The various Shiʿa movements that have sprung up over the centuries trace their origins, of course, to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son in-law of Muhammad. But apart from that common origin there have been a number of disagreements within the broad Shiʿa community over which line of descent from Ali was legitimate. These divergences … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Bakhamra (763)
Category: history
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Iran Hostage Crisis ends (1981)
On this date in 1981 the Iranian government finally released the last 52 of the 66 hostages it took when Iranian students/paramilitaries seized the US embassy in Tehran in November 1979. The Carter administration, when it wasn't busy planning botched rescue operations, spent most of the 444 days those hostages were held captive trying to … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Iran Hostage Crisis ends (1981)
Today in Middle Eastern history: Operation Desert Storm begins (1991)
Although he was America’s good close pal when he was heroically gassing tens of thousands of Iranians throughout much of the 1980s, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait put him on Washington’s naughty list for several reasons. Chief among them was, of course, the threat he posed to Saudi Arabia and therefore a large portion of the world’s … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Operation Desert Storm begins (1991)
Today in Caucasian history: the Battle of Sarikamish ends (1915)
The Battle of Sarikamish was one of the more overwhelming Russian victories of World War I. It was so overwhelming, in fact, that it put the Russians on the offensive in the Caucasus for good—or, well, until Russia quit the war following its 1917 revolution. Which is why its legacy is hard to judge. Whatever … Continue reading Today in Caucasian history: the Battle of Sarikamish ends (1915)
Today in European history: the Battle of Vaslui (1475)
The principality of Moldavia emerged under a Vlach warlord named Dragoș in the middle of the 14th century as a frontier state between Hungary and the Mongolian Golden Horde Khanate. It survived until the middle of the 19th century, when it was merged with Wallachia and thereby became one of the three (along with Transylvania) … Continue reading Today in European history: the Battle of Vaslui (1475)
Today in European history: the Gallipoli campaign ends (1916)
January 9 is the anniversary of the end of World War I's very extended Gallipoli campaign, which lasted eight and a half months starting from late April 1915. In full disclosure, the date is a bit misleading--while "January 9" is the date upon which the last British (Canadian, if you want to be particular about … Continue reading Today in European history: the Gallipoli campaign ends (1916)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Eisenhower Doctrine, or: They All Lived Happily Ever After (1957)
The United States enjoys two things more than just about anything else: doing war and making up doctrines about doing war. If you include “domestic” conflicts like the genocide of Native Americans, the United States has been at war for almost its entire existence, and of its 44 presidents, at least a quarter of them … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Eisenhower Doctrine, or: They All Lived Happily Ever After (1957)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Faysal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)
As World War I was wrapping up, and the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, the question of what to do with a very large swathe of soon-to-be-former Ottoman land loomed large. Most Ottoman territory outside of Anatolia was predominantly Arab, and the 1916-1918 Arab Revolt had done much to advance British war aims in the Middle … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Faysal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)
Today in European history: the “Reconquista” ends (1492)
January 2, 1492, was the official end-date of the cleverly-named Reconquista, as it is the date upon which the last Muslim hold-out in Iberia, the city of Granada, was formally handed over to Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. While this obviously is a date of significant historical import, it’s also a little anti-climactic. … Continue reading Today in European history: the “Reconquista” ends (1492)
Did Saddam Hussein Create the Islamic State?
Middle East analyst Kyle Orton has an op-ed in The New York Times today, called "How Saddam Hussein Gave Us ISIS," that, as you might imagine, is raising some eyebrows on the internets. I have to say, though, as somebody who has read Orton's work (the growth of ISIS out of the wreckage of Saddam's … Continue reading Did Saddam Hussein Create the Islamic State?
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 