A Century-Old History of the Middle East

In the Fertile Crescent, this ancient and mysterious land, the two world wars were like two violent earthquakes, completely reshaping the historical trajectory of the Middle East. "A Hundred Years of Events in the Middle East" will take readers through time and space to witness the magnificent journey of this land in the midst of turbulence and change. After World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and the Middle East was brutally divided among the great powers with the Sykes-Picot Agreement. The colonial rule of Britain and France and the rise of Zionism sowed the seeds of conflict in Palestine. Although the Arab Revolt once ignited the hope of independence, it was eventually shattered in the power game. Kemal established a secular republic in Türkiye, the Saudi family unified the Arabian Peninsula, and a new political structure was built on the ruins. The smoke of World War II spread to the Middle East, which became an important battlefield between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers. The pro-German coup in Iraq, the allied occupation of Iran, and the life-and-death battle in the Battle of El Alamein, each event profoundly affected the direction of the war. At the same time, the oil economy began to rise. Saudi Arabia's oil fields and Iraq's oil pipelines made the Middle East's strategic position increasingly important. In the alternation of war and peace, the wave of nationalism is surging. With the Nasser Revolution in Egypt, the rise of the Ba'ath Party in Syria, and the oil nationalization movement in Iran, countries in the Middle East are constantly exploring the path of independence and development. However, the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the intensification of sectarian conflicts have plunged this land into new turmoil.