A History of the Modern Middle East

by Cleveland, William L.

• ISBN13: 9780813305639
• ISBN10: 0813305632
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-12-28
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

This comprehensive work provides a penetrating analysis of modern Middle Eastern history, from the Ottoman and Egyptian reforms, through the challenge of Western imperialism, to the Iranian Revolution and the recent Gulf War. After introducing the reader to the region's history from the origins of Islam in the seventh century, Cleveland focuses on the past two centuries of profound and often dramatic change. While built around a framework of political history, the book also carefully integrates social, cultural, and economic developments into a single, carefully crafted account.Cleveland sets the stage with a superb, concise overview of the long-term, general patterns of Middle Eastern history. The book opens with a portrayal of Islam that stresses an understanding of this great world religion and culture on its own terms and in its specific historical setting. The rich potential of this culture manifested itself in shifting centers of Islamic florescence, culminating in the rise of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires as the central political and social entities of the Middle East in the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries.The book next examines the crucial developments of the nineteenth centuryan era characterized by attempts at the self-transformation of Middle Eastern societies, a process sometimes misleadingly referred to as "modernization" or "Westernization." The resulting disruption of the established order was a wrenching and disorienting experience for the peoples of the region.Defeat in World War I delivered the coup de grace to Ottoman rule and brought in the "mandate system" through which the British and the French sought to impose their overlordship on the Arab world. The interwar years, through to the end of World War II, were characterized by the Arab struggle for independence. This struggle led to the emergence of the major political ideologies of the Arab worldregionalism, pan-Arab nationalismcombined with the enduring appeal of Islamic solidarity. During this same period the two major independent states of the region, Turkey and Iran, embarked on intensive programs of secular reform designed to remake their societies in the image of the West. Several Arab states were able to establish their independence, but this process was greatly complicated by the legacies of European rule, especially the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 and the cold war rivalry of the superpowers.Many of the problems faced in the region today are a direct consequence of this historical legacy: the Arab-Israeli conflict, the concentration of oil wealth into the hands of a few, the Iran-Iraq war, the Palestinian problem, the dissolution of Lebanon, Islamic fundamentalism, and the striving for power on the world stage of states such as Syria, Iraq, and Iran.A History of the Modern Middle Eastexplains the deep historical currents flowing beneath today's headlines, making it essential reading for anyone seeking a better understanding of today's turbulent world.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xi	(2)
Preface	xiii	(6)
A Note About Place Names and Transliteration	xix
Part 1 The Development of Islamic Civilization to the Eighteenth Century	1	(56)
1 The Rise and Expansion of Islam	4	(16)
Pre-Islamic Arabia	5	(3)
Muhammad and the Foundations of Islam	8	(4)
The Arab Conquests and the First Empire	12	(3)
The First Civil War and the End of the Rashidun Caliphate	15	(1)
From Arab Exclusivism to Universalism: The Umayyad and Abbasid Empires	16	(2)
Conclusion	18	(2)
2 The Development of Islamic Civilization to the Fifteenth Century	20	(19)
Patterns of Islamic History	20	(2)
The Creation and Uses of Wealth	22	(4)
Islamic Rituals and Institutions	26	(7)
Two Versions of Leadership: Sunni Caliph and Shi^(c)a Imam	33	(3)
The Middle East from the Eleventh to the Fifteenth Centuries: An Overview	36	(2)
Conclusion	38	(1)
3 The Ottoman and Safavid Empires: A New Imperial Synthesis	39	(18)
The Rise of the Ottoman Empire	39	(4)
Ottoman Ruling Institutions and Attitudes	43	(7)
The Loss of Ottoman Superiority	50	(2)
The Triumph of Shi^(c)ism: The Safavid Empire of Iran, 1501-1722	52	(3)
Conclusion: The Sunni-Shi^(c)a Struggle for Iraq	55	(2)
Part 2 The Beginnings of the Era of Transformation	57	(104)
4 Forging a New Synthesis: The Pattern of Reforms, 1789-1849	61	(18)
Selim III (1789-1806): Between Old and New	61	(2)
A Revived Center of Power: The Egypt of Muhammad Ali, 1805-1848	63	(10)
Nationalism and Great Power Intervention: The Greek Revolt, 1821-1829	73	(3)
Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839): Centralization and Transformation	76	(2)
Conclusion	78	(1)
5 The Ottoman Empire and Egypt During the Era of the Tanzimat	79	(20)
The Tanzimat: Continued Ottoman Reform Under the Bureaucrats	79	(8)
The Arab Provinces During the Tanzimat	87	(2)
Egypt During the Era of Civilian Reform	89	(8)
Conclusion: The Dualism of the Nineteenth-Century Reforms	97	(2)
6 Egypt and Iran in the Late Nineteenth Century	99	(14)
England on the Nile: The British Occupation of Egypt, 1882-1914	99	(12)
Iran During the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century	105	(6)
Conclusion	111	(2)
7 The Response of Islamic Society	113	(12)
Religious Assertiveness and Authoritarian Reform: The Era of Abdul Hamid II	113	(3)
Islamic Puritanism on the Tribal Frontiers: The Wahhabi, Sanusi, and Mahdiyyah Movements	116	(2)
The Reform of High Islam	118	(3)
Emerging Currents of Arab Cultural Distinctiveness	121	(3)
Conclusion	124	(1)
8 The Era of the Young Turks and the Iranian Constitutionalists	125	(15)
The Revolt of 1908 and the Young Turks in Power	126	(9)
The Period of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution	135	(3)
Conclusion	138	(2)
9 World War I and the End of the Ottoman Order	140	(21)
The Middle East in the War: An Overview of Military Operations	141	(13)
The Peace Settlement	154	(3)
Conclusion: The End of the Ottoman Order in the Middle East	157	(4)
Part 3 The Struggle for Independence: The Interwar Era to the End of World War II	161	(96)
10 Authoritarian Reform in Turkey and Iran	164	(17)
The Ataturk Era in Turkey	164	(9)
Iran Under Reza Shah	173	(5)
Turkey and Iran During World War II: Sovereignty and Occupation	178	(1)
Conclusion	179	(2)
11 The Arab Struggle for Independence: Egypt, Iraq, and Transjordan from the Interwar Era to 1945	181	(21)
The Struggle for Power in Egypt	181	(7)
An Overview of World War II	188	(1)
Egypt During World War II: Pivot of the British Defense System	189	(2)
Iraq Between the Wars	191	(6)
Iraq During World War II	197	(2)
Transjordan: The Desert Mandate	199	(2)
Conclusion	201	(1)
12 The Arab Struggle for Independence: Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia from the Interwar Era to 1945	202	(20)
The French Mandate in Syria and Lebanon	203	(6)
Lebanon Under the Mandate: The Establishment of Confessional Politics	209	(3)
Syria and Lebanon During World War II: The Troubled Path to Independence	212	(3)
New Kingdom in Arabia: The Rise of the Saudi State	215	(3)
The Search for Identity: Regionalism, Arabism, Islam	218	(3)
Conclusion	221	(1)
13 The Palestine Mandate and the Birth of the State of Israel	222	(35)
The Emergence of Political Zionism	223	(2)
The Balfour Declaration	225	(2)
The Mandate for Palestine: British Administration	227	(3)
The Palestinian Arab Community: Leadership and Institutions	230	(2)
The Jewish Community: Leadership and Institutions	232	(4)
Immigration and Land	236	(2)
Communal Conflict and the British Response	238	(4)
World War II and the Birth of the State of Israel	242	(6)
The First Arab-Israeli War	248	(3)
The State of Israel: Society and Institutions	251	(4)
Conclusion	255	(2)
Part 4 The Independent Middle East Since 1945	257	(196)
14 Democracy and Authoritarianism: Turkey and Iran	259	(25)
The Role of the United States in the Postwar Years	259	(2)
Turkey: The Transition to a Multiparty System	261	(8)
Turkish Foreign Policy and the Cyprus Question	269	(2)
Iran: The Reestablishment of Royal Autocracy	271	(11)
Conclusion	282	(2)
15 The Middle East in the Age of Nasser: The Egyptian Base	284	(20)
The Paralysis of the Old Regime, 1945-1952	284	(2)
The Free Officers and the Coup d'Etat of 1952	286	(5)
Foreign Relations After 1952	291	(6)
The Adoption of Arab Socialism	297	(5)
Conclusion	302	(2)
16 The Middle East in the Age of Nasser: The Radicalization of Arab Politics	304	(20)
Syria: The Military in Politics	304	(3)
Iraq: The End of the Monarchy	307	(4)
The Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan: The Survival of Monarchy	311	(2)
Lebanon: The Precarious Sectarian Balance	313	(4)
Israel, the Arab States, and the June 1967 War	317	(6)
Conclusion: The Nasser Era in Perspective	323	(1)
17 From Black September to "Peace for Galilee": Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, and the Palestinian National Movement	324	(29)
The Palestinian Factor After 1948	325	(10)
Egypt Under Sadat: Domestic and Diplomatic Realignments	335	(9)
The Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1976	344	(3)
The 1982 Israeli Invasion of Lebanon	347	(4)
Conclusion	351	(2)
18 The Consolidation of Authoritarian Rule in Syria and Iraq: The Regimes of Hafiz al-Asad and Saddam Husayn	353	(24)
Syria in the al-Asad Era	354	(9)
Iraq in the Era of Saddam Husayn and the Ba^(c)th	363	(11)
Conclusion	374	(3)
19 The Arabian Peninsula Since 1945	377	(21)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	378	(10)
Kuwait, Oman, and the Smaller Gulf States	388	(8)
Conclusion	396	(2)
20 The Iranian Revolution and the Resurgence of Islam	398	(24)
The Stages of Revolution in Iran	398	(15)
The Revival of Islam	413	(7)
Conclusion	420	(2)
21 A Time of Disorder and Renewal: 1987-1993	422	(31)
The End of the Cold War and the Collapse of the Soviet Union	422	(2)
The Intifada from 1987 to 1991	424	(4)
The Gulf Crisis of 1990-1991	428	(8)
The Aftermath of the Gulf War	436	(4)
To Madrid and Beyond: Breaking the Diplomatic Stalemate?	440	(3)
Lebanon at the Crossroads	443	(2)
Israel and the PLO: The Breakthrough of 1993	445	(5)
Conclusion	450	(3)
Notes	453	(5)
Glossary	458	(4)
Select Bibliography	462	(16)
About the Book and Author	478	(1)
Index	479