The Battle of Badr was a small affair, involving maybe around 1250 combatants in total, but seeing as how it was the the first military victory by a Muslim army (of sorts), I suppose you could say it's pretty important. It was the first of three named battles (amid what were probably many more very … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Badr (624)
Category: history
Today in Middle Eastern history: the 8 March Revolution (1963)
As with Iraq’s 1963 “Ramadan Revolution,” which preceded and helped to inspire the event we’re here to discuss today, Syria’s “8 March Revolution” is a military coup that got rebranded by the successful coup plotters. However, just as the “Ramadan Revolution” had a fair amount of civilian support—mostly from middle class Iraqis who were displeased … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the 8 March Revolution (1963)
Today in European history: the Siege of Chandax ends (961)
The island of Crete has changed hands so many times that it can be hard to keep track of all of its various owners and operators. Before it became Greek again (which includes a period of Axis occupation during World War II), Crete was (briefly) independent, and before that Ottoman, before that Venetian, Byzantine, Roman...and it … Continue reading Today in European history: the Siege of Chandax ends (961)
Today in Middle Eastern history: Iraq’s Ramadan Revolution (1963)
The Ramadan Revolution—don’t let the name fool you, it’s really a coup that got good branding—is the middle chapter in a trilogy of coups, from 1958 to 1968, that collectively transitioned Iraq from a Hashemite-run monarchy to a Baathist-run republic. Obviously the third one is beyond the scope of this essay since it hadn’t happened … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Iraq’s Ramadan Revolution (1963)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Assassin imam surrenders to the Mongols (1256)
If we're going to talk about the end of the Assassin order, we should probably talk about who they were first. You may already know something about them--of all the topics one can cover in Islamic history, they're one of the most provocative and interesting to Western audiences. There's even a whole video game series … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Assassin imam surrenders to the Mongols (1256)
Today in North African history: the Battle of Tangier ends (1437)
Prince Henry the Navigator (d. 1460) is one of those Portuguese guys you spend a few minutes on in high school history class in the rush to get to Columbus. Which is unfortunate, because he’s an important figure. The explorations Henry sponsored were the first Portuguese voyages along the Atlantic coast of Africa, and later … Continue reading Today in North African history: the Battle of Tangier ends (1437)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Heliopolis (640)
The Arab conquest of Egypt can be considered the third stage of the early caliphate’s expansion, after its early successes against the Byzantines and the Persians. It also presented a different challenge for the caliphate and its armies. While Egypt may be home to more Arabs than any other country in the world today, in … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Heliopolis (640)
Today in European history: the Night Attack at Târgovişte (1462)
Being the Voivode of Wallachia in the 15th century couldn’t have been an easy gig. The principality was strategically located on both the shore of the Black Sea and the northern bank of the Danube, and also happened to sit on the frontier between Hungarian Transylvania and the Ottoman Empire. Successive Wallachian rulers tried to … Continue reading Today in European history: the Night Attack at Târgovişte (1462)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Six-Day War begins (1967)
Today is the anniversary of the start of the Six-Day War, Israel’s militarily decisive but politically confounding rapid defeat of armies in Egypt, Jordan, and Syria (Iraq and Lebanon were involved as well) that has done as much as any other single event to help shape the modern Middle East. Your perspective on how the war started … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Six-Day War begins (1967)
Today in European history: the Taksim Square massacre (1977)
You probably don’t need me to tell you that today is May Day, since I’m betting your ability to keep track of which day it is exceeds mine. May Day’s origins go back to pre-Christian European cultures, but nowadays for much of the world it’s also International Workers’ Day and, in some countries, Labor Day. Ironically, for … Continue reading Today in European history: the Taksim Square massacre (1977)
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 