing ambitions. In these pages a leading Iranian expert clarifies the dynamics driving a conflict that has devastated the Middle...

If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale. This rich, elegiac compilation of work from the late Palestinian poet and professor, Refaat Alareer, brings together his marvellous poetry and deeply human writing about literature, teaching, politics, and family. The renowned poet and literature professor Refaat Alareer was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City...

Nothing could prepare historian Jean-Pierre Filiu for what he encountered in Gaza.   Noted historian of Gaza, Jean-Pierre Filiu, spent a month there between December and January 2025. This is his up-close, immersive documentary of reality inside the Palestinian enclave.Filiu is a historian who specialises in Gazan history, and has travelled there regularly since 1980. He also knows the Arabic...

An intimate account of the Israel-Palestine conflict and beyond, from one of Australia's most experienced foreign correspondents. Now updated with a foreword by Stan Grant and a new author's note. 'Lyons knows if you stand with the suffering, you're closer to the truth' Stan Grant, award-winning journalist and bestselling author 'A penetrating analysis of power with empathy for the human...

NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Douglas Murray, international bestselling author and renowned cultural commentator, confronts what he views as the most pressing issue of our time: why Western support of the Palestinian cause is ultimately playing into the hands of a much more dangerous force. Drawing from intensive on-the-ground reporting in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon, Murray presents a compelling case that...

This original and deeply provocative book was the first to make Palestine the subject of a serious debate—one that is now more critical than ever. With the rigorous scholarship that he brought to his influential Orientalism and an exile’s passion (he was Palestinian by birth and had been a member of the Palestine National Council), Edward W. Said traces the...

Runciman's great Crusades trilogy reissued in Penguin Modern Classics 'The whole tale is one of faith and folly, courage and greed, hope and delusion' The triumph of the First Crusade transformed the eastern Mediterranean, creating a series of European-ruled states along the coast and in Armenia. But the region's Muslim rulers were far from defeated, and the major cities of...

The devastation of 7 October 2023 and the horrors that followed astounded the world. But the Israel–Palestine conflict didn’t start on 7 October. It didn’t start in 1967 either, when Israel occupied the West Bank, or in 1948 when the state of Israel was declared. It started in 1882, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in what was then Ottoman...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE A SUNDAY TIMES PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR 'Magnificent . . . Important and hugely readable' - William Dalrymple, Financial Times 'A wildly ambitious and entertainingly lurid history' - James Barr, The Times 'A panoramic and thought-provoking account' - Guardian 'A winning portrait of seven centuries of empire, teeming with life and colour' - Sunday...

An authoritative and deeply personal narrative history of the State of Israel, by one of the most influential journalists writing about the Middle East today, My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit charts the development of the Israeli state through a captivating and often poignant lens. Not since Thomas Friedman's groundbreaking From Beirut to Jerusalem...

With a new introduction by Christopher de Bellaigue Shah of Shahs depicts the final years of the Shah in Iran and is a compelling meditation on the nature of revolution and the devastating results of fear. Here, Kapuscinski describes the tyrannical monarch who, despite his cruel oppression of the Iranian people, sees himself as the father of a nation, capable...

From a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (The New Yorker) comes the most authoritative, readable single-volume military history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land. Nine hundred years ago, a vast Christian army, summoned to holy war by the Pope, rampaged through the Muslim world of the eastern Mediterranean, seizing possession of Jerusalem, a city revered by...

Compiled by bestselling author susan abulhawa, an Arabic-English bilingual anthology of essays from eighteen young Palestinian writers trying to survive the genocide in Gaza.In early 2024, writer and activist susan abulhawa managed to enter Gaza twice through the Rafah crossing. There, at the Culture and Free Thought Association, susan held a series of workshops for young people who had been...

Reveals a riveting portrait of a nation mired in complexities. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has promoted itself as an open country: oil-rich but investing in culture, tourism, social innovation, and establishing itself as a beacon in the Middle East mired in violence. However, the murder in October 2018 of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Istanbul embassy reveals a darker...

Passionate, powerful and thought-provoking, in The Hidden Face of Eve, leading feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi provides a shocking account of the oppression of women in the Arab world. Inspired by her experiences working as a doctor in rural Egypt and her life as an activist for women’s rights, she charts the injustices and violence faced by women in the...

The Islamic State stunned the world with its savagery, destructiveness, and military and recruiting successes. However, its most striking and distinctive characteristic was its capacity to build governing institutions and a theologically grounded national identity. What explains the rise of ISIS and the caliphate, and what does it portend for the future of the Middle East? In this book, one...

A compelling history of the Ptolemies, the decline of Egypt, and the rising power of the Roman Empire The Ptolemaic era, Egypt's last and one of its longest dynasties, was in many ways a gilded age. Its early rulers restored and even expanded Egyptian power. Over a span of 300 years, the period witnessed intellectual enlightenment, imaginative state-building, and some...

"In its comprehensive sweep, deep probing and acute critical analysis, Finkelstein's study stands alone." —Noam Chomsky "No one who ventures an opinion on Gaza ... is entitled to do so without taking into account the evidence in this book." —The Intercept The Gaza Strip is among the most densely populated places in the world. More than two-thirds of its inhabitants...

With a thrilling narrative that sheds much light on recent events, this national bestseller brings to life the 1953 CIA coup in Iran that ousted the country's elected prime minister, ushered in a quarter-century of brutal rule under the Shah, and stimulated the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Selected as one of the best books...

‘A gripping account. Essential reading to understand the roots of the 2011 Arab Spring and the conflicts that have devastated so much of the region' EUGENE ROGAN, author of The Arabs: A History President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who ruled Egypt for eighteen years from the coup d'état of 1952, is best known in the West for wresting the Suez Canal...

Connect with the celestial powers of ancient goddesses Explores beliefs and myths from Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and around the Mediterranean, revealing how ancient goddesses were powerful Queens of the Heavens and Guardians of the Underworld, not passive fertility symbols. Looks at creator goddesses, sun goddesses, lunar goddesses, warrior maiden goddesses, and night goddesses, including Hathor, Asherah, Inanna, Hekate, Athena, Astarte,...

Is the destruction of Gaza only a consequence of the October 7, 2023 attack, or is it also the outcome of a long process of dispossession and eradication? Do Palestinians have the right to resist the occupation? Is talking about genocide anti-Semitism? Enzo Traverso goes to the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by calling history into question and offers a...

Profoundly personal as well as historically significant ... In his moral clarity and baring of the heart, Shehadeh recalls writers such as Ghassan Kanafani and Primo Levi - Hisham Matar, New York Times Aziz Shehadeh was many things: lawyer, activist, and political detainee, he was also the father of bestselling author and activist Raja. In this new and searingly personal...

Another astonishing work of graphic non-fiction, the story of a girl growing up in Iran during the Revolution. Wise, often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, Persepolis tells the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Tehran from the ages of six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of...

An epic history of Islam and the Middle East through the cities which best epitomised it. Islamic civilisation was once the envy of the world. From a succession of glittering, cosmopolitan capitals, Islamic empires lorded it over the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and swathes of the Indian subcontinent. For centuries, the caliphate was both ascendant on the battlefield...

The extraordinary story of the Arab world, from defeat and colonisation to independence and astonishing wealth. Eugene Rogan has written an authoritative new history of the Arabs in the modern world. Starting with the Ottoman conquests in the sixteenth century, this landmark book follows the story of the Arabs through the era of European imperialism and the Superpower rivalries of...

‘Wonderful’ JOHN BARTON ‘A stupendous intellectual achievement’ ANDREW PETTEGREE ‘A stunning love song to the Bible . . . this will be a classic’ CHINE MCDONALD The remarkable story of the most influential book in human history. The Bible is the world's best-known text. Yet, it is a book that never was—its original form does not exist and probably never...

The Great War for Civilisation by Robert Fisk is an expansive and compelling historical account from one of the most seasoned journalists of our time, offering a penetrating exploration of the Middle East's tumultuous history over the last fifty years. Fisk's work draws upon his extensive first-hand experience in the region, providing readers with a vivid and unflinching narrative that...

Enemies and Neighbors by Ian Black presents a comprehensive exploration of the complex and enduring Arab-Zionist conflict, a subject steeped in historical significance and current relevance. Through meticulous research and an intimate understanding of the region, Black delivers a narrative that offers insight into one of the most polarising conflicts of modern times. This sweeping history begins at the end...

Catch-67 is an introspective and thought-provoking exploration into the heart of one of the world's most enduring and complex conflicts—the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Authored by best-selling Israeli writer Micah Goodman, the book delves into the profound ideological and political rifts that have defined Israeli society since the Six-Day War. This seminal event left Israel with territorial gains that have since triggered...

Krithia by Mat McLachlan is a deeply engaging and moving exploration of one of the lesser-known yet profoundly significant battles of World War I. This poignant tale, brought to light by the bestselling military historian and author of The Cowra Breakout, takes readers to the southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula in May 1915. As World War I raged on,...

Land Between the Rivers by Bartle Bull is a sweeping historical epic that spans five thousand years of human civilization. Beginning with the legendary figure of Gilgamesh building the walls of Uruk at the dawn of recorded history, the narrative unfolds across millennia, culminating in the dramatic events of 1958 with the fall of Iraq’s last monarchy. This engrossing tale...

The Finest Hotel in Kabul is described by Elif Shafak as "A book brimming with deep insight, courage and conscience. Astonishingly beautiful, subtle and simply unforgettable." The Finest Hotel in Kabul is the winner of the Women's Prize Non-Fiction Prize 2026 and has been recognised as Book of the Year by major publications including The Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Observer,...

From the bestselling author of The Templars, Dan Jones brings you an exhilarating and expansive history of the Crusades. Crusaders delves into the dramatic and tumultuous sequence of religious wars fought between the late eleventh century and the late medieval period. These epic clashes between European Christian states and Islamic rulers aimed to control the Holy Land and have left...

A Line in the Sand by James Barr offers a compelling and intricate examination of the British-French rivalry that shaped the modern Middle East. Set against the historical backdrop of the early 20th century, the book meticulously delves into the clandestine agreements and political manoeuvring that redrew the boundaries of a region in turmoil. In 1916, amidst the devastation of...

Albanese is perhaps the one figure of our times that future historians will recall as the one who did the most to redeem our generation from its guilt over the genocide of the Palestinian people. Her reflections in this book are not just timely - they are for the ages - Yanis Varoufakis Israel's genocide in Palestine and the complicity...

Discover the rise and fall of the world's greatest empire in the stunning first instalment of The Golden Age, an epic new series from the nation's finest historical novelist. After the Gods. After the Myths and Legends came the world of Men. In their front rank stood Pericles. The Lion of the Golden Age. 'Brings war in the ancient world...

A lost imperial city, full of wonder and marvels. An empire that was the largest the world had ever seen, established with astonishing speed. A people obsessed with travel, knowledge and adventure. Winner of the Indie Book Awards 2023 Non Fiction Book of the Year Shortlisted for the BookPeople Non Fiction Book of the Year 2023 When Richard Fidler came...

Letters from Gaza: A Collection by the People; Unveiling their Stories and Emotions from the Year that has been. As the year 2023 came to an end, and wistfulness filled the air with hopes for the new tidings; the whole world was left startled with the unfolding of the largest humanitarian crisis of this century. While we lamented at the...

In the beginning was the Word, says the Gospel of John. This sentence—and the words of all four gospels—is central to the teachings of the Christian church and has shaped Western art, literature, language, and the Western mind. Yet, in the years after the death of Christ, there was not merely one word, nor any consensus as to who Jesus...

The ancient Egyptian myths are some of the oldest and most famous stories in the world. This striking comic book collection will be the perfect introduction to the world of the ancient Egyptians - containing six tales full of mythical creatures, gods, pharaohs, and adventure. Comic Strip Myths: Myths, Mummies and Magic in Ancient Egypt by Stephen Davies is an...

ROBERT FISK HAS BEEN REPORTING FROM THE MIDDLE EAST WITH INCOMPARABLE DEPTH AND UNDERSTANDING…AND EXTRAORDINARY COURAGE — NOAM CHOMSKY In this final work from renowned journalist Robert Fisk, he picks up reporting on the Middle East where his internationally bestselling The Great War of Civilisation left off. From the Arab uprisings and the Syrian civil war to Israel’s conflicts with...

Revolutionary Iran offers a comprehensive history of revolutionary Iran, providing essential insights for understanding the country today. For some 40 years, the Islamic Republic has withstood widespread condemnation, sanctions, and endured sustained attacks by Iraq in an eight-year war. Many policymakers today wish that Iran would somehow just disappear as a problem. However, with Iran's unwavering commitment to a nuclear...

Xenophon's account of the Greek war with Persia through the eyes of a young Athenian searching for his destiny abroad. In The Persian Expedition, Xenophon, a young Athenian noble who sought his destiny abroad, provides an enthralling eyewitness account of the attempt by a Greek mercenary army—the Ten Thousand—to help Prince Cyrus overthrow his brother and take the Persian throne....

Brings war in the ancient world to vivid life...I'm blown away - Anthony Riches. From the nation's finest historical novelist comes the second instalment in the Athenian series. Themistocles stands as an archon of Athens—the might of the city is his to command. Yet he is no nobleman, distrusted by many for his modest birthright. But those who stand against...

A thrilling, defiant novel by Fatima Bhutto A masterpiece by Marc Lamont Hill Wonderful ... Shines a ray of hope into some very dark places by Michael Palin A fearless work of imagination by Ahdaf Soueif Winner of the Palestine Book Award Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa introduces us to Nahr, who has been confined to the Cube:...

Waiting for your print copy? Email us to receive a FREE digital copy! Send your print-order receipt to enquiries@jewishquarterly.com to receive your free digital copy. For almost twenty years, Hamas ruled Gaza and prepared for a battle that it knew it could not win. But the group made a cold calculation: its path to victory rested on sacrificing the lives...

Illuminates the history and complexities at the heart of the world's most contentious and fraught region—and why genuine interreligious dialogue is the only hope for peace. Based on his extensive experience working with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities throughout the world, and distilling complex issues into understandable language, Sax invites readers into the perilous but essential space between identity and...

Illuminates the history and complexities at the heart of the world's most contentious and fraught region—and why genuine interreligious dialogue is the only hope for peace. Based on his extensive experience working with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities throughout the world, and distilling complex issues into understandable language, Sax invites readers into the perilous but essential space between identity and...

Today, Gaza lies in ruins after a genocide perpetrated before our eyes. Over 80% of its buildings have been destroyed, and its people have suffered the worst horrors imaginable. For over twenty years, it has been an open-air prison. But once, Gaza was an integral part of the Arab and Eastern Mediterranean world, where merchants traded their goods, and intellectual...

A dramatic political, cultural and social historical narrative of the period 60-40 BCE in Egypt and Rome, and the three sister queens each seeking power for themselves during this time: Cleopatra, Berenike (executed by their father) and Arsinoe (murdered at sister Cleopatra's request). Fatal Monsters approaches the three sister queens equally, rather than simply privileging Cleopatra, and examines them in...

A stunning, soul-stirring, philosophical, and political treatise on what liberation for Palestine and our world will look like in the twenty-first century. 'At once searing, loving and rousing, this is an acrobatic feat of political leadership from a generational talent' Naomi Klein Palestine is a litmus test - the repercussions of which will go beyond the Middle East, extending outward...

A devastating, meticulous account of the history of Israel's destruction of Gaza from an acclaimed architect and investigator. Eyal Weizman is one of the world's leading experts on the relationship between violence, conflict and the environment, both built and natural. As director of the organisation Forensic Architecture, he and his team of interdisciplinary researchers document acts of state crimes and...

From genocide, forced displacement, and emigration, to the gradual establishment of sedentary and rooted global communities, how has the Armenian diaspora formed and maintained a sense of collective identity? The Armenian Diaspora and Stateless Power explores the richness and magnitude of the Armenian experience through the 20th century to examine how Armenian diaspora elites and their institutions emerged in the...

This open access book offers the first in-depth appraisal of the photographic archive of Frank Scholten (1881–1942), a queer Dutch photographer and Catholic convert whose work in Palestine between 1921 and 1923 provides a remarkable lens on the intersecting dynamics of modernity, religion, colonialism, and visual culture. Drawing on over 26,000 photographs, it situates Scholten’s work within transnational religious, colonial,...

In the beginning was the Word, says the Gospel of John. This sentence—and the words of all four gospels—is central to the teachings of the Christian church and has shaped Western art, literature and language, and the Western mind. Yet in the years after the death of Christ, there was not merely one word, nor any consensus as to who...

A major new history of the Crusades with an unprecedented wide scope, told in a tableau of portraits of people on all sides of the wars, from the author of Powers and Thrones. For more than one thousand years, Christians and Muslims lived side by side, sometimes at peace and sometimes at war. When Christian armies seized Jerusalem in 1099,...

From a multiple New York Times bestselling author, here is an eye-opening history of the United States' war on terror across four presidential administrations. The year 2026 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, the most devastating attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Within days, the United States began to declare its war on terror: 'Either you are with us,...

The surprise election of Hasan Rouhani in 2013 has refocused attention on the dynamics between Islam and democracy in Iran after the hiatus of the Ahmadinejad presidency. With comparisons being drawn between Rouhani and his predecessor, the late Reformist President Mohammad Khatami, there has never been a better time for a close look at the rise and fall of the...

An updated edition of the celebrated history of Iran from its origins to the present day, with a new postscript by Ali Ansari. Iran often appears in the media as a hostile and difficult country. But beneath the headlines, there is a fascinating story of a nation of great intellectual variety and depth, and enormous cultural importance. A nation whose...

In 1909, US courts set out to decide whether a Turkish citizen shall be naturalised as a white person. Turkish elites had already undertaken to portray the Turks as the historic source of Western civilisation, white racial stock, and human language. Examining this interaction between global racial discourses and local responses, Ergin recentres Turkish modernisation on imaginings of race.

The story of the medieval world’s most extraordinary organisations, the Assassins and the Templars The Assassins and the Templars are two of history’s most legendary groups. One was a Shi’ite religious sect, the other a Christian military order created to defend the Holy Land. Violently opposed, they had vastly different reputations, followings, and ambitions. Yet they developed strikingly similar strategies—and...

The Great War ended with the Ottoman Empire’s defeat, its remaining territories destined for partition at the Paris Peace Conference. However, this settlement was complicated by a global moment of Muslim internationalism, as revolutions, revolts, and wars of independence swept across the Muslim world. Muslim internationalists resisted European imperialism, demanded self-determination, envisioned federations, and sought anticolonial alliances with Soviet Russia....

Key essays by a notable scholar address some of the most pressing questions facing Israel today. Over the course of his rich career, David Ellenson—one of the most outstanding Jewish scholars, intellectuals, and thinkers of our time—probed the tension between tradition and modernity, especially as reflected in the ceaseless reinterpretation of liturgical and halakhic texts. Alongside that scholarly interest, largely...

In June 1968, a twenty-four-year-old Palestinian immigrant named Sirhan B. Sirhan assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, marking yet another killing in a decade haunted by political violence. As he was being subdued, Sirhan shouted, "I can explain. I did it for my country," by which he meant Palestine. On trial, he testified that his motives included opposition to Zionism, with...

The Ottoman Empire long used flexible administrative arrangements to govern its vast domains. Starting in the 1830s, however, European intervention in Ottoman affairs resulted in the emergence of a new type of negotiated province. The "privileged provinces," which included Egypt and Mt. Lebanon, enjoyed levels of administrative autonomy that were unparalleled not only within the Ottoman domains but also in...