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)
Tag: history
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?
Today in European history: the Siege of Rhodes ends (1522)
The feud between the Knights Hospitaller (aka the Knights of Rhodes and, later, the Knights of Malta) and the Ottoman Empire follows the standard big budget movie trilogy playbook, assuming you’re OK with casting the Knights as the protagonists. The saga begins with the Ottoman siege of Rhodes in 1480, from which the heavily outnumbered … Continue reading Today in European history: the Siege of Rhodes ends (1522)
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Konya (1832)
The Battle of Konya, fought on December 21, 1832, was the decisive battle in the 1831-1833 Ottoman-Egyptian War, and in that sense it serv—I’m sorry, you had a question? Yes, the Ottoman-Egyptian War of 18—yes? Oh, right. We’re skipping over a very important detail. The Ottomans conquered Egypt and ended the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517, and in … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Konya (1832)
Islamic History, part 29b: Early Islamic Law (c. 700 – c. 850) — Shafiʿi and Ibn Hanbal
Islamic History Series Please start with part 29a Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafiʿi (d. ~820), who I just mentioned in the last entry, is the third legal theorist (founder of the Shafiʿi madhhab) you need to know something about. Born in Gaza in or around 767, his family moved to Mecca when he was still a … Continue reading Islamic History, part 29b: Early Islamic Law (c. 700 – c. 850) — Shafiʿi and Ibn Hanbal
Islamic History, part 29a: Early Islamic Law (c. 700 – c. 850) — Abu Hanifah and Malik
Islamic History Series This has been a long time in coming, and there's a simple reason for it: I haven't had the time to write it. Sorry. Here's the thing: the study of Islamic Law is its own discipline and it's one that I don't have a whole lot of familiarity with. I can give … Continue reading Islamic History, part 29a: Early Islamic Law (c. 700 – c. 850) — Abu Hanifah and Malik
Today in South Asian history: the Indo-Pakistani War and Bangladesh Liberation War both end (1971)
India and Pakistan have fought no fewer than four major wars since the two nations came into being in 1947. Where their 1971 war stands out from the others is that it had nothing (directly, at least) to do with the disputed region of Kashmir. In fact, the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War was really the final … Continue reading Today in South Asian history: the Indo-Pakistani War and Bangladesh Liberation War both end (1971)
Today in Middle Eastern history: Reza Pahlavi is crowned Shah of Iran (1925)
A couple of decades before Britain sat Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi on the Iranian throne and several decades before they helped engineer the coup that kept him in power, British operatives were also responsible for the Iranian coup that enthroned his father, Reza Shah Pahlavi (d. 1944), and instituted the Pahlavi “Dynasty.” I put “dynasty” in quotes … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Reza Pahlavi is crowned Shah of Iran (1925)
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 