Empires of the Sand
The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East, 1789-1923

This volume offers a bold and comprehensive reinterpretation of the struggle for mastery in the Middle East during the long 19th century (1789-1923).

Empires of the Sand offers a bold and comprehensive reinterpretation of the struggle for mastery in the Middle East during the long nineteenth century. Backed by a wealth of archival sources, the authors refute the standard belief that Europe was responsible for the destruction of the Ottoman Empire and the region's political unity. Instead, they argue that the main impetus for the developments of this momentous period came from the local actors. Efraim Karsh and Inari Karsh see not a "clash of civilizations" but a pattern of pragmatic cooperation and conflict between the Middle East and the West during the past two centuries. Such a vision affords daringly new ways of viewing the Middle East's past as well as its volatile present.

Introduction

Part One Imperial Sunset
1. Riding the Napoleonic Storms
2. The Greek Tinderbox
3. Muhammad Ali's Imperial Dream
4. Losing Egypt
5. Out of Europe
6. The Young Turks in Power

Part Two Demise of the "Sick Man"
7. The Ottoman Road to War
8. The Entente's Road to War
9. The Lust for Glory
10. Genocide in Armenia
11. Repression in the Holy Land
12. Istanbul and the Arabs
13. The "Great Arab Revolt"
14. Hussein's Imperial Bid
15. Dividing the Bear's Skin


Part Three: Unite and Rule
16. The Balfour Declaration
17. The Undoing of the Sykes-Picot Agreement
18. Losing Syria
19. A K ngdom for Faisal
20. And One for Abdullah
21. From Empire to Nation

Epilogue
Abbreviations
Notes
Index