Middle Eastern History

Victor Hugo meets Papillon in this effervescent memoir of war, slavery, and self-discovery, told with aplomb and humour in its first English translation. A pioneering work of Ottoman Turkish literature, Prisoner of the Infidels brings the seventeenth-century memoir of Osman Agha of Timişoara—slave, adventurer, and diplomat—into English for the first time. The sweeping story of Osman's life begins upon his...

During the First World War, the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon, entered into a secret correspondence with Hussein ibn Ali, the Sharif of Mecca. On behalf of Asquith’s government, McMahon promised the Sharif an independent Arab state after the war, if he would ally with Britain and launch a revolt against the Ottomans. Two years later, Lloyd...

In Going Home, Orwell Prize-winning author Raja Shehadeh travels through Ramallah and records the changing face of the city. Walking along the streets he grew up in, he tells the stories of the people, the relationships, the houses, and the businesses that were and now are cornerstones of the city and his community. This is, in many ways, an elegy....

A vivid new history of the criminal underworld in the medieval Holy Land The religious wars of the crusades are renowned for their military engagements. But the period was witness to brutality beyond the battlefield. More so than any other medieval war zone, the Holy Land was rife with unprecedented levels of criminality and violence. In the first history of...

The essential guide to geopolitics in the modern Middle East The Middle East is in crisis. The shocking events of the war in Gaza have rocked the entire region. More than a decade ago, the Arab Spring had raised hopes of a new beginning but instead ushered in a series of civil wars, coups, and even harsher autocracies. Tensions were...

From Orwell Prize-winning journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad comes a searing and nuanced biography of a lost Iraq. 'Exquisite . . . A genuine, melancholy masterpiece' - WILLIAM DALRYMPLE 'A journalistic marvel' - JAMES MEEK 'A powerful, unforgettable book' - NADIFA MOHAMMED This is the story of a people who once lived under the rule of a megalomaniac leader who shaped the...

A panoramic history of the Muslim world from the age of the Prophet Muammad to the birth of the modern era. This book describes and explains the major events, personalities, conflicts, and convergences that have shaped the history of the Muslim world. The body of the book takes readers from the origins of Islam to the eve of the nineteenth...

Lasting over 120 years, the Arab-Israeli conflict involves divergent narratives about history, national identities, land ownership, injustices, and victimhood. Domestic forces and actors, as well as international and regional dynamics, have ensured the conflict’s durability. A distinguished team of authors comprising an Israeli, a Palestinian, and an Egyptian present a broader Arab perspective in this innovative textbook that offers a...

Lebanon's significance to the Middle East and the global arena is greater than its small size suggests. Bordering Israel and Syria, it holds a geo-strategic role as the playing field for their competition as well as for their allies, America and Iran. This book examines how American diplomacy has responded to the intersection of local, regional, and international factors in...

The World of the Crusades by Christopher Tyerman offers a lively reimagining of the medieval world of war, viewed through the lens of objects used and made by crusaders. Throughout the Middle Ages, crusading was justified by religious ideology, yet the military campaigns were driven by concrete objectives: land, resources, power, and reputation. Crusaders amassed a variety of possessions, from...

A vivid and incisive analysis of the complex relationship between Israel and its Palestinian citizens written by an acclaimed Israeli historian For more than 60 years, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have lived as Israeli citizens within the borders of the nation formed at the end of the 1948 conflict. Occupying a precarious middle ground between the Jewish citizens of...

A human history of one of the planet's most iconic lakes, and the civilisations that surrounded its shores The Dead Sea is a place of many contradictions. Hot springs around the lake are famed for their healing properties, though its own waters are deadly to most lifeforms—even so, civilisations have built ancient cities and hilltop fortresses around its shores for...

A major new history of Saudi Arabia, from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a major player on the international stage and the site of Islam's two holiest cities. It is also one of the world's only absolute monarchies. How did Saudi Arabia get to where it is...

Joe Sacco's breakthrough work of graphic journalism—a now-established genre almost single-handedly invented by Sacco—won the American Book Award upon its initial release in 1996. It has remained a perennial, essential work for understanding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. This new hardcover edition includes a new afterword by Israeli journalist Amira Hass and also features Palestinian academic and critic...

A masterfully researched history of Iran from 1501 to 2009 The defiant spirit of Iran is brought to life in this monumental history of the past 500 years.”—Richard Spencer, The Times (London) “A majestic work that goes a long way in unraveling . . . the country’s enigmas and apparent contradictions.”—Ervand Abrahamian, New York Review of Books This history of...

Declared a terrorist menace yet voted into government in a free election, Hamas then used its Gaza power base to launch cross-border attacks that scorched Israel and transformed the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. How did a small Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood grow to challenge long-established rivals such as the PLO? Who supports Hamas and what is its...

A vivid new history of the criminal underworld in the medieval Holy Land The religious wars of the crusades are renowned for their military engagements. But the period was witness to brutality beyond the battlefield. More so than any other medieval war zone, the Holy Land was rife with unprecedented levels of criminality and violence. In the first history of...

A history of the last century of tensions in the Middle East. Until the First World War, the Ottoman Empire had dominated the Middle East for four centuries. Its collapse, coupled with the subsequent clash of European imperial policies, unleashed a surge of political feelings among the people of the Middle East as they vied for national self-determination. Over the...

SUNDAY TIMES AND TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR "Masterly and brilliant"—Simon Sebag Montefiore "A book of vast scope and stunning insight."—Anthony Sattin, Spectator “Commanding erudition and a swashbuckling style define this history of the Arabs”—Justin Marozzi, Sunday Times This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who...

The aim of the project is to write a narrative history of Babylon from the time of its First Dynasty (1880-1595) until the last centuries of the city's existence during the Hellenistic and Parthian periods (ca. 331-75 AD). During most of its history, Babylon was the capital of a kingdom that corresponded roughly to the southern and central parts of...

Benny Morris demolishes misconceptions and provides a comprehensive history of the Israeli-Arab war of 1948 This history of the foundational war in the Arab-Israeli conflict is groundbreaking, objective, and deeply revisionist. A riveting account of the military engagements, it also focuses on the war's political dimensions. Benny Morris probes the motives and aims of the protagonists on the basis of...

"Like al-Qazwīnī himself, Travis Zadeh has written a deliciously baggy tome, full of delights and diversions in its tour of the cosmic horizons. This is a book to get lost in, whether one wants to or not." - Nile Green, Los Angeles Review of Books "As Zadeh concludes, reformers and modernists have closed the rich and varied archive revealed in...

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Industrial Islamism analyzes the relationship, since the end of the Cold War, between the rise of political Islamism in Muslim-majority countries and the rise of a new global "middle class" of industrial entrepreneurs. Challenging common assumptions,...

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...

A Sea of Wealth is a sweeping retelling of the Omani position in the Indian Ocean. Here the reign of Oman’s longest-serving ruler, Saʿid bin Sultan, offers a keyhole through which we can peer to see the entangled histories of Arabia and the Gulf, South Asia, and East Africa in the Omani Empire. In centering this empire, Nicholas P. Roberts...

Through the fifth and sixth centuries, major divisions rocked Christianity as different factions vied to make their teachings the doctrine of the Roman Empire's imperial church. In the aftermath of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, miaphysite Christians, often targeted as heretics by the imperial church, confronted periodic violence and persecution. In A Memory of Violence, Christine Shepardson reshapes our...

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:...

NOW UPDATED WITH A NEW CHAPTER A Sunday Times Paperback of the Year A Spectator and New Statesman Book of the Year 'An illuminating and riveting read' Jonathan Dimbleby 'Arresting . . . excellent, doom-freighted' The Times Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, has been covering the Middle East since 1989 and is uniquely placed to explain its...

The world-changing story of Turkey - a country caught between two worlds. This brilliant distillation traces Turkey's long and complicated history from the rise and decline of the Ottoman Empire - the most enduring, and perhaps the most important, Islamic empire in history - to the emergence of the modern Turkish Republic in the early twentieth century and the populist,...

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...

Dispatches from an age of impunity by the ABCTV award-winning investigative reporter and former foreign correspondent Shortlisted for the 2020 Walkley Book Award For more than 15 years, award-winning journalist Sophie McNeill has reported on some of the most war-ravaged and oppressive places on earth, including Syria, Gaza, Yemen, West Bank and Iraq. In We Can't Say We Didn't Know,...

The cult, magic, reign, and resurrection of the first female ruler in Egypt Reveals the achievements of Sobekneferu, the political and religious issues of her age, the temples and ruins associated with her, and her continuing impact on ancient Egypt after her reign. Discusses Sobekneferu’s magical beliefs and practices centered on the crocodile god Sobek, the hippo goddess Neith, and...

Dendera, Temple of Time is a full-colour exploration of the encoded ceiling at the Temple of Dendera. This book draws on more than 5,000 high-resolution photographs taken by the author to reconstruct the complete ceiling of the portico of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. It reveals in detail how each panel represents celestial cycles of time, from the Precession...

Fox News war correspondent Trey Yingst shares his gripping, firsthand account of the events of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war, offering riveting insight and fresh facts that clarify the scope and magnitude of this latest and most dramatic outbreak in one of the bloodiest, most nuanced, and longest-standing conflicts in modern history. On the morning of October 7,...

“The political machinations, betrayal, and battles may appeal to those fans of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series interested in a real-world game of thrones.” -- Booklist One of Italy’s most revered cultural figures reconstructs the extraordinary life of the legendary Cleopatra at the height of her power in this epic story of passion, intrigue,...

A startling exploration of slavery in the Islamic world from the 7th century to the present. Slavery in the Islamic world has a long, rich and controversial history. Unlike the notorious and shorter-lived Atlantic slave trade, its story is much less known. In the earliest days of Islam, Arab Muslims enslaved men, women and children as the spoils of war....

In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of ancient Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements around 5400 BC to the eclipse of Babylon by the Persians in the sixth century BC. He chronicles the rise and fall of dynastic power during this period and examines its numerous material, social, and cultural innovations and inventions: the wheel, civil engineering, building bricks, the...

Since the formation of the state of Israel in 1948, the Nakba (or 'disaster' as the Palestinians call it), there have been many opportunities to move towards peace and equality between Palestine and Israel—after the Six-Day War in 1967, the Oslo Agreement, and even the 7 October 2023 War. Each opportunity has been rejected by Israel, which is why life...

From acclaimed author of The Third Daughter comes an epic historical novel of ingenuity and courage, of love and loss, spanning postwar France when Israeli agents roamed the countryside to rescue hidden Jewish orphans—to the 1969 daring escape of the Israeli boats of Cherbourg. 1942: As the Vichy government hunts for Jews across France, Claudette Pelletier, a young and talented...

One of the best first-hand accounts of combat that I've ever read Andy McNab We all saw it at once. Half a dozen voices screamed 'Grenade!' simultaneously. Then everything went into slow motion. The grenade took an age to travel through its 20 metre arc. A dark, small oval-shaped package of misery the size of a peach... April 2004 –...

New York Times bestseller Now with a new Epilogue, containing letters of response from Palestinian readers. "A profound and original book, the work of a gifted thinker."--Daphne Merkin, The Wall Street Journal Attempting to break the agonising impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, the Israeli commentator and award-winning author of Like Dreamers directly addresses his Palestinian neighbours in this taut and...

A rich, discovery-filled history that tells how a forgotten empire transformed the ancient world. In the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE, Scythian warriors conquered and unified most of the vast Eurasian continent, creating an innovative empire that would give birth to the age of philosophy and the Classical age across the ancient world in the West, the Near...

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...

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...

Cleopatra, Egyptian Princess, grows up the favoured daughter of the Pharaoh, hiding amongst the scrolls in the great library of Alexandria with her beloved slave Charmian, longing for the chance one day to write her own story. Then when her father dies, willing that Cleopatra rule with her selfish brother Ptolemy, danger stirs. As the young Egyptian Queen sails the...

A Spectator Book of the Year A New Statesman Book of the Year 'An illuminating and riveting read.' - Jonathan Dimbleby Jeremy Bowen, the International Editor of the BBC, has been covering the Middle East since 1989 and is uniquely placed to explain its complex past and its troubled present. In The Making of the Modern Middle East - in...

From San Francisco to Yemen, the gripping true story of a young American immigrant and his quest to resurrect the ancient art of Yemeni coffee - while escaping a terrifying civil war. Mokhtar grew up in San Francisco, one of seven siblings in a tiny apartment, raised by Yemeni immigrant parents. As a young man, he learned of the true...

A fascinating and rare insight into the history and culture of Iraq, by Britain's best-loved travel writer. In March 2022, former Monty Python stalwart and intrepid globetrotter Michael Palin journeyed along the River Tigris and into Iraq to gain a glimpse of life in an area of the world that can claim to be the cradle of civilisation, that has...

The gripping, true story of how leading Israeli journalist Amir Tibon, along with his wife and their two young children, were rescued on 7 October 2023 by Tibon's father - an incredible tale of survival that also reveals the deep tensions and systemic failures that led to Hamas's attacks that day. On that fateful day, Tibon and his wife were...

A highly decorated Israeli military officer, leader, and former director of the internal security service, Shin Bet, sees the light on what his country must do to achieve a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. In this deeply personal journey of discovery, Ami Ayalon seeks input and perspective from Palestinians and Israelis whose experiences differ from his own. As...

An updated and retitled edition of History of the World in 1,000 Objects Discover how humans created their world from the objects they left behind - from the US Constitution to the first iPhone - in DK's latest history book. From the beginning of human history, the one thing that has defined us is our talent for making things, from...

A radical retelling of the history of science that foregrounds the scientists erased from history. In this major retelling of the history of science from 1450 to the present day, James Poskett explodes the myth that science began in Europe. The blinkered Western gaze focusing on individual 'genius'—Copernicus, Newton, Darwin, Einstein—was only one part of the story. The reality was...

An authoritative rethinking of global history by a leading Yale professor. When did globalization begin? Most observers have settled on 1492, the year Columbus discovered America. But as celebrated Yale professor Valerie Hansen shows, it was the year 1000, when for the first time new trade routes linked the entire globe, so an object could in theory circumnavigate the world....

A correspondent who has spent thirty years in Israel presents a rich, wide-ranging portrait of the Israeli people today at a critical juncture in their country's history. Despite Israel's determined staying power in a hostile environment, its military might, and the innovation it fosters in businesses globally, the country is more divided than ever. The old guard - socialist secular...

The deeply moving memoir of an award-winning war correspondent turned activist—and her rousing defence of human rights in times of resurgent authoritarianism. As a broadcast journalist for Sky News and Al Jazeera, Sherine Tadros was trained to tell only the facts, as dispassionately as possible. But how can you remain neutral when reporting from war zones, or witnessing brutal state...

A multi-award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of a major Australian newspaper searingly explores his Jewish identity at a time when a substantial—and growing—part of the left is opposed to the very existence of Israel as a Jewish state. Born in a displaced persons' camp two years after the end of the Holocaust, Michael Gawenda spent his childhood and teenage years...

The final destruction of the Ottoman Empire - one of the great epics of the First World War Eugene Rogan's remarkable book recreates one of the most important but poorly understood fronts of the First World War. For four centuries, the Ottoman Empire had been one of the most powerful states in Europe as well as ruler of the Middle...

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...

An outstanding and moving essay on the Palestinian struggle, Edward Said and the power of narrative. From the Women's Prize for Fiction-shortlisted and RSL Encore Award-winning author of Enter Ghost Award-winning author of The Parisian and Enter Ghost, Isabella Hammad delivered the Edward W. Said Lecture at Columbia University nine days before 7 October 2023. The text of Hammad's seminal...

A truly global view of history covering over 350 of the world's most important milestones and key turning points. An essential gift for every history buff, this boldly illustrated book maps out the events that have shaped our world—from the dawn of human civilisation to the present day. A comprehensive and accessible guide to the history of human civilisation, World...

When dehumanisation and destruction become the norm, the cycle must be broken. For over twenty years, Ittay Flescher has worked as an educator, journalist, and peacebuilder in Melbourne and Jerusalem. When he woke up on the morning of October 7, 2023, to the sounds of rocket sirens over Jerusalem and later saw the devastation of Gaza in response, the grief...

The final chapter in the definitive, three-volume history of the world's first known state. Archaeologist John Romer has spent a lifetime chronicling the history of Ancient Egypt, and here he tells the epic story of an era dominated by titans of the popular imagination—the radical iconoclast Akhenaten, the boy-king Tutankhamun, and the all-conquering Ramesses II. But 'heroes' do not forge...

This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine's millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history. Starting with the earliest references in Egyptian and Assyrian texts, Nur Masalha explores how Palestine and its Palestinian identity have evolved over thousands of years, from the Bronze Age to the present...

A History of the Middle East by Peter Mansfield provides an engrossing and comprehensive overview of a region that has been a focal point of cultural, political, and religious development for millennia. This authoritative work meticulously details the turbulent journey of the Middle East over the past two hundred years, capturing the essence of its historical transformations and the intricate...

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...

Can We Talk About Israel? by Daniel Sokatch is a compelling, insightful, and timely exploration of one of the most contentious and complex conflicts in modern history, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This National Jewish Book Award finalist delves deep into the intricate and often misunderstood narratives surrounding Israel, making it a crucial read for anyone seeking a more nuanced understanding of...

In A History of the Arab Peoples, Albert Hourani offers a panoramic and nuanced account of the Arab world, meticulously tracing its history from the advent of Islam in the seventh century to the present day. This epic narrative begins with the spread of the new religion of Islam from the Arabian Peninsula, creating a vast empire that stretched across...

Night of Power by Robert Fisk culminates the storied career of one of the most formidable journalists of our time. This riveting account continues the narrative from his internationally acclaimed The Great War of Civilisation, providing readers with an unparalleled exploration of the Middle East's ongoing conflicts and the complexities enmeshed within them. Renowned for his relentless pursuit of the...

Step into the turbulent and transformative final years of the Ottoman Empire with Sean McMeekin's The Ottoman Endgame, an extraordinary single-volume history that chronicles the epic struggle of a vast empire facing the winds of change during the early 20th century. This captivating narrative begins in September 1911 with Italy's audacious invasion of Ottoman Tripoli, setting off a series of...

'An epic treasure hunt into the highways and byways of stored knowledge across faiths and continents.' John Agard, poet and playwright In The Map of Knowledge Violet Moller traces the journey taken by the ideas of three of the greatest scientists of antiquity - Euclid, Galen and Ptolemy - through seven cities and over a thousand years. In it, we...

No Good Men Among the Living PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST WINNER OF THE RIDENHOUR PRIZE In a breathtaking chronicle, acclaimed journalist Anand Gopal traces the lives of three Afghans caught in America's war on terror. He follows a Taliban commander, who rises from scrawny teenager to leading insurgent; a US-backed warlord, who uses the American military to...

Persecution of Christians in the Middle East has been a recurring theme since the middle of the nineteenth century. The topic has experienced a resurgence in the last few years, especially during the Trump era. Middle Eastern Christians are often portrayed as a homogeneous, helpless group ever at the mercy of their Muslim enemies, a situation that only Western powers...

Organised by the periods, kingdoms, and empires generally used in ancient Near Eastern political history, Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture interlaces social and cultural history with a political narrative. Charts, figures, maps, and historical documents introduce the reader to the material world of the ancient Near East, including Egypt. The emphasis on historical debates and areas of uncertainty helps...

The inside story of the leaders, debates, and decisions that shaped Israel’s longest war. In the War Room is the inside story of the leaders, debates, and decisions that shaped Israel’s longest war—a multifront battle that eventually led Israeli and then US jets to the heart of Iran. This book also explains the current debates in Israeli society and the...

In 1971, the Shah of Iran threw what was declared the Party of the Century. Before it was over, it had been written off as a disaster and helped to precipitate his downfall. The Shah's Party colourfully captures Iran's oil-rich boom years. In 1971, eight years before the dynasty fell, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his glamorous wife, Farah Diba,...

A book brimming with deep insight, courage and conscience. Astonishingly beautiful, subtle and simply unforgettable. Elif Shafak Ingenious KAMILA SHAMSIE Incredible PETER FRANKOPAN Beautiful RORY STEWART In 1969, the luxury Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul opened its doors—a glistening white box, high on a hill, that reflected Afghanistan's hopes of becoming a modern country, connected to the world. Lyse Doucet first checked...

The agents of coercion in Egypt—its military, police, and intelligence services—have been locked in a perennial struggle for power since their inception. Each institution has vied for dominance, shaping and reshaping the country’s political landscape. Yet, the seismic upheaval of the 2011 revolution forced these often rival factions to set aside their differences and forge an alliance in the face...

A fascinating account of the Fifth Crusade, the campaign to conquer Egypt and regain the Holy Land. In 1217, the crusader states were in a highly fragile condition. The Fourth Crusade had failed, and Jerusalem had not been recovered. The crusaders now set their sights on Egypt. If the breadbasket of the Mediterranean could be conquered, long-term Christian control of...

Anna Baltzer, a young Jewish American, went to the West Bank to discover the realities of daily life for Palestinians under the occupation. What she found would change her outlook on the conflict forever. She wrote this book to give voice to the stories of the people who welcomed her with open arms as their lives crumbled around them. For...