A recent book traces the rich history of Assyriology, from pioneers such as Oppert and Grotefend, through the major institutions that have contributed to its development, to today’s research projects. This is a portrait of a surprisingly contemporary science.
The Islamic State (IS) was not born miraculously in the summer of 2014. Its origins lie in the intertwined histories of Iraq and Syria over the past twenty years. Loulouwa Al Rachid and Matthieu Rey untangle IS’s complex heritage, bequeathed to it both by Baathist authoritarianism and the United States’ intervention in Iraq.
Was the Franco-British rivalry in the Middle East the driving force behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? After the First World War, as they were determined to hold on to their mandates—Syria and Lebanon for France, Iraq and Palestine for Britain—the two countries secretly worked to destroy each other by fuelling revolts and terrorism.
