Today is the anniversary of one of the worst military fiascos in British history, the surrender of the 6th division of the Indian Army to the Ottomans at the Iraqi town of Kut. Kut followed right on the heels of the Battle of Ctesiphon in November 1915, and this epilogue turned that indecisive battle into a major strategic … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Surrender of Kut (1916)
Author: DWD
writer, blogger, lover, fighter
Today in Middle Eastern history: Conrad I of Jerusalem is assassinated (1192)
The leaders of the medieval Islamic spiritual order known as the Assassins were certainly not the first people to come up with the idea of murdering one's political opponents. But the reason why the murder of a political leader is known as an "assassination" today is because these guys were very, very good at it. … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Conrad I of Jerusalem is assassinated (1192)
Today in European history: Muslims invade Hispania (711)
This post has been incorporated into another post, so please go there instead!
Today in Caucasian history: the Battle of Bagrevand (775)
When Arab armies moved out of Arabia in the 630s they brought an end to the Roman-Persian balance of power that had defined western Asia for centuries. It’s likely that nobody, apart from the Romans and the Persians, felt this change more acutely than the Armenians. The Kingdom of Armenia had long been a buffer between … Continue reading Today in Caucasian history: the Battle of Bagrevand (775)
Catching up: Iran
After a much-needed break, I'm going to try to get back to some regular blogging. But in order to do that, I've got to make some sense of what's been going on while I've been away--for my own sake far more than for yours. This is part of a series of pieces over the next … Continue reading Catching up: Iran
Today in European history: the Greco-Turkish War is declared (1897)
After mainland Greece won its independence from the Ottomans in the 1832 Treaty of Constantinople, the status of the island of Crete became a big issue. Crete, as anybody who knows anything about ancient Greece will tell you, historically lies well within the Greek world. But our friends of the Fourth Crusade sold the island--which … Continue reading Today in European history: the Greco-Turkish War is declared (1897)
On the case
Good news, everybody! Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin are on this Syria thing and they are going to clean this shit up: The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama have discussed the situation in Syria and agreed to increase coordination between the special services and militaries of the two countries. … Continue reading On the case
Right tosser of the day, innit?
It's UKIP Grand Wizard village idiot party leader Nigel Farage: The Ukip leader, a prominent member of the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, took aim at Obama ahead of the president’s visit to Britain next week, during which he is expected to express support for the remain camp. “Mercifully, this American president, … Continue reading Right tosser of the day, innit?
Catching up: Syria
After a much-needed break, I'm going to try to get back to some regular blogging. But in order to do that, I've got to make some sense of what's been going on while I've been away--for my own sake far more than for yours. This is part of a series of pieces over the next … Continue reading Catching up: Syria
Today in Middle Eastern history: Lebanon’s Bus Massacre (1975)
The Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) lasted 15 years and by most estimates killed 150,000-250,000 people. It was a brutal, extended mess of a war, not unlike the one currently going on next door in Syria. And today happens to be the anniversary of the event that started it, the massacre of 27 Palestinians by Christian … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Lebanon’s Bus Massacre (1975)
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 