A History Of The Modern Middle East (rulers, Rebels, And Rogues)

Description

By (author) Betty S. Anderson; By (author) Anderson Betty S.

Short /annotation
The book examines the ways that rulers, rogues, and rebels have worked together to forge modern Middle Eastern history from the rise of the Ottoman and Safavid empires.

A History of the Modern Middle East offers a comprehensive assessment of the region, stretching from the fourteenth century and the founding of the Ottoman and Safavid empires through to the present-day protests and upheavals. The textbook focuses on Turkey, Iran, and the Arab countries of the Middle East, as well as areas often left out of Middle East history—such as the Balkans and the changing roles that Western forces have played in the region for centuries—to discuss the larger contexts and influences on the region”s cultural and political development. Enriched by the perspectives of workers and professionals; urban merchants and provincial notables; slaves, students, women, and peasants, as well as political leaders, the book maps the complex social interrelationships and provides a pivotal understanding of the shifting shapes of governance and trajectories of social change in the Middle East.

Extensively illustrated with drawings, photographs, and maps, this text skillfully integrates a diverse range of actors and influences to construct a narrative that is at once sophisticated and lucid. A History of the Modern Middle East highlights the region”s complexity and variation, countering easy assumptions about the Middle East, those who governed, and those they governed—the rulers, rebels, and rogues who shaped a region.

Table of contents
Contents and AbstractsPrologue: Islam and the Prophet”s Successors chapter abstract

This chapter introduces the historical events surrounding the rise of Islam, the main pillars of the faith, and the reasons behind the schism between Sunnis and Shia. It follows the Arab armies as they moved beyond the Arabian Peninsula and established empires led by caliphs in Damascus (Umayyad) and Baghdad (Abbasid). During the reign of the Abbasids, religious scholars codified Islamic law (sharia) by using reasoned interpretations of the messages contained within the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet. The Abbasid Empire collapsed with the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258. The topics of this chapter are referenced throughout the book as later empires ruled over the Muslim world and as Arabs looked back on these days as a golden age defining the beginnings of their national identities.

1Birth of Empires: The Ottoman and Safavid Empires through the 18th Century chapter abstract

This chapter begins with the founding stories of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires and ends in the 18th century with the fragmentation of the former and the destruction of the latter. The chapter analyzes the systems of governance established in each empire because the institutions built within them proved influential well into the 19th and 20th centuries. The Ottoman sultans presented themselves as protectors of Sunni Islam and succeeded in ruling over a diverse population by training slaves for political and military positions in the halls of imperial governance and contracting with intermediaries to govern the provinces. The Safavid shahs established Shii Islam as the state religion and centralized an Iran that had been politically fragmented for centuries. Both empires faced increasing economic and military pressure from the British, French, Russians and Austrians.

2Reform and Rebellion: The Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Qajar Iran in the 19th Century chapter abstract

This chapter examines the reform programs initiated in the 19th century by leaders in the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and the newly established Qajar Empire. Western-style military, educational, legal, and administrative reforms were introduced with the hope that centralized governance could be achieved which w