Editing History of the Middle East

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
[[Image:Middle East geographic.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|A map showing territories commonly considered part of the [[Middle East]]]]
The [[Middle East]], or the [[Near East]], was one of the [[cradles of civilization]]: after the [[Neolithic Revolution]] and the [[Origins of agriculture in West Asia|adoption of agriculture]], many of the world's oldest [[culture]]s and [[civilization]]s were created there. Since ancient times, the Middle East has had several [[lingua franca]]: [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], [[Hebrew]], [[Aramaic]], [[Greek language|Greek]], and [[Arabic]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Richard |first1=Suzanne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=khR0apPid8gC&pg=PA69 |title=Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader |publisher=EISENBRAUNS |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57506-083-5 |edition=Illustrated |page=69}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=17 January 2023 |title=World Factbook&nbsp;– Jordan |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jordan/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=11 January 2023 |title=World Factbook&nbsp;– Kuwait |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kuwait/}}</ref> The [[Sumer]]ians, around the 5th millennium BC, were among the first to develop a civilization. By 3150 BC, [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian civilization]] unified under its first [[pharaoh]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dodson |first=Aidan |title=Egyptian Rock Cut Tombs |publisher=Shire |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-7478-0128-3 |location=Buckinghamshire |page=46}}</ref> [[Mesopotamia]] hosted powerful empires, notably [[Assyria]] which lasted for 1,500 years. For centuries after the 7th century BC, the region was dominated by [[Persia]]n powers like the [[Achaemenid Empire]].

In the 1st century BC, the [[Roman Republic]] conquered most of the region, and its successor, the [[Roman Empire]], that ruled from the 6th to 15th centuries AD referred to as the [[Byzantine Empire]], grew significantly more. [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman pagan religions]] were replaced by [[Christianity]] in the 4th century AD. From the 3rd to 7th centuries, Rome ruled alongside the [[Sasanian Empire]]. From the 7th century, [[Islam]] spread rapidly, expanding [[Arabs|Arab]] identity in the region. The [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk dynasty]] displaced Arab dominance in the 11th century, followed by the [[Mongol Empire]] in the 13th century.{{Human history}}In the 15th century, the [[Ottoman Empire]] invaded most of [[Anatolia]], and dissolved the Byzantine Empire by [[Fall of Constantinople|capturing Constantinople in 1453]]. The Ottomans and the [[Safavid dynasty]] were rivals from the early 16th century. By 1700, the Ottomans were pushed out of [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Hungary]]. The [[British Empire]] [[Persian Gulf Residency|gained control]] over the [[Persian Gulf]] in the 19th century, while [[French colonial empire]] extended into [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]]. Regional rulers sought [[Modernization theory|modernization]] to match European powers. A key moment came with the discovery of [[Petroleum|oil]], first in [[Qajar Iran|Persia]] (1908), then in [[Saudi Arabia]] (1938), and other [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|Gulf states]], leading to increased [[Western world|Western]] interest in the region. In the 1920s to 1940s, Syria and [[Egypt]] pursued independence, in 1948 [[Israel]] became an independent [[Jewish history|Jewish]] state.

The British, French, and [[Soviets]] withdrew from much of the region during and after [[World War II]]. In 1947 the [[United Nations]] [[1947 UN Partition Plan|plan to partition Palestine]] was voted in favor for a Jewish homeland. Amid [[Cold War]] tensions, [[pan-Arabism]] emerged in the region. The end of European colonial control, the establishment of [[Israel]], and the rise of the [[petroleum industry]] shaped the modern Middle East. Despite economic growth, many countries faced challenges like political restrictions, corruption, [[cronyism]] and overreliance on oil. The wealthiest [[per capita]] are the small, oil-rich Gulf states, namely [[Qatar]], [[Kuwait]], [[Bahrain]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]].

Several key events shaped the modern Middle East, such as the 1967 [[Six-Day War]],<ref name="wright">Robin Wright, ''Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam'', pp. 65–66</ref> the [[1970s energy crisis|1973 OPEC oil embargo]] in response to US support for Israel in the [[Yom Kippur War]],<ref name="wright" /><ref>interview by Robin Wright of UK Foreign Secretary (at the time) Lord Carrington in November 1981, ''Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam'' by Robin Wright, Simon and Schuster, (1985), p. 67</ref> and the rise of [[Salafism]]/[[Wahhabism]] in Saudi Arabia that led to rise of [[Islamism]].<ref name="Kepel-petro">{{cite book |last=Kepel |first=Gilles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLvTNk75hUoC&pg=PA61 |title=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-84511-257-8 |pages=61–62}}</ref> Additionally, the [[Iranian Revolution]] contributed to a significant [[Islamic revival]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Martin Kramer |title=Fundamentalist Islam: The Drive for Power |url=http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/FundamentalistPower.htm |journal=Middle East Quarterly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213035635/http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/FundamentalistPower.htm |archive-date=13 February 2005}}</ref> The [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991 ended the Cold War, and regional conflict was soon made part of the [[War on Terror]]. In the early 2010s, the [[Arab Spring]] triggered major protests and revolutions in the region. Clashes in [[Anbar campaign (2013–2014)|western Iraq]] in 2013 set the stage for the [[Islamic State]] (IS)'s expansion.

==Prehistoric period{{anchor|Prehistoric_Near_East}}==
{{further|Epipalaeolithic Near East|Neolithic in the Near East}}
{{See also|Prehistoric Egypt||Prehistory of Iran|Prehistory of the Southern Levant|Prehistoric Cyprus|Natufian culture|Timeline of Middle Eastern history}}

The [[earliest human migrations]] out of Africa occurred through the Middle East, namely over the [[Levantine corridor]], with the pre-modern ''[[Homo erectus]]'' about 1.8 million years [[Before present|BP]]. One of the potential routes for early human migrations toward southern and eastern Asia is Persia.

[[Haplogroup J-P209]], the most common [[human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup]] in the Middle East today, is believed to have arisen in the region 31,700 ± 12,800 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/386295 |title=Origin, Diffusion, and Differentiation of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and J: Inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and Later Migratory Events in the Mediterranean Area |year=2004 |last1=Semino |first1=Ornella |last2=Magri |first2=Chiara |last3=Benuzzi |first3=Giorgia |last4=Lin |first4=Alice A. |last5=Al-Zahery |first5=Nadia |last6=Battaglia |first6=Vincenza |last7=MacCioni |first7=Liliana |last8=Triantaphyllidis |first8=Costas |last9=Shen |first9=Peidong |last10=Oefner |first10=Peter J. |last11=Zhivotovsky |first11=Lev A. |last12=King |first12=Roy |last13=Torroni |first13=Antonio |last14=Cavalli-Sforza |first14=L. Luca |last15=Underhill |first15=Peter A. |last16=Santachiara-Benerecetti |first16=A. Silvana |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=74 |issue=5 |pages=1023–1034 |pmid=15069642 |pmc=1181965}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1353/hub.2006.0045 |title=North African Berber and Arab Influences in the Western Mediterranean Revealed by Y-Chromosome DNA Haplotypes |year=2006 |last1=Gérard |first1=Nathalie |last2=Berriche |first2=Sala |last3=Aouizérate |first3=Annie |last4=Diéterlen |first4=Florent |last5=Lucotte |first5=Gérard |journal=Human Biology |volume=78 |issue=3 |pages=307–316 |pmid=17216803|s2cid=13347549 }}</ref> The two main current subgroups, [[Haplogroup J1|J-M267]] and [[Haplogroup J2|J-M172]], which now comprise between them almost all of the population of the haplogroup, are both believed to have arisen very early, at least 10,000 years ago. Nonetheless, Y-chromosomes [[Haplogroup F-M89|F-M89*]] and [[Haplogroup IJ|IJ-M429*]] were reported to have been observed in the [[Iranian plateau]].<ref name="Grugni2012">{{cite journal |doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0041252 |title = Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians |year = 2012 |editor1-last = Kivisild |editor1-first = Toomas |last1 = Grugni |first1 = Viola |last2 = Battaglia |first2 = Vincenza |last3 = Hooshiar Kashani |first3 = Baharak |last4 = Parolo |first4 = Silvia |last5 = Al-Zahery |first5 = Nadia |last6 = Achilli |first6 = Alessandro |last7 = Olivieri |first7 = Anna |last8 = Gandini |first8 = Francesca |last9 = Houshmand |first9 = Massoud |last10 = Sanati |first10 = M. H. |last11 = Torroni |first11 = A |last12 = Semino |first12 = O |journal = PLOS ONE |volume = 7 |issue = 7 |pages = e41252 |pmid = 22815981 |pmc = 3399854|display-authors = 8 |bibcode = 2012PLoSO...741252G |doi-access = free }}</ref>[[File:Fertile crescent Neolithic B circa 7500 BC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Area of the [[Fertile Crescent]], circa 7500 BC, with main sites of the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]] period]]There is evidence of [[rock carvings]] along the [[Nile]] terraces and in desert oases. In the [[10th millennium BC]], a culture of [[hunter-gatherer]]s and [[fishing|fishermen]] was replaced by a [[cereal|grain]]-grinding culture. Climate changes and/or [[overgrazing]] around 6000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the [[Sahara]]. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile, where they developed a settled agricultural [[Economic system|economy]] and more centralized society.<ref>Midant-Reynes, Béatrix. ''The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.</ref>

Ancient [[Levant]]ines and their descendants exhibit a decrease of ~8% local Neolithic ancestry, which is mostly [[Natufian culture|Natufian]]-like, every millennium, starting from the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]] to the Medieval period. It was replaced by [[Caucasus hunter-gatherer|Caucasus]]-related and [[Anatolian hunter-gatherers|Anatolian]]-related ancestries, from the north and west respectively. However, despite the decline in the Natufian component, this key ancestry source made an important contribution to peoples of later periods, continuing until the present.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lazaridis |first1=Iosif |last2=Alpaslan-Roodenberg |first2=Songül |last3=Acar |first3=Ayşe |last4=Açıkkol |first4=Ayşen |display-authors=3 |date=2022 |title=Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia |journal=Science |volume=377 |issue=6609 |pages=982–987 |doi=10.1126/science.abq0762 |pmid=36007054 |pmc=9983685 |bibcode=2022Sci...377..982L }}</ref> The presence of [[Iranian hunter-gatherers|Neolithic Iranian]] ancestry among modern Levantines can be attributed to [[Pre-modern human migration|migrations]] during the Bronze Age.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Almarri |first1=Mohamed A. |last2=Haber |first2=Marc |last3=Lootah |first3=Reem A. |last4=Hallast |first4=Pille |display-authors=3 |date=2021 |title=The genomic history of the Middle East |journal=Cell |volume=184 |issue=18 |pages=4612–4625 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.013 |pmid=34352227 |pmc=8445022 }}</ref>

[[Neolithic]] [[agriculturalists]], who may have resided in [[Northeast Africa]] and the Middle East, may have been the source population for [[lactase persistence]] variants, including {{nbnd}}13910*T, and may have been subsequently supplanted by later migrations of peoples.<ref name="Priehodová">{{cite web |last1=Priehodová |first1=Edita |display-authors=etal |title=Sahelian pastoralism from the perspective of variantsassociated with lactase persistence |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02919786/file/ajpa_ms_final.pdf |website=HAL Archives |publisher=American Journal of Physical Anthropology}}</ref> The [[Sub-Saharan]] [[West African]] [[Fulani]], the [[North African]] [[Tuareg]], and [[Early European Farmers|European agriculturalists]], who are descendants of these Neolithic agriculturalists, share the lactase persistence variant {{nbnd}}13910*T.<ref name="Priehodová" /> While shared by [[Fulani herdsmen|Fulani]] and [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] herders, compared to the Tuareg variant, the Fulani variant of {{nbnd}}13910*T has undergone a longer period of haplotype differentiation.<ref name="Priehodová" /> The Fulani lactase persistence variant {{nbnd}}13910*T may have spread, along with cattle [[pastoralism]], between 9686 BP and 7534 BP, possibly around 8500 BP; corroborating this timeframe for the Fulani, by at least 7500 BP, there is evidence of herders engaging in the act of [[milking]] in the Central [[Sahara]].<ref name="Priehodová" />

==Ancient period==
{{See also|Chronology of the ancient Near East}}
{{Ancient Near East topics}}

The ancient Near East was the first to practice intensive year-round [[agriculture]] and [[currency]]-mediated [[trade]] (as opposed to [[barter]]), gave the rest of the world the first [[history of writing|writing system]], invented the [[potter's wheel]] and then the vehicular and mill [[wheel]], created the first [[centralized government]]s and [[law code]]s, served as birthplace to the [[Cities of the ancient Near East|first city-states]] with their high degree of [[division of labor]], as well as laying the foundation for the fields of [[astronomy]] and [[mathematics]]. However, its empires also introduced rigid [[social stratification]], [[slavery]], and organized [[warfare]].[[File:Ancient Egypt Wings.svg|350px|thumb|The symbol of the [[winged sun]] was found throughout the Middle East. It was associated with divinity, royalty, and power. The symbol shown above is an Egyptian version.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}]]

===Cradle of civilization, Sumer and Akkad===
The earliest [[civilization]]s in history were established in the region now known as the Middle East around 3500 BC by the [[Sumer]]ians, in southern [[Mesopotamia]] (modern-day [[Iraq]]), widely regarded as the [[cradle of civilization]]. The Sumerians and the [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadians]]—who extended their empire to northern Mesopotamia (now northern [[Syria]])—and later [[Babylonia]]ns and [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] all flourished in this region.

"In the course of the fourth millennium BC, city-states developed in southern Mesopotamia that were dominated by temples whose priests represented the cities' patron deities. The most prominent of the city-states was Sumer, which gave its language to the area (presumably the [[History of writing|first written language]]), and became the first great civilization of mankind. About 2340 BC, [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon the Great]] (c. 2360–2305 BC) united the city-states in the south and founded the Akkadian dynasty, the world's first empire."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/6308/1/Ancient-Civilizations--Mesopotamia.html|title=Ancient Civilizations&nbsp;– Mesopotamia|first=Albert S.|last=Lyons|publisher=Health Guidance.org|access-date=24 August 2013}}</ref>

During this same time period, Sargon the Great appointed his daughter, [[Enheduanna]], as High Priestess of Inanna at Ur.<ref>[https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/ worldhistory.org]</ref> Her writings, which established her as the first known author in world history, also helped cement Sargon's position in the region.

===Egypt===
{{Main|Ancient Egypt}}

[[File:Ramses_II._1989.jpg|alt=Ramses II. 1989|thumb|265x265px|Statue of [[Ramesses II]] of Egypt in Luxor.]]
Soon after the Sumerian civilization began, the [[Nile valley]] of [[Lower Egypt|Lower]] and [[Upper Egypt]] was unified under the [[Pharaoh]]s approximately around 3150 BC. Since then, Ancient Egypt experienced 3 high points of civilization, the so-called "Kingdom" periods:
* The [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]] (2686–2181),
* The [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] (2055–1650) and, most notably,
* The [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] (1550–1069).
The history of Ancient Egypt is concluded by the [[Late Period of ancient Egypt|Late Period]] (664–332 BC), immediately followed by the history of Egypt in [[Classical Antiquity]], beginning with [[Ptolemaic Egypt]].[[File:Semitic languages.svg|right|thumb|The historical [[Semitic people|Semitic region]], defined by the pre-Islamic distribution of [[Semitic language]]s and coinciding very roughly with the [[Arabian Plate]]]]

===The Levant and Anatolia===
{{Main|History of the ancient Levant|History of Anatolia}}
Thereafter, civilization quickly spread through the [[Fertile Crescent]] to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and throughout the [[Levant]], as well as to [[Anatolia]]. Ancient Levantine kingdoms and city states included [[Ebla]] City, [[Ugarit]] City, [[Aram-Damascus|Kingdom of Aram-Damascus]], [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]], [[Kingdom of Judah]], [[Kingdom of Ammon]], [[Kingdom of Moab]], [[Kingdom of Edom]], and the [[Nabatean kingdom]]. The [[Phoenicia]]n civilization, encompassing several city states, was a [[Thalassocracy|maritime trading culture]] that established [[Colony|colonial]] cities in the [[Mediterranean Basin]], most notably [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage, in 814 BC]].

===Assyrian empires===
{{Main|Assyria}}
Mesopotamia was home to several powerful empires that came to rule almost the entire Middle East—particularly the [[Assyrian Empire]]s of 1365–1076 BC and the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] of 911–605 BC. The Assyrian Empire, at its peak, was the largest the world had seen. It ruled all of what is now Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, [[Cyprus]], and Bahrain—with large swathes of Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Sudan, and Arabia.
"The Assyrian empires, particularly the third, had a profound and lasting impact on the Near East. Before Assyrian hegemony ended, the Assyrians brought the highest civilization to the then known world. From the Caspian to Cyprus, from Anatolia to Egypt, Assyrian imperial expansion would bring into the Assyrian sphere nomadic and barbaric communities, and would bestow the gift of civilization upon them."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/brief.html |title=Brief History of Assyrians |first=Peter |last=BetBasoo |year=2007 |publisher=Assyrian International News Agency |access-date=24 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017014421/http://www.aina.org/brief.html |archive-date=17 October 2013 }}</ref>

===Neo-Babylonian and Persian empires===
{{Main|Babylonia|Persian Empire}}
From the early 6th century BC onwards, several Persian states dominated the region, beginning with the [[Medes]] and non-Persian [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]], then their successor the [[Achaemenid Empire]] known as the first Persian Empire, conquered in the late 4th century BC by the very short-lived kingdom of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] of [[Alexander the Great]], and then successor kingdoms such as Ptolemaic Egypt and the [[Seleucid]] state in Western Asia.

After a century of hiatus, the idea of the Persian Empire was revived by the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]] in the 3rd century BC—and continued by their successors, the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanids]] from the 3rd century AD. This empire dominated sizable parts of what is now the Asian part of the Middle East and continued to influence the rest of the Asiatic and African Middle East region, until the Arab [[Muslim conquest of Persia]] in the mid-7th&nbsp;century AD. Between the 1st century BC and the early 7th century AD, the region was completely dominated by the Romans and the Parthians and Sassanids on the other hand, which often culminated in various [[Roman-Persian Wars]] over the seven centuries. Eastern Rite, [[Church of the East]] Christianity took hold in [[Asorestan|Persian-ruled Mesopotamia]], particularly in Assyria from the 1st century AD onwards, and the region became a center of a flourishing [[Syriac Christians|Syriac]]–Assyrian literary tradition.

===Greek and Roman Empire===
{{Main|Macedonian Empire|Roman Empire}}
[[File:RomanEmpire 117.svg|thumb|right|240px|The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, under [[Trajan]], 117 AD]]
In 66–63 BC, the [[Roman Republic|Roman]] general [[Pompey]] conquered much of the Middle East.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Brief History of the Middle East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krKeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT34|first = Christopher|last = Catherwood |publisher = Little, Brown Book Group|date = 2011|isbn = 9781849018074}}</ref> The [[Roman Empire]] united the region with most of Europe and North Africa in a single political and economic unit. Even areas not directly annexed were strongly influenced by the Empire, which was the most powerful political and cultural entity for centuries. Though [[Culture of ancient Rome|Roman culture]] spread across the region, the [[Greek culture]] and language first established in the region by Macedonia continued to dominate throughout the Roman period. Cities in the Middle East, especially [[Alexandria]], became major urban centers for the Empire and the region became the Empire's "bread basket" as the key agricultural producer. [[Egypt (Roman province)|Ægyptus]] was by far the most wealthy Roman province.<ref>{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rXmdAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA102|title =Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest|page= 102|editor-first = Kathleen |editor-last = Kuiper|publisher = Britannica Educational Publishing|isbn = 9781615302109 |date = 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yDiDfipV4AIC&pg=PT461 |title = The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000|first = Chris |last = Wickham|publisher = Penguin UK|date= 2009|isbn = 9780141908533}}</ref>

During the time that [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mystery cults]] were introduced to the region, traditional religions were often criticized and the cults gained societal influence.<ref name="Storm-2011">{{Cite book |last=Storm |first=Rachel |title=Myths & Legends of India, Egypt, China & Japan |publisher=Lorenz Books |year=2011 |editor-last=Sudell |editor-first=Helen |edition=2nd |location=Wigston, Leicestershire |pages=12}}</ref> These cults formed around gods like [[Cybele]], [[Isis]], and [[Mithra]].<ref name="Storm-2011" />
[[File:Jerusalem-Grabeskirche-14-vom Erloeserkirchturm-2010-gje.jpg|240px|thumb|[[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] in [[Jerusalem]]: Jerusalem is generally considered the cradle of [[Christianity]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Orientalism and Musical Mission: Palestine and the West|first=Rachel |last=Beckles Willson|year= 2013| isbn=9781107036567| page =146|publisher=Cambridge University Press|quote= }}</ref>]]
As the Christian religion spread throughout the Roman and Persian Empires, it took root in the Middle East, and cities such as Alexandria and [[Edessa]] became important centers of Christian scholarship. By the 5th century, Christianity was the dominant religion in the Middle East, with other faiths (gradually including ''[[heresy|heretical]]'' Christian sects) being actively repressed. The Middle East's ties to the city of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] were gradually severed as the Empire [[Roman Empire#Partition of the Empire|split]] into [[Byzantine Empire|East]] and [[Western Roman Empire|West]], with the Middle East tied to the new Roman capital of [[Constantinople]]. The subsequent [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire]] therefore, had minimal direct impact on the region.

====Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire)====
{{Main|Byzantine Empire}}
The Eastern Roman Empire, today commonly known as the [[Byzantine Empire]], ruling from the [[Balkans]] to the [[Euphrates]], became increasingly defined by and dogmatic about Christianity, gradually creating religious rifts between the doctrines dictated by the establishment in Constantinople and believers in many parts of the Middle East. By this time, Greek had become the '[[lingua franca]]' of the region, although ethnicities such as the Syriacs and the Hebrew continued to exist. Under Byzantine/Greek rule the area of the Levant met an era of stability and prosperity.

==Medieval period==
{{further|Post-classical history}}

===Pre-Islam===
In the 5th century, the Middle East was separated into small, weak states; the two most prominent were the Sasanian Empire of the [[History of Iran|Persians]] in what is now [[Iran]] and [[Iraq]], and the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia and the Levant. The Byzantines and Sasanians fought with each other a reflection of the rivalry between the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire seen during the previous five hundred years. The Byzantine-Sasanian rivalry was also seen through their respective cultures and religions. The Byzantines considered themselves champions of [[Hellenization|Hellenism]] and Christianity. Meanwhile, the Sasanians thought themselves heroes of ancient Iranian traditions and of the traditional Persian religion, [[Zoroastrianism]].<ref>{{harvnb|Esposito|1999|pages=1–5}}, for the Byzantine–Sasanian rivalry and its cultural/religious overtones.</ref>

[[File:Roman-Persian_Frontier,_5th_century.png|thumb|Map of the Roman–Persian frontier after the division of Armenia in 384. The frontier remained stable throughout the 5th century.]]

The Arabian peninsula already played a role in the power struggles of the Byzantines and Sasanians. While Byzantium allied itself with the [[Kingdom of Aksum]] in the horn of Africa, the Sasanian Empire assisted the [[Himyarite Kingdom]] in what is now [[Yemen]]. Thus the [[Aksumite invasion of Himyar#Aksumite invasion of 525|clash between the kingdoms of Aksum and Himyar in 525]] displayed a higher power struggle between Byzantium and Persia for control of the Red Sea trade. Territorial wars soon became common, with the Byzantines and Sasanians fighting over upper Mesopotamia and [[Armenia]] and key cities that facilitated trade from Arabia, [[India]], and [[China]].<ref>{{harvnb|Esposito|1999|pages=1–5}}, for the Byzantine–Sasanian struggle with Aksum and Himyar, as well as the territorial wars and focus on trade.</ref> Byzantium, as the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire, continued control of the latter's territories in the Middle East. Since 527, this included Anatolia, Syria, [[Lebanon]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and Egypt. In 603 the Sasanians invaded, conquering Damascus and Egypt. It was Emperor [[Heraclius]] who was able to repel these invasions, and in 628 he replaced the Sasanian Great King with a more docile one. The fighting weakened both states, leaving the stage open to a new power.{{sfn|Wawro|2008|pages=112–115|ps=, for Byzantine territory, Sasanian invasions, Heraclius' success at repelling invasion, and the exhaustion of both states.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Esposito|1999|pages=1–5}}, for the replacement of the Sasanian king by Heraclius.</ref>

The nomadic [[Bedouin]] tribes dominated the Arabian desert, where they worshipped [[Idolatry|idols]] and remained in small clans tied together by kinship. Urbanization and agriculture was limited in Arabia, save for a few regions near the coast. [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] (then called Yathrib) were two such cities that were important hubs for trade between Africa and Eurasia. This commerce was central to city-life, where most inhabitants were merchants.{{sfn|Stearns|Adas|Schwartz|Gilbert|2011|page=138}} Nevertheless, some Arabs saw it fit to migrate to the northern regions of the Fertile Crescent, a region so named for its place between the [[Tigris–Euphrates river system|Tigris and Euphrates rivers]] that offered it fertile land. This included entire tribal chiefdoms such as the [[Lakhmids]] in a less controlled area of the Sasanian Empire, and the [[Ghassanids]] in a similar area inside of Byzantine territory; these political units of Arab origin offered a surprising stability that was rare in the region and offered Arabia further connections to the outside world. The Lakhmid capital, [[Al-Hirah|Hira]] was a center for Christianity and Jewish craftsmen, merchants, and farmers were common in western Arabia as were Christian monks in central Arabia. Thus pre-Islamic Arabia was no stranger to Abrahamic religions or monotheism, for that matter.{{sfn|Hourani|2013|loc=The world into which the Arabs came|ps=, for Arabian migrations, the Lakhmids & Ghassanids, and religious diversity.}}

===Islamic caliphates===
{{See also|Caliphate|Early Muslim conquests|Iranian Intermezzo}}

[[Image:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|thumb|350px|Age of the [[Caliph]]s {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under [[Muhammad]], 622–632}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the [[Rashidun Caliphate]], 632–661}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliphate]], 661–750}}]]
While the Byzantine Roman and Sassanid Persian empires were both weakened by [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|warfare (602–628)]], a new power in the form of [[Islam]] grew in the Middle East. In a series of rapid [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]], [[Rashidun army|Arab armies]], led by the [[Caliph]]s and skilled military commanders such as [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]], swept through most of the Middle East, taking more than half of [[Arab–Byzantine wars|Byzantine territory]] and completely [[Muslim conquest of Persia|engulfing the Persian lands]]. In Anatolia, they were stopped in the [[Siege of Constantinople (717–718)]] by the Byzantines, who were helped by the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarians]].

The Byzantine provinces of [[Muslim conquest of Syria|Roman Syria]], North Africa, and [[Sicily]], however, could not mount such a resistance, and the Muslim conquerors swept through those regions. At the far west, they crossed the sea taking [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|Visigothic Hispania]] before being halted in southern France in the [[Battle of Tours]] by the [[Franks]]. At its greatest extent, the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Arab Empire]] was the first empire to control the entire Middle East, as well three-quarters of the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean region]], the only other empire besides the Roman Empire to control most of the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref>Subhi Y. Labib (1969), "Capitalism in Medieval Islam", ''The Journal of Economic History'' '''29''' (1), p. 79–96 [80].</ref> It would be the Arab Caliphates of the [[Middle Ages]] that would first unify the entire Middle East as a distinct region and create the dominant [[Arab|ethnic identity]] that persists today. The [[Seljuq Empire|Seljuk Empire]] would also later dominate the region.

Much of North Africa became a peripheral area to the main Muslim centres in the Middle East, but Iberia ([[Al-Andalus]]) and Morocco soon broke away from this distant control and founded one of the world's most advanced societies at the time, along with [[Baghdad]] in the eastern Mediterranean. Between 831 and 1071, the [[Emirate of Sicily]] was one of the major centres of Islamic culture in the Mediterranean. After its conquest by the [[Normans]] the island developed its own distinct culture with the fusion of Arab, Western, and Byzantine influences. [[Palermo]] remained a leading artistic and commercial centre of the Mediterranean well into the Middle Ages.

===Islamic culture and science===
{{main|Islamic Golden Age|Early social changes under Islam|Science in the medieval Islamic world}}
[[File:Interior de la mezquita de Córdoba.jpg|thumb|right|The interior of the former mosque of Córdoba, showing its distinctive arches.]]

Religion always played a prevalent role in Middle Eastern culture, affecting learning, architecture, and the ebb and flow of cultures. [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]]'s introduction of Islam inspired achievements in [[architecture]], the revival of old advances in science and technology, and the formation of a distinct way of life. Islam primarily consisted of the [[Five Pillars of Islam|five pillars of belief]], including confession of faith; the five prayers a day; to [[Fasting|fast]] during the holy month of [[Ramadan]]; to pay the tax for charity (the [[zakat]]); and the [[hajj]], the pilgrimage that a Muslim needed to take at least once in their lifetime. Islam also created the need for spectacularly built [[mosque]]s which created a distinct form of architecture. Some of the more magnificent mosques include [[Al-Aqsa]] and the former [[Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba|Mosque of Cordoba]].{{sfn|Stearns|Adas|Schwartz|Gilbert|2011|page=171}}

Islam unified the Middle East and helped the empires there to remain stable. Missionaries and warriors spread the religion from Arabia to Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Mesopotamia. This created a mix of cultures, especially in Africa, and the mawali demographic. Although the mawali would experience discrimination from the Umayyad, they would gain widespread acceptance from the [[Abbasid]]s and it was because of this that allowed for mass conversions in foreign areas. "People of the book" or dhimmi were always treated well; these people included Christians, Jews, [[Hinduism|Hindus]], and Zoroastrians. However, the crusades started a new thinking in the Islamic empires, that non-Islamic ideas were immoral or inferior; this was primarily perpetrated by the ulama (علماء) scholars.{{sfn|Stearns|Adas|Schwartz|Gilbert|2011|page=171}}

Arabian culture took off during the early Abbasid age, despite the prevalent political issues. Muslims saved and spread Greek advances in [[History of medicine|medicine]], [[History of elementary algebra|algebra]], [[History of geometry|geometry]], astronomy, [[History of anatomy|anatomy]], and [[History of ethics|ethics]] that would later find its way back to Western Europe. The works of [[Aristotle]], [[Galen]], [[Hippocrates]], [[Ptolemy]], and [[Euclid]] were saved and distributed throughout the empire (and eventually into Europe) in this manner. Muslim scholars also discovered the [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]] in their [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent|conquests of south Asia]]. The use of this system in Muslim trade and political institutions allowed for the eventual popularization of it around the world; this number system would be critical to the [[Scientific Revolution]] in Europe. Muslim intellectuals became experts in [[chemistry]], [[optics]], and [[mapmaking]] during the Abbasid Caliphate. In the arts, [[Abbasid architecture]] expanded upon [[Umayyad architecture]], with larger and more extravagant mosques. [[Persian literature]] grew based on ethical values. Astronomy was stressed in art. Much of this learning would find its way to the West. This was especially true during the [[Crusades]], as warriors would bring back Muslim treasures, weapons, and medicinal methods.{{sfn|Stearns|Adas|Schwartz|Gilbert|2011|page=159}}

== 11th century ==

===Arrival of the Seljuk Turks===
The dominance of the Arabs came to a sudden end in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the [[Seljuk dynasty|Seljuk Turks]], migrating south from the Turkic homelands in Central Asia. They conquered Persia, Iraq (capturing Baghdad in 1055), Syria, Palestine, and the [[Hejaz]]. Egypt held out under the [[Fatimid caliph]]s until 1169, when it too fell to the Turks.

Despite massive territorial losses in the 7th century, the Christian Byzantine Empire continued to be a potent military and economic force in the Mediterranean, preventing Arab expansion into much of Europe. The Seljuks' defeat of the Byzantine military in the [[Battle of Manzikert]] in the 11th century and settling in Anatolia effectively marked the end of Byzantine power. The Seljuks ruled most of the Middle East region for the next 200 years, but their empire soon broke up into a number of smaller sultanates.

=== First Crusade (1096–1099) ===
[[File:Map of First Crusade.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Major routes used by the participants in the [[First Crusade]]]]
The Seljuk victory at the Battle of Manzikert led to them controlling the cities of Edessa and [[Antioch]]. Around 1078, the Seljuks formed the [[Sultanate of Rum]], whose capital was at [[Nicaea]] in northwest Anatolia. The Seljuks controlled Jerusalem by 1087. [[Alexios I Komnenos]], who became Byzantine emperor in 1081, realized that the Seljuks' growth could help him in his battle for control of Anatolia.<ref name=":35">{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=First Crusade |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/First_Crusade/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":36" />

In March 1095, Komnenos appealed to the states west of the Byzantine Empire for help. In November, in the [[Council of Clermont]] in France, [[Pope Urban II]] called for soldiers from across Europe to go east to take back the "[[Holy Land]]" for Christianity. This was an opportunity to strengthen the Catholic Church, and for the Pope to become the head of a unified Catholic and Orthodox church. 60,000 Christians, including thousands of knights, joined the cause, partially in order to protect Christian sites such as the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]]. This mission, the [[First Crusade]], began in 1096. This was the first of the Crusades, a series of religious wars in Europe and the Middle East from the 11th to the 13th centuries.<ref name=":35" /><ref name=":36" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Crusades |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Crusades/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:The Crusader States in 1135.svg|thumb|The four [[Crusader states]] established after the First Crusade, as they were in 1135: the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], [[County of Tripoli]], [[Principality of Antioch]], and the [[County of Edessa]]]]
Four large armies headed east: the first was headed by [[Godfrey of Bouillon]], the duke of [[Lower Lotharingia]], and they arrived at Constantinople in December 1096. The second, headed by a Norman from Italy named [[Bohemond I of Antioch|Bohemond]]. [[Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse]] was the most prominent Crusader at the start of the expedition; he led the third army. The fourth was led by [[Robert Curthose]]. The latter three armies reached Constantinople in April 1097. In May, the armies reached Nicaea, which surrendered to the Byzantines. In July, the armies headed for Antioch, reaching the city in October. The city, with strong defensive walls, was [[Siege of Antioch|besieged by the Crusaders]] until they took the city in June 1098. In January 1099, three of the armies headed for Jerusalem, while Bohemond stayed in Antioch. In June, the 1099 [[Siege of Jerusalem (1099)|Siege of Jerusalem]] started, and the Crusaders took the city in July. The Crusaders massacred the non-Christian population of the city. The First Crusade ended with the establishment of multiple [[Crusader states]] in the region: from north to south, the [[County of Edessa]], [[Principality of Antioch]], [[County of Tripoli]], and the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]].<ref name=":35" /><ref name=":36">{{Cite web |date=4 December 2024 |title=Crusades - Holy War, Jerusalem, Europe {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades/The-First-Crusade-and-the-establishment-of-the-Latin-states |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

== 12th century ==

=== 1138 Aleppo earthquake ===
In October 1138, an [[1138 Aleppo earthquake|earthquake struck Aleppo]] (located on the [[Dead Sea Transform]]), which had hundreds of thousands of residents at the time. The city's walls and citadel were destroyed, killing an estimated 230,000 people. Crusader and Muslim forts, at [[Harem, Syria|Harem]] and [[Atarib]] respectively, were also destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aleppo earthquake of 1138 {{!}} Deadliest, Destruction, Syria {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Aleppo-earthquake-of-1138 |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Second Crusade (1147–1153) ===
[[File:Deuxième croisade.JPG|thumb|Major routes used by the participants of the [[Second Crusade]]|left]]
In 1144, the Seljuks [[Siege of Edessa (1144)|took back]] the city of Edessa, prompting [[Pope Eugene III|Pope Eugenius III]] in December 1145 to call for the [[Second Crusade]], protecting the achievements the Crusaders had made decades prior. Unlike the first war, these Crusaders were led by kings; two armies were commanded by [[Conrad III of Germany]] and [[Louis VII of France]]. In 1147, their armies reached Constantinople. Upon entering the Levant, the Crusaders faced heavy Seljuk resistance, and their war effort began collapsing after [[Siege of Damascus (1148)|failing to take Damascus]] in 1148. [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], an influential French saint who had advocated for the war, determined that its failure lied in the "sinfulness of Europeans", and only through the "purification and prayers of Christian[s]" would God allow crusading knights to succeed; this became a core tenant of [[popular piety]] in medieval Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Second Crusade |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Second_Crusade/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":37">{{Cite web |date=4 December 2024 |title=Crusades - Holy Land, Jerusalem, Saladin {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades/The-era-of-the-Second-and-Third-Crusades |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":38">{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Third Crusade |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Third_Crusade/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

=== Founding of the Ayyubid dynasty (1171—1187) ===
[[Najm al-Din Ayyub]] was the patriarch of a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] warrior family in the mid-12th century. He was appointed by the Seljuks as governor of Damascus, and with his brother [[Shirkuh]], he united the Syrians as one front in preparation for another war with the Crusaders. In 1171, Ayyub's son [[Saladin]], a Sunni living in Egypt, abolished the unpopular and failing Shi'ite Fatimid Caliphate, and founded the [[Ayyubid dynasty]]. He was a vassal of his father until Ayyub died in 1173, and then he moved to Syria and proclaimed himself as his father's successor. From 1174 to 1186, in an act of ''[[jihad]]'', a type of Islamic religious struggle,<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 November 2024 |title=Jihad {{!}} Meaning, Examples, & Use in the Quran {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/jihad |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Saladin conquered and united the Muslims of Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine under the Ayyubid banner. He was seen as a "a generous and virtuous but firm ruler, devoid of pretense, [[licentiousness]], and cruelty". In 1187, at the [[Battle of Hattin]], Saladin trapped and destroyed a Crusader army, giving the Ayyubids the opportunity to overrun the Kingdom of Jerusalem and [[Siege of Jerusalem (1187)|take back its capital]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayyubid dynasty {{!}} Rulers, History, Founder, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ayyubid-dynasty |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2024 |title=Saladin {{!}} Biography, Achievements, Crusades, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saladin |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ayyūb {{!}} Arab Commander, Saladin's Father & Crusader Wars {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ayyub |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Third Crusade (1189—1192) ===
[[File:The Third Crusade (1189-1192).png|thumb|Major routes used by the participants of the [[Third Crusade]]]]
In response to the recapture of Jerusalem, in October 1187, [[Pope Gregory VII]] called for the [[Third Crusade]], with similar goals to the previous wars. The new Crusader leaders were [[Frederick Barbarossa]], emperor of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (HRE); [[Philip II of France]]; and [[Richard I of England]]. In 1190, as Barbarossa's army traveled through [[Cilicia]], he died. Lacking leadership, his soldiers either died, returned to Germany, or, in rare cases, made it to the Levant.<ref name=":37" /><ref name=":38" />

In 1191, the English landed at Cyprus, ending the local rebellion against Byzantine rule led by a man named [[Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus|Isaac Komnenos]] who proclaimed himself ruler of the island. The Cypriots were forced to pay taxes to the Crusader war effort, and generations of Crusaders controlled the island until 1571. In the Levant in 1191, the English captured the cities of Acre and then Jaffa. In 1192, as the English were garrisoned in Acre, Saladin launched a [[Battle of Jaffa (1192)|siege of Jaffa]]. The English returned to the city and fought the Ayyubids; the battle ended in a stalemate. The English left for home, as Richard I had to deal with domestic affairs, and the Third Crusade ended.<ref name=":37" /><ref name=":38" /> Saladin died in 1193.<ref name=":39"/>

=== Crusade of 1197 ===

Frederick Barbarossa's successor, [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], set out for the Levant with an army in the [[Crusade of 1197]]. The Germans successfully captured Beirut from the Ayyubids, but later that year, Henry VI died in Sicily. In 1198, while the Germans were besieging [[Toron]], they received the news of the emperor's death, and abandoned the siege to return to Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=German Crusade 1197-8 CE |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/German_Crusade_1197-8_CE/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

== 13th century ==

=== Fourth Crusade (1202—1204) ===
Jerusalem was still controlled by the Ayyubids in August 1198, when [[Pope Innocent III]] called for the [[Fourth Crusade]] to once again try recapturing the city for Christianity. At the time, the English, French, German, and Spanish monarchs were dealing with their own domestic affairs; Richard I of England vowed to return to the Middle East to finish the job of taking Jerusalem, but he died in 1199. The Crusader armies were thus commanded by "second-tier" noblemen from France, led by the Italian [[Boniface I, Marquis of Montferrat]].<ref name=":39">{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Fourth Crusade |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Fourth_Crusade/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Frammenti di mosaico pavimentale del 1213, 09.JPG|thumb|A 1213 [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] mosaic depicting the 1204 [[Sack of Constantinople]]]]
 
Boniface; his liege [[Philip of Swabia]]; and [[Alexios IV Angelos]]—son of [[Isaac II Angelos]], who was Byzantine emperor before he was deposed by his successor, [[Alexios III Angelos]], in 1195; agreed to use the Crusade as an opportunity to storm Constantinople and depose Alexious III. The Crusaders declared war on the Byzantines, and entered Constantinople. In July 1203, Isaac II and Alexios IV were made co-emperors. Alexios III's son-in-law, [[Alexios V Doukas]], was installed as emperor in January 1204. Doukas had Alexious IV strangled to death, and Isaac II imprisoned; the latter died in prison. In April 1204, Doukas demanded the Crusaders leave Constantinople. Instead, they committed the [[Sack of Constantinople]], robbing the city of its wealth and goods. Parts of the Byzantine Empire were given to the [[Republic of Venice]] and its allies. Doukas fled the city and met up with Alexios III to join him as fugitives. However, Alexios III blinded him. Doukas was then captured by the Crusaders, who killed him as revenge for ordering Alexious IV's death.<ref name=":39" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 December 2024 |title=Crusades - Latin Empire, Constantinople, Siege {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades/The-Fourth-Crusade-and-the-Latin-empire-of-Constantinople |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexius IV Angelus {{!}} Byzantine Empire, Fourth Crusade, Constantinople {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexius-IV-Angelus |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Isaac II Angelus {{!}} Biography & Byzantine Government {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-II-Angelus |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexius V Ducas Mourtzouphlus {{!}} Byzantine Empire, Reign, Deposition {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexius-V-Ducas-Mourtzouphlus |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Fifth Crusade (1217—1221) ===
In 1215, Pope Innocent III called for another crusade to retake Jerusalem from the Ayyubids. The [[Fifth Crusade]] began in 1217. This time, the Crusaders decided to weaken the Ayyubids by capturing their cities in North Africa and Egypt, predicting the dynasty had a weak hold over that area. The Crusaders [[Siege of Damietta (1218–1219)|captured]] [[Damietta]] in Egypt, but in general, their plan did not work, as they had less soldiers, military equipment, and ships than needed; the Crusader leaders also disagreed over how to go about the war. The [[Battle of Mansurah (1221)|Ayyubids defeated them]] on the banks the Nile in August 1221. The Crusaders were forced to abandon Damietta, and once again return to Europe without taking Jerusalem.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Fifth Crusade |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Fifth_Crusade/ |access-date=1 January 2025 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 December 2024 |title=Crusades - Holy Land, Egypt, Jerusalem {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades/The-Fifth-Crusade |access-date=1 January 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":44"/>

=== Mongol invasion of Persia (1218—1223) ===
{{See also|Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia}}
[[File:Mongol Empire map 2.gif|thumb|The growth of the [[Mongol Empire]] from 1206 to its partition in 1294; modern political borders are overlaid]]
The [[Mongol Empire]] was founded in modern-day Mongolia in 1206, led by [[Genghis Khan]]. He was the first "[[Khagan]]", the ruler of all the Mongol peoples. Over 12 years, the Mongols spread out from the eastern [[Eurasian Steppe]] into west and east Asia, brutally conquering much of the continent's land with a large army of effective [[cavalry]] and archers. In 1218, 100,000 Mongol soldiers entered the [[Khwarazmian Empire]] in Persia, and captured the Khwarazmian cities of [[Bukhara]] and [[Samarkand]]. Muslims were massacred; their irrigation systems and some of their cities were completely destroyed, leading them to nickname Genghis Khan the "Accursed One". From 1221 to 1223, the Mongols conquered the lands encircling the [[Caspian Sea]].<ref name=":46">{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Mongol Empire |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Mongol_Empire/ |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":47">{{Cite web |date=9 December 2024 |title=Mongol empire {{!}} Time Period, Map, Location, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mongol-empire |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1227, Genghis Khan died, and his son [[Ögedei Khan]] became the new Khagan. Ögedei split the empire into four areas; one owned by him, and the others individually owned by his three brothers. [[Tolui]] received the Middle Eastern quadrant. Initially, this did not mean Ögedei's brothers led the government in their respective areas; he ultimately governed the whole empire for decades.<ref name=":46" /><ref name=":47" />

=== Sixth Crusade (1228—1229) ===
[[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] became Holy Roman Emperor in 1220, during the Fifth Crusade. His legitimacy as emperor was questioned by Pope Innocent III and Innocent's successor, [[Pope Honorius III|Honorious III]]. Before the crusade was over, Frederick promised to go south and join the Crusaders, but this did not happen. After the Crusade ended, he expanded the Holy Roman Empire into central Europe and Sicily, encircling the country of the [[Papal States]] which the Pope ruled. Honorious III asked Frederick to honor his pledge to retake Jerusalem, for its own religious sake and to take pressure off of the Papal States. Frederick agreed to start the [[Sixth Crusade]] in August 1227, but delayed his departure to illness. Honorious' successor, [[Pope Gregory IX|Gregory IX]], then [[Excommunication|excommunicated]] Frederick from the Catholic Church as punishment for not following his pledge to go.<ref name=":44">{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Sixth Crusade |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Sixth_Crusade/ |access-date=1 January 2025 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":45">{{Cite web |date=4 December 2024 |title=Crusades - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Mediterranean {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades/The-Crusade-of-Frederick-II#ref1184384 |access-date=1 January 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Map Crusader states 1240-eng.png|thumb|The Crusder states (''red'') after the [[Sixth Crusade]]|274x274px]]

This incident did not demotivate Frederick, and he sailed to the Levant with a well-equipped army of 12,000: 10,000 infantry and 2,000 knights. They landed at Acre in September 1228. Frederick entered negotiations with Levantine religious leaders such as those in the [[Knights Templar]] and [[Knights Hospitaller]], but they would not negotiate with someone who was now outside the church. Frederick was able to talk with them through military commanders associated with him, but who were seen as technically independent of him. Promising the religious leaders [[Hereditary property|hereditary land]] and military promotions, Frederick was able to make an agreement in 1229 to expand the Kingdom of Jerusalem's Levantine territory and allow Christians to reoccupy most of Jerusalem.<ref name=":44" /><ref name=":45" />

=== Seventh Crusade (1248—1254) ===
In the fifteen years following the Sixth Crusade, many Ayyubid cities on the Mediterranean coast started allying with the local Crusader states out of convenience. This was because, after the Ayyubid sultan [[al-Kamil]] died in 1238, his successors started fighting over control of the region which destabilized these cities. In August 1244, the Muslim Khwarazmians took Jerusalem back from the Christians, and in October, a Christian army was defeated by the Ayyubids at the [[Battle of Forbie]] in Gaza, which stabilized and strengthened Ayyubid control. The Christians remaining in Jerusalem were massacred, and their holy sites were destroyed. [[Pope Innocent IV]] called for the [[Seventh Crusade]], which was led by [[Louis IX of France]]. Louis wanted to take both Jerusalem and Egypt from the Muslims. The Crusaders [[Siege of Damietta (1249)|captured Damietta]] in 1249, and then went to [[Battle of Mansurah (1250)|Mansourah]] in 1250, where they were routed by a Muslim army. Louis was captured and ransomed back to the Crusaders, who returned home once again.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Seventh Crusade |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Seventh_Crusade/ |access-date=6 January 2025 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

=== Founding of the Mamluk Sultanate (1250) ===
[[Mamluk]]s were enslaved Muslim soldiers who made up armies in the Abbasid Caliphate. These armies had Mamluk generals, who, in 1250, formed the [[Mamluk Sultanate]] in Egypt and Syria. The sultanate was officially a part of the Abbasid government, and ruled for centuries. These Mamluks had no relation to the [[Mamluk dynasty (Delhi)|Mamluk dynasty]] in India, which also existed in the 13th century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2024 |title=Mamluk {{!}} History, Significance, Leaders, & Decline {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mamluk |access-date=6 January 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Slave dynasty {{!}} Delhi Sultanate, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, Iltutmish {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slave-dynasty |access-date=6 January 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Siege of Baghdad (1258) ===
[[File:Fall Of Baghdad (Diez Albums).jpg|thumb|250x250px|A 1350 illustration of the 1258 [[Siege of Baghdad]] by the [[Mongol Empire]]|left]]
The [[siege of Baghdad]] and the death of Abbasid Caliph [[al-Musta'sim]] in 1258 temporarily ended the caliphate.{{sfn|Wawro|2008|pages=146–149}} When the Khagan [[Möngke Khan]] died in 1259, any further Mongol expansion in the region was halted, as the regional military leader [[Hulegu Khan]] had to return to the Mongol capital [[Karakorum]] for the election of a new khagan. His absence resulted in the first defeat of the Mongols by the Egyptian Mamluks during the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] in 1260.{{sfn|Guzman|1985|pages=230–233}} Issues began to arise when the Mongols were unable to reach a consensus as to whom to elect Khagan. Additionally, conflict occurred between traditionalists who wished to retain their nomadic culture and Mongols moving towards sedentary agriculture. All of this led to the fragmentation of the empire in 1260.<ref name="Rossabi Mongol conquests">{{cite web|last=Rossabi|first=Morris|title=The Mongol Conquests|url=http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/conquests/conquests.htm|work=Asian Topics in World History: The Mongols in World History|publisher=Asia for Educators, Columbia University|access-date=20 July 2013}}</ref> Hulegu carved out his Middle Eastern territory into the independent [[Ilkhanate]], which included most of Armenia, Anatolia, Azerbaijan, Mesopotamia, and Iran.

The Mongols eventually retreated in 1335, but the chaos that ensued throughout the empire deposed the Seljuk Turks.

== 14th century ==

=== Black Death (1346—1353) ===
[[File:1346-1353 spread of the Black Death in Europe map.svg|thumb|The spread of the [[Black Death]] from 1346 to 1353]]
The [[Black Death]] was a [[pandemic]] of the [[Plague (disease)|plague]] that spread throughout the [[Old World]]—but mostly Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa—from 1346 to 1353. The disease was caused by [[bacteria]] ''[[Yersinia pestis]]'', carried to humans by fleas on rodents, and then from human to human. It originated in Central Asia, and was unknowingly brought to [[Crimea]] via Mongol warriors, as well as traders (Mongols and others) who used the trade routes that connected Europe and Asia (such as the [[Silk Road]]). It is likely that Genoese trading ships—with either infected humans or flea-carrying rats onboard—brought the plague from Crimea to the Byzantine Empire in 1347, when sailing back to Italy through Constantinople. From then until 1349, the Black Death spread from Byzantine territory down through the rest of the Middle East. Around 30% to 50% of the population in any infected area died from the disease.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Black Death |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Black_Death/ |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 March 2023 |title=Black Death ‑ Causes, Symptoms & Impact |url=https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2025 |title=Black Death {{!}} Definition, Cause, Symptoms, Effects, Death Toll, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Timurid conquest of western Asia (1370—1405) ===
[[Timur]] was a warlord who grew up in the [[Barlas]] tribe of Turkic Mongols that lived in the region of [[Transoxiana]] (roughly modern [[Uzbekistan]]), within the [[Chagatai Khanate]] (the territory of the [[List of Chagatai khans|Chagatai]] line of khans descended from [[Chagatai Khan]], son of Genghis Khan). From 1364 to 1366, Timur and his brother-in-law, Amir Husayn, conquered Transoxiana, but around 1370, Timur had Husayn assassinated. In Samarkand, Transoxiana's main city, Timur declared himself a sovereign of the Chagatai line who would restore the Mongol Empire to its former glory. This began the [[Timurid dynasty]] that controlled the [[Timurid Empire|Timurid Empire.]]<ref name=":49">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-01 |title=Timurid dynasty {{!}} History, Architecture, & Meaning {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Timurid-dynasty |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":50">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-15 |title=Timur {{!}} Biography, Conquests, Empire, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Timur |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> 
[[File:Timur Empire.jpg|thumb|The [[Timurid Empire]] upon [[Timur]]'s death in 1405, its greatest extent]]
In 1380, the empire conquered the nearby region of [[Kashgar Prefecture|Kashgar]], and in 1383, Timur entered Persia. From 1383 to 1394, the empire conquered eastern and southern Persia, the [[Caucasus]], and Mesopotamia. In 1399, Timur launched an expedition towards Mamluk and Ottoman territory. Timur regained control of modern Azerbaijan, and then captured Aleppo, which was sacked, before moving to Damascus and reducing the city's power by deporting its artisans to Samarkand. In 1401, the Timurids [[Siege of Baghdad (1401)|besieged Baghdad]], killing 20,000 of its residents. At the [[Battle of Ankara]] in 1402, Timur defeated the army of the Ottoman sultan [[Bayezid I]]. Timur received offers of capitulation from the Mamluk sultan and Byzantine emperor, then returned to Samarkand in 1404. In December 1404, Timur set out on a conquest of China, but died in February 1405. Before he died, he had divided his empire's territories between his sons and grandsons.<ref name=":49" /><ref name=":50" /> 

== 15th century ==
=== Fall of Constantinople (1453) ===
[[File:Le siège de Constantinople (1453) by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.jpg|thumb|The [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, painted after 1455]]
The [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] conquered almost all of Anatolia and the Balkans in the late 14th century, forcing Constantinople into [[vassalage]] and then fighting the [[Hungarians]]. In 1422, Ottoman sultan [[Murad II]] [[Siege of Constantinople (1422)|besieged Constantinople]], but stopped to deal with another rebellion in the Ottoman Empire. In 1444, Murad suffered a defeat in the Balkans, prompting him to abdicate his throne to his son, [[Mehmed II]]. In 1446, Murad returned to being the sultan, and remained as such until he died in 1451, again succeeded by Mehmed.<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |title=Fall of Constantinople {{!}} Facts, Summary, & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Constantinople-1453 |access-date=31 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":43">{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=1453: The Fall of Constantinople |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1180/1453-the-fall-of-constantinople/ |access-date=31 December 2024 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

By the 1450s, a weakened Byzantine Empire had lost much of its territory in wars with the Balkan states and Roman Catholic armies. The population of Constantinople, weakened by two centuries of sporadic raids, had dropped in population from 400,000 in the 12th century to 40,000 to 50,000. Mehmed planned to finish Murad's goal of conquering the city, and in 1452, he made peace with Hungary and Venice. In April 1453, he led an army to Constantinople, and besieged the city. In May, the city [[Fall of Constantinople|fell to the Ottomans]], ending the Roman Empire after 1500 years of continuous existence.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":43" />

== 16th to 17th centuries ==
{{See also|Ottoman–Persian Wars}}
By the early 15th century, the Ottomans had become the region's largest power. The Mamluks held them out of the lower Middle East for a century, but in 1514 [[Selim I|Selim the Grim]] began the Ottoman conquest of the region. Syria was occupied in 1516 and Egypt in 1517, extinguishing the Mamluk line. Iraq was conquered almost in 40 years from the Iranian [[Safavids]], who were successors of the [[Aq Qoyunlu]].[[Image:OttomanEmpire1590.png|thumb|The Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent in the Middle East, including [[Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire|its client states]].|250x250px]]

The Ottomans united the whole region under one ruler for the first time since the reign of the Abbasid caliphs of the 10th century, and they kept control of it for 400 years, despite brief intermissions created by the Safavids and [[Afsharids]].{{sfn|Quataert|2000}} By this time the Ottomans also held Greece, the [[Balkans]], and most of [[Hungary]], setting the new frontier between east and west far to the north of the [[Danube]]. Regions such as [[Albania]] and [[Bosnia Eyalet|Bosnia]] saw many conversions to Islam, but Ottoman Europe was not culturally absorbed into the Muslim world.

By 1699, the Ottomans had been driven out of Hungary, the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish—Lithuanian Commonwealth]], and parts of the western Balkans in the [[Great Turkish War]]. In the [[Great Divergence]], Europe had overtaken the Muslim world in wealth, population and technology. Some historians argue that science had already been in decline in the Muslim world since the 14th century<ref>{{Citation |title=Islamic Science and Renaissance Europe: The Copernican Connection |date=2007 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/3981.003.0007 |work=Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance |pages=193–232 |publisher=The MIT Press |doi=10.7551/mitpress/3981.003.0007 |isbn=9780262282888 |access-date=21 January 2023}}</ref> while other argue that sciences still continued until the 17th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last=El-Rouayheb |first=Khaled |title=The Myth of "The Triumph of Fanaticism" in the Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Empire |journal=Die Welt des Islams |volume=48 |year=2008 |issue=2 |pages=196–221 |doi=10.1163/157006008x335930}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=El-Rouayheb |first=Khaled |title=Opening the Gate of Verification: The Forgotten Arab-Islamic Florescence of the 17th Century |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=38 |year=2006 |issue=2 |pages=263–81 |doi=10.1017/s0020743806412344 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |s2cid=162679546}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=El-Rouhayeb |first=Khaled |title=Islamic Intellectual History in the Seventeenth Century: Scholarly Currents in the Ottoman Empire and the Maghreb |date=2015 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |place=Cambridge |isbn=978-1-107-04296-4 |pages=1–10}}</ref> The [[Industrial Revolution]] and growth of [[capitalism]] magnified the divergence, and from 1768 to 1918, the Ottomans gradually lost territory.

== 18th century ==
{{See also|Campaigns of Nader Shah}}

=== Nader Shah ===
[[Nader Shah]] has been described as "the last great Asiatic military conqueror".<ref>''Cambridge History of Iran'' Vol. 7, p. 59.</ref> Following his assassination in 1747, [[Afsharid Iran|his empire]] quickly disintegrated, and Iran fell into a civil war.

=== French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798—1799) ===
In February 1798, during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], the general [[Napoleon]]—a leader of the [[French Directory]], the new French government—requested the Directory, who were at war with the United Kingdom, to cancel their planned invasion of Britain. He instead began planning a [[French invasion of Egypt and Syria|French invasion of Egypt]], then ruled by the Mamluks. This would halt British trade in the Levant, make France pose a threat to the British army in India, and "obtain assets for bargaining in any future peace settlement". France also planned to make a progressive government in Egypt to bring them [the Egyptians] back to their former status. To achieve this, France brought along scholars and scientists to study and report on Egyptian society. Napoleon and his army sailed to Egypt in May 1798.<ref name=":40">{{Cite web |date=29 December 2024 |title=Egypt - French Occupation, British Rule, 1882 {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Egypt/From-the-French-to-the-British-occupation-1798-1882 |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":41">{{Cite web |title=French Revolutionary wars - Coup of 18 Fructidor, Treaty of Camp Formio {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/French-revolutionary-wars/The-coup-of-18-Fructidor-and-the-Treaty-of-Camp-Formio#ref336796 |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Louis-François Baron Lejeune 001.jpg|left|thumb|An 1808 painting of the 1798 [[Battle of the Pyramids]]]]
The British [[Mediterranean Fleet]], commanded by admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson]], sailed to Egypt to fight the French navy. On land, in July 1798, the French won against the Mamluks at the [[Battle of the Pyramids]]. However, at the [[Battle of the Nile]] in August, Napoleon's fleet at [[Abu Qir]] was greatly damaged by the Mediterranean Fleet. French communication lines were severed, and Napoleon worked to make his commandable soldiers self-sufficient. The Egyptians resented French occupation, and were further angered in September, when Ottoman sultan [[Selim III]] declared war on France. In February 1799, Napoleon marched the French into [[Ottoman Syria]] and [[Siege of Acre (1799)|besieged Acre]], a strategic position beneficial for them to capture. The siege failed, and in May, the Napoleon brought his forces back into Egypt. In July, Ottoman naval forces arrived at the shore of Abu Qir, but failed to maintain a [[bridgehead]] so they could fight the French on land. Napoleon decided to return to France, and in August, the French fleet successfully sailed past the British and went home.<ref name=":40" /><ref name=":41" />
[[File:Rosetta Stone.JPG|thumb|The [[Rosetta Stone]] from ancient Egypt which was discovered by the French during their [[French invasion of Egypt and Syria|invasion of Egypt]]|234x234px]]
The French researchers who had been studying Egyptian society discovered the [[Rosetta Stone]] during their work. It is a stone from ancient Egypt inscribed with the same message written in five different writing systems: two forms of the Greek language, the [[Egyptian language]], and two forms of hieroglyphs. The latter two writing systems were hardly understood by European researchers. They were compared with the Greek and Egyptian alphabets—which European researchers did know—and decoded, leading to new understanding of hieroglyphs.<ref name=":40" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2024 |title=Rosetta Stone {{!}} Definition, Discovery, History, Languages, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rosetta-Stone |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
Greece, [[Serbia]], [[Romania]], and Bulgaria achieved independence during the 19th century, and the Ottoman Empire became known as the "[[sick man of Europe]]", increasingly under the financial control of European powers. Domination soon turned to outright conquest: the French annexed [[Algeria]] in 1830 and [[Tunisia]] in 1878 and the British occupied Egypt in 1882, though it remained under nominal Ottoman sovereignty.

In 1878, as the result of the [[Cyprus Convention]], the United Kingdom took over the government of Cyprus as a protectorate from the Ottoman Empire. While the Cypriots at first welcomed [[British Empire|British rule]], hoping that they would gradually achieve prosperity, democracy and national liberation, they soon became disillusioned. The British imposed heavy taxes to cover the compensation they paid to the Sultan for conceding Cyprus to them. Moreover, the people were not given the right to participate in the administration of the island, since all powers were reserved to the [[High Commissioner]] and to London.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tofallis |first=Kypros |title=A history of Cyprus: from the ancient times to the present |date=2002 |publisher=Greek Institute |isbn=9780905313238 |page=98}}</ref>

The British also [[British Residency of the Persian Gulf|established effective control]] of the [[Persian Gulf]], and the French extended their influence into [[Lebanon]] and Syria. In 1912, the Italians seized [[Libya]] and the [[Dodecanese|Dodecanese islands]], just off the coast of the Ottoman heartland of Anatolia. The Ottomans turned to Germany to protect them from the western powers, but the result was increasing financial and military dependence on Germany.

==20th century==
===Final years of the Ottoman Empire===
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middle Eastern rulers tried to modernize their states to compete more effectively with Europe. In the Ottoman Empire, the [[Tanzimat]] reforms re-invigorated Ottoman rule and were furthered by the [[Young Ottomans]] in the late 19th century, leading to the [[First Constitutional Era]] in the Empire that included the writing of the [[1876 Ottoman constitution|1876 constitution]] and the establishment of the [[Ottoman Parliament]]. The authors of the [[Persian Constitutional Revolution|1906 revolution in Persia]] all sought to import versions of the western model of constitutional government, civil law, secular education, and industrial development into their countries. Throughout the region, railways and telegraph lines were constructed, schools and universities were opened, and a new class of army officers, lawyers, teachers, and administrators emerged, challenging the traditional leadership of [[Islamic scholars]].

This first Ottoman constitutional experiment ended soon after it began, however, when the autocratic Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]] abolished the [[Ottoman Parliament|parliament]] and the [[1876 Ottoman constitution|constitution]] in favor of personal rule. Abdul Hamid ruled by decree for the next 30 years, stirring democratic resentment. The reform movement known as the [[Young Turks]] emerged in the 1890s against his rule, which included [[Hamidian massacres|massacres against minorities]]. The Young Turks seized power in the 1908 [[Young Turk Revolution]] and established the [[Second Constitutional Era]], leading to pluralist and multiparty elections in the Empire for the first time [[1908 Ottoman general election|in 1908]]. The Young Turks split into two parties, the pro-German and pro-centralization [[Committee of Union and Progress]] and the pro-British and pro-decentralization [[Freedom and Accord Party]]. The former was led by an ambitious pair of army officers, [[Enver Pasha|Ismail Enver Bey]] (later Pasha) and [[Djemal Pasha|Ahmed Cemal Pasha]], and a radical lawyer, [[Talaat Pasha|Mehmed Talaat Bey (later Pasha)]]. After a power struggle between the two parties of Young Turks, the Committee [[1913 Ottoman coup d'état|emerged victorious]] and became a ruling junta, with Talaat as Grand Vizier and Enver as War Minister, and established a German-funded modernisation program across the Empire.{{sfn|Mansfield|Pelham|2013|pp=141–147}}

Enver Bey's alliance with Germany, which he considered the most advanced military power in Europe, was enabled by British demands that the Ottoman Empire cede their formal capital [[Edirne]] (Adrianople) to the Bulgarians after losing the [[First Balkan War]], which the Turks saw as a betrayal by Britain.<ref name="Zürcher">{{cite book |author=[[Erik-Jan Zürcher]] |title=Turkey: A Modern History |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-86064-958-5 |edition=Revised |pages=107 ''ff.''}}</ref> These demands cost Britain the support of the Turks, as the pro-British Freedom and Accord Party was now repressed under the pro-German Committee for, in Enver's words, "shamefully delivering the country to the enemy" (Britain) after agreeing to the demands to give up Edirne.<ref name="L'Illustration">{{cite journal |author=Y.R. |date=1 February 1913 |title=Le coup d'état du 23 Janvier |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/37526/37526-h/37526-h.htm |journal=[[L'Illustration]] |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

=== World War I (1914–1918) ===
In 1914, Enver Pasha's [[Ottoman–German Alliance|alliance with Germany]] led the Ottoman Empire into the fatal step of entering  [[World War I]] on the side of the [[Central Powers]] against the [[Allies of World War I|Entente]], an alliance that included Russia, Great Britain and France. The British saw the Ottomans as the weak link in the enemy alliance, and concentrated on knocking them out of the war. When a direct assault failed at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]] in 1916, they turned to fomenting revolution in the Ottoman domains, exploiting the awakening force of [[Arab nationalism|Arab]], [[Armenian nationalism|Armenian]], and [[Assyrian nationalism]] against the Ottomans.<ref>Frank G. Weber, ''Eagles on the Crescent: Germany, Austria, and the diplomacy of the Turkish alliance, 1914-1918'' (Cornell University Press, 1970)</ref>

The British found an ally in [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca|Sharif Hussein]], the hereditary ruler of Mecca believed by many to be a descendant of Muhammad, who led an [[Arab Revolt]] against Ottoman rule, after being promised independence.

The Entente won the war and the Ottoman Empire was abolished with most of its territories ceded to Britain and France; Turkey just managed to survive. The war transformed the region in terms of shattering Ottoman power which was supplanted by increased British and French involvement; the creation of the Middle Eastern state system as seen in Turkey and Saudi Arabia; the emergence of explicitly more nationalist politics, as seen in Turkey and Egypt; and the expansion of oil industry, particularly in the Gulf States.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dhu031|doi=10.1093/dh/dhu031|title=World War I: A War (And Peace?) for the Middle East|year=2014|last1=Jacobs|first1=M. F.|journal=Diplomatic History|volume=38|issue=4|pages=776–785}}</ref>

=== Aftermath of World War I ===

==== Ottoman defeat and partition ====
When the Ottoman Empire surrendered to the Allies in 1918, the Arab patriots did not get what they had expected. Islamic activists of more recent times have described it as an Anglo-French betrayal. The governments of the European Entente had concluded a secret treaty before the armistice, the [[Sykes–Picot Agreement]], partitioning the Middle East amongst themselves. The British had in 1917, endorsed the [[Balfour Declaration]] promising the international [[Zionism|Zionist]] movement their support in re-creating the historic Jewish homeland in Palestine.

After the Ottomans withdrew, Arab leaders proclaimed an independent state in Damascus, but were swiftly defeated by the forces of Great Britain and France who soon after establishing control, re-arranged the Middle East to suit themselves.<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |title=Skyes Picot Agreement: Division of Territory |url=http://www.crethiplethi.com/the-sykes-picot-agreement-1916/historical-documents/2009/ |access-date=24 August 2013 |publisher=Crethi Plethi}}</ref>

Syria became a French protectorate as a [[League of Nations mandate]]. The Christian coastal areas were split off to become Lebanon, another French protectorate. [[Iraq]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] became British mandated territories. Iraq became the "[[Kingdom of Iraq]]" and one of Sharif Hussein's sons, [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal]], was installed as the [[King of Iraq]]. Iraq incorporated large populations of Kurds, Assyrians and [[Turkmen people|Turkmens]], many of whom had been promised independent states of their own.

Meanwhile, the fall of the Ottomans and the partitioning of Anatolia by the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] led to resistance by the Turkish population, under the [[Turkish National Movement]] led by [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], the Turkish victory against the invading powers during the [[Turkish War of Independence]], and the founding of the modern [[Republic of Turkey]] in 1923. Atatürk, the Republic's first President, embarked on a [[Atatürk's Reforms|program of modernisation and secularisation]] that pushed Turkey both economically and culturally closer to Europe and away from the Arab world. He abolished the caliphate, emancipated women, enforced western dress and the use of a new [[Turkish alphabet]] based on [[Latin script]] in place of the [[Ottoman Turkish alphabet|Arabic alphabet]], and abolished the jurisdiction of the Islamic courts.

==== Palestine, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt ====
Another turning point came when [[petroleum|oil]] was discovered, first in Persia (1908) and later in [[Saudi Arabia]] (1938) as well as the other Persian Gulf states, Libya, and Algeria. The Middle East, it turned out, possessed the world's largest easily untapped reserves of [[crude oil]], the most important commodity in the 20th century. The discovery of oil in the region made many of the kings and emirs of the Middle East immensely wealthy and enabled them to consolidate their hold on power while giving them a stake in preserving western hegemony over the region.<ref name="Morton 39–54">{{cite journal |last=Morton |first=Michael Quentin |date=December 2011 |title=Narrowing the Gulf: Anglo-American Relations and Arabian Oil, 1928–74 |url=http://www.ncdr.ae/liwa/issues/LIWA06E.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Liwa |volume=3 |issue=6 |pages=39–54 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419013816/http://www.ncdr.ae/liwa/issues/LIWA06E.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2014 |access-date=14 July 2012}}</ref>

As the West became dependent on Middle Eastern oil exports and British influence steadily declined, American interest in the region grew. Initially, Western oil companies established a dominance over oil production and extraction. However, indigenous movements towards [[nationalization|nationalizing]] oil assets, oil sharing, and the advent of [[OPEC]] ensured a shift in the [[balance of power (international relations)|balance of power]] towards the Arab oil states.<ref name="Morton 39–54" />

Britain was granted a Mandate for Palestine in April 1920 at the [[San Remo Conference]], and, in July 1922, this mandate was approved by the League of Nations. Palestine became the "[[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]]" and was placed under direct British administration. The Jewish population of Palestine, consisting overwhelmingly of recent migrants from Europe, numbered less than 8 percent in 1918. Under the British mandate, Zionist settlers were granted wide rein to immigrate initially, buy land from absentee landlords, set up a local government and later establish the nucleus of a state all under the protection of the British Army, which brutally suppressed multiple Palestinian Arab revolts in the years that followed, [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine|including in 1936]].<ref>{{cite book|first = Justin|last = McCarthy|title = The Population of Palestine: Population History and Statistics of the Late Ottoman Period and the Mandate|date = 1990|publisher = Columbia University Press|isbn = 9780231939782}}</ref> The Territory East of the Jordan River and west of Iraq was also declared a British Mandate when the Council of the League of Nations passed the British written Transjordan Memorandum in September 1922. Most of the Arabian peninsula, including Mecca and Medina, though not incorporated into either a British or French colonial mandate, fell under the control of another British ally, [[Ibn Saud]], who in 1932, founded the [[Saudi Arabia|Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]].

In the early 20th century, Syria and Egypt made moves towards independence. In 1919, Egypt's [[Saad Zaghloul]] orchestrated mass demonstrations in Egypt known as the [[Egyptian Revolution of 1919|First Revolution]]. While Zaghloul would later become Prime Minister, the British repression of the anticolonial riots led to around 800 deaths. In 1920, Syrian forces were defeated by the French in the [[Battle of Maysalun]] and Iraqi forces were defeated by the British when they [[Iraqi revolt against the British|revolted]]. In 1922, the (nominally) independent [[Kingdom of Egypt]] was created following the British government's issuance of the [[Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence]].

=== World War II (1939–1945) ===

In 1939, [[World War II]] began when [[Fascism|fascist]] [[Nazi Germany]], led by [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Invasion of Poland|invaded Poland]]. It was mainly fought between the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] (including the U.K., [[United States]], and [[Soviet Union]]) against the [[Axis powers]] (including Germany, the [[Kingdom of Italy]], and the [[Empire of Japan]]). Germany [[German-occupied Europe|occupied much of Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 December 2024 |title=World War II {{!}} Facts, Summary, History, Dates, Combatants, & Causes {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> In the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], Germany murdered millions of people in [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] throughout occupied Europe, including [[Holocaust victims|six million Jews]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 August 2024 |title=Holocaust: Definition, Remembrance & Meaning |url=https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref>[[File:Europe's armed sea.jpg|left|thumb|300x300px|The [[Mediterranean Sea]] in May 1940: the [[British Empire]] (''green'') controlled, or was allied with, the [[Kingdom of Greece]], [[British Cyprus]], the [[Kingdom of Egypt]], [[Mandatory Palestine]], and the [[Emirate of Transjordan]], while France (''blue'') controlled the [[First Syrian Republic|Syrian Republic]] (which included Lebanon)]]The [[French Third Republic]], an Allied power, was [[Battle of France|invaded by Germany]] in May 1940. In June, Germany won and split France into two governments, the northern half of the country under [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|direct German control]], and the southern under the semi-autonomous [[Vichy France]], which collaborated with Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vichy France {{!}} History, Leaders, & Map {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Vichy-France |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2024 |title=Battle of France {{!}} History, Summary, Maps, & Combatants {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-France-World-War-II |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Syria was put under the administration of Vichy France.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |title=Fighting The War in the Middle East |url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/fighting-world-war-ii-in-the-middle-east/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=Warfare History Network |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Middle East was essential to the British Empire, so Germany and Italy worked to undermine British influence there. Hitler allied with the Muslim leader [[Amin al-Husseini]]—in exile since he participated in the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine]]—as part of promoting [[Arab nationalism]] to destabilize regional British control. [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], the [[Shah of Iran]] since 1941, tried to keep his country neutral in the presence of Axis agents. The handover of Syria to Vichy France threatened British communication lines between Europe and [[British Raj|India]], which was a British colony; this was exacerbated by Germany's successful [[German invasion of Greece|invasion of Greece]].<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":33" />

In accordance with the [[Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936]], Egypt allowed the U.K. to operate facilities related to the war effort in Egypt's territory, though few Egyptians supported the British. In 1940, the U.K. pressured King [[Farouk of Egypt]] into forming a government more cooperative with the British. In 1942, as the U.K. predicted a German invasion of Egypt, British again intervened in Egypt in the [[Abdeen Palace incident of 1942|Abdeen Palace incident]], and installed a pro-British prime minister there. The U.K.'s actions furthered Farouk's hostility towards the British. Egypt declared war on Germany and Japan in 1945.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 December 2024 |title=Egypt - WWII, Aftermath, Revolution {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Egypt/World-War-II-and-its-aftermath |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=CWGC |title=Egypt in WW2 - history, significance and commemoration |url=https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/egypt-in-ww2-history-significance-and-commemoration/ |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=CWGC |language=en}}</ref>

In Iraq, successive prime ministers [[Nuri al-Said]] and [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]] were unsuccessful in allying Iraq with the U.K. against Germany and Italy, as the British seemed to be losing the war. Meanwhile, [[Pan-Arabism|pan-Arabist]] leaders throughout the Middle East encouraged Iraqi leaders to free Syria and Palestine from British control. al-Gaylani, initially reluctant to do so, eventually succumbed to pan-Arabism and began negotiations with the Axis in 1940. In response, Britain sent a limited occupation force to Iraq, which al-Gaylani allowed. In the [[1941 Iraqi coup d'état]], al-Gaylani was ousted by other Iraqi leaders; he was soon reinstated as prime minister, though opposed to the U.K. again.<ref name=":34" />

In April 1941, the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]] began as the U.K. invaded Iraq. al-Gaylani and the pan-Arabists fled the country, and the U.K. installed pro-British leaders once more.<ref name=":34">{{Cite web |date=25 December 2024 |title=Iraq - WW2, British Intervention, Middle East {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq/World-War-II-and-British-intervention-1939-45 |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The British also successfully [[Syria–Lebanon campaign|invaded Syria and Lebanon]], to secure their regional control and provide security for the British in Egypt.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2020 |title=Forgotten Fights: The Battle of Deir ez-Zor, July 1941 |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/battle-deir-ez-zor-july-1941 |access-date=30 December 2024 |website=The National WWII Museum {{!}} New Orleans |language=en}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Allies were worried Germany would try to access Iranian oil reserves, and the Soviets needed new supply routes to other Allied states after Germany invaded the western Soviet Union in [[Operation Barbarossa]]. These factors prompted the successful [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]] in August 1941.<ref name=":31" />

When World War II ended, the British,<ref>[[Elizabeth Monroe (historian)|Elizabeth Monroe]], ''Britain's Moment in the Middle East, 1914–1956'' (1963) [https://www.questia.com/library/954023/britain-s-moment-in-the-middle-east-1914-1956 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921121807/https://www.questia.com/library/954023/britain-s-moment-in-the-middle-east-1914-1956 |date=21 September 2018 }}</ref> French, and Soviets, withdrew from most parts of the regions they had occupied both before and during the War II and seven Middle East states gained or regained independence: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Israel, and Cyprus.
[[File:UN Palestine Partition Versions 1947.jpg|thumb|311x311px|A [[United Nations]] map of the 1947 [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|Partition Plan for Palestine]]; orange is the "Arab State" of [[Palestine]] and blue is the "Jewish State" of [[Israel]]]]

=== Establishment of the State of Israel (1948) ===
In Palestine, conflicting forces of Arab nationalism and [[Zionism]] created a situation the British could neither resolve nor extricate themselves from. The Holocaust created a new urgency in the Zionist quest to immigrate to Palestine and create a [[Jewish state]]. A Palestinian state was also an attractive alternative to the Arab and Persian leaders, instead of the de facto British, French, and perceived Jewish colonialism or imperialism, under the logic of "[[the enemy of my enemy is my friend]]".{{sfn|Lewis|1995|pp=348–350}}

The Arab—Jewish struggle culminated in the 1947 [[United Nations]] [[1947 UN Partition Plan|plan to partition Palestine]]. This plan sought to create an Arab state and a separate Jewish state in the narrow space between the [[Jordan River]] and the Mediterranean. Jewish leaders accepted the plan, but Arab leaders rejected it.<ref>{{cite book|author=Benny Morris|title=1948: a history of the first Arab-Israeli war|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5jtAAAAMAAJ|access-date=13 July 2013|year=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|page=73|isbn=9780300126969|quote=Bevin regarded the UNSCOP majority report of 1 September 1947 as unjust and immoral. He promptly decided that Britain would not attempt to im- pose it on the Arabs; indeed, he expected them to resist its implementation… The British cabinet...: in the meeting on 4 December 1947... It decided, in a sop to the Arabs, to refrain from aiding the enforcement of the UN resolution, meaning the partition of Palestine. And in an important secret corollary... it agreed that Britain would do all in its power to delay until early May the arrival in Palestine of the UN (Implementation) Commission. The Foreign Office immediately informed the commission "that it would be intolerable for the Commission to begin to exercise its authority while the [Mandate] Palestine Government was still administratively responsible for Palestine"... This... nullified any possibility of an orderly implementation of the partition resolution.}}</ref>

In May 1948, when the British Mandate expired, the Zionist leadership declared the [[State of Israel]]. In the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] which immediately followed, the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia intervened and were defeated by Israel.<ref>{{cite book|title=Israel in the Middle East: Documents and Readings on Society, Politics, and Foreign Relations, Pre-1948 to the Present |last=Rabinovich |first=Itamar |author2=Reinharz, Jehuda |year=2007 |publisher=Brandeis |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780874519624/page/74 74] |isbn=978-0-87451-962-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780874519624/page/74 }}</ref> About 800,000 Palestinians fled from areas annexed by Israel and became [[Palestinian refugee|refugees]] in neighbouring countries, thus creating the "Palestinian problem", which has troubled the region ever since.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Warf |first1=C. |last2=Charles |first2=G. |title=Clinical Care for Homeless, Runaway and Refugee Youth: Intervention Approaches, Education and Research Directions |publisher=Springer International Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-40675-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irzhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA384 |quote=By 1948, the majority of Palestinians, about 700,000 to 800,000 people from 500 to 600 villages, were displaced. They were either expelled or fled from their homes for fear of being killed, as had actually taken place in a number of villages.}}</ref> Approximately two-thirds of 758,000–866,000 of the [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries|Jews expelled or who fled from Arab lands]] after 1948 were absorbed and naturalized by the State of Israel.<ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.il VI- The Arab Refugees – Introduction] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117094828/http://mfa.gov.il/ |date=17 January 2009 }}</ref>

=== 1952 Egyptian revolution ===
[[File:Nasser and Naguib, 1954.jpg|thumb|The leaders of the [[1952 Egyptian revolution]], [[Mohamed Naguib]] (left) and [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Gamal Abdel Nassar]] (right), pictured in 1954]]
In Egypt, civil conflict between left- and right-wing radicals, and the continued British and French occupation of the Suez Canal, led to the [[1952 Egyptian revolution]]. In July 1952, Farouk was overthrown in a coup by the [[Free Officers movement (Egypt)|Free Officers]], a group of [[Egyptian nationalism|Egyptian nationalist]] military officers led by Major General [[Mohamed Naguib]] and General [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Gamal Abdel Nassar]].<ref name=":28">{{Cite web |date=29 December 2024 |title=Egypt - Revolution, Republic, Nile {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Egypt/The-revolution-and-the-Republic |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":29">{{Cite web |title=Muṣṭafā al-Naḥḥās Pasha {{!}} Prime Minister of Egypt & Nationalist Leader {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mustafa-al-Nahhas-Pasha#ref995398 |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web |date=17 December 2024 |title=Suez Crisis {{!}} Definition, Summary, Location, History, Dates, Significance, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Suez-Crisis |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

The Egyptian monarchy was dissolved, and in June 1953, Egypt became a republic. A council of eleven military officers led by Nassar, the [[Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council]], governed the country with "carefully controlled manipulation" of the populace. Political parties were banned. Naguib was made Egypt's president, but was effectively a [[puppet ruler]], answering to the council. However, his position threatened Nassar's influence, so in 1954, Nassar mobilized a coalition of supporters (including the working class, the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], police officers, and members of the former political parties) and overthrew Naguib, placing him under [[house arrest]]. Nassar was made prime minister.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":29" /><ref name=":30">{{Cite web |date=25 December 2024 |title=Gamal Abdel Nasser {{!}} Biography & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gamal-Abdel-Nasser |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

[[Encyclopædia Britannica|''Britannica'']] writes that in Nassar's 1954 book ''Philosophy of the Revolution'', he "outlined his aspiration to be the leader of the 55 million Arabs, then of the 224 million Africans, then of the 420 million followers of Islam". He initially had a moderate diplomatic approach with Israel; the U.K.; and the Sudanese people in southern Egypt, who wanted independence. In 1953, Egypt agreed to a Sudanese [[Provisional government|provisional]] [[Self-governance|self-government]], and [[Sudan]] became an independent republic in 1956.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":30" />

=== 1953 Iranian coup d'état ===
After World War II, the U.K. continued its presence in Iran, effectively controlling Iran's oil industry through the [[Anglo-Persian Oil Company]]. In 1951, [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]] became Iran's prime minister, and his democratic and nationalist government took control of the Iranian parliament. The parliament voted to [[Nationalization|nationalize]] Iran's oil industry, leading the U.K. to "secret[ly] campaign to weaken and destabilize Mosaddegh". The Shah was influenced by the U.K. to attempt to oust Mosaddegh from government with a parliamentary decree. This failed and only strengthened Mosaddegh, while weakening the Shah. The U.K. then used [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] rhetoric to persuade the U.S.—now in the [[Cold War]] against the Soviets—into overthrowing Mosaddegh.<ref name=":31">{{Cite web |title=1953 coup in Iran {{!}} Coup D'etat, Description & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/1953-coup-in-Iran |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 November 2024 |title=Mohammad Mosaddegh {{!}} Biography & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Mosaddegh |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":33">{{Cite web |title=Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi {{!}} Biography, History, & White Revolution {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Reza-Shah-Pahlavi |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In the [[1953 Iranian coup d'état]], the U.S.' [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) and the U.K. funded agents in Iran who were "used to foment unrest" against Mosaddegh through "harassment of religious and political leaders and a media [[disinformation campaign]]". In August 1953, Mosaddegh was overthrown after deadly fighting in Tehran, and the CIA sanctioned the Shah becoming the singular leader of Iran. Mosaddegh was put under house arrest until his death. The coup and its effects created the conditions for the 1979 Iranian revolution.<ref name=":31" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 December 2024 |title=Iranian Revolution {{!}} Summary, Causes, Effects, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:1956-11-12 Near East Crisis.ogv|left|thumb|An American [[newsreel]] for 12 November 1956, reporting on the end of the [[Suez Crisis]]]]

=== Suez Crisis (1956) ===
The [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956 originated in Egypt's growing support for [[Czechoslovakia]] and the Soviet Union, communist allies. In response, the U.S. and U.K. decided not to finance Egypt's construction of the [[Aswan Dam]] across the Nile. This provoked Gamal Abdel Nassar into nationalizing the Suez Canal in July 1956, seizing the British and French [[Suez Company (1858–1997)|Suez Company]]. The U.K. and France, thinking that Nassar might close off the canal—thus cutting off [[petroleum]] shipments to Europe—began a military response against Egypt. In October, Israel joined the conflict, advancing towards the canal. This interfered with the British and French plan, and they forced Israel to stand down. In November, the two countries occupied the canal; the U.S., disapproving of this, led a campaign in the [[United Nations]] (UN) to force the British and French out of the canal. Egypt ultimately won control over the canal, and the U.K. and France lost much influence in the Middle East.<ref name="britannica.com"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Aswan High Dam {{!}} Description, History, Capacity, Problems, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aswan-High-Dam |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Modern Middle East ===
[[File:The Middle East.ogv|thumb|1963 film about contemporary events in the Middle East]]

The modern Middle East was shaped by three things: departure of European powers, the founding of Israel, and the growing importance of the oil industry. These developments eventually led to increased [[United States foreign policy in the Middle East|U.S. involvement in the region]]. The U.S. was the ultimate guarantor of the region's stability as well as the dominant force in the oil industry after the 1950s. When revolutions brought radical [[Anti-Western sentiment|anti-Western]] regimes to power in Egypt (1954), Syria (1963), Iraq (1968), and [[Libya]] (1969), the Soviet Union, seeking to open a new arena of the Cold War, allied itself with [[Arab socialism|Arab socialist]] rulers.

In the mid-to-late 1960s, the [[Ba'ath Party|Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party]] led by [[Michel Aflaq]] and [[Salah al-Din al-Bitar]] took power in both Iraq and Syria. Iraq was first ruled by [[Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr]], but was succeeded by [[Saddam Hussein]] in 1979. Syria was ruled first by a Military Committee led by [[Salah Jadid]], and later [[Hafez al-Assad]] until 2000, when he was succeeded by his son, [[Bashar al-Assad]].

=== Cyprus independence and conflict (1960—present) ===
In August 1960, [[Cyprus]] gained its independence from the British Empire. Archbishop [[Makarios III]], a charismatic religious and political leader, was elected its first independent president, and in 1961 it became the 99th member of the United Nations.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} Between 1955 and 1974, conflict arising between [[Greek Cypriots]] and [[Turkish Cypriots]] led to [[Cypriot intercommunal violence]] and the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]]. The [[Cyprus dispute]] remains unresolved.

=== Six-Day War (1967) ===

Tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors rose in 1966 and 1967, as Palestinian armed groups and the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) attacked each other in bursts. In May 1967, Soviet intelligence released a report falsely claiming that Israel was going to start an offensive against Syria, which prompted Gamal Abdel Nasser to mobilize his forces in solidarity with Syria and prepare for war. In the [[Six-Day War]] in June 1967, Israel invaded and captured the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt; the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan; and the [[Golan Heights]] from Syria. The war ended with Israel's continued control of the territories when all countries involved agreed to a ceasefire.<ref name=":25">{{Cite web |date=9 December 2024 |title=Six-Day War {{!}} Definition, Causes, History, Summary, Outcomes, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Yom Kippur War map.svg|thumb|Israeli and Egyptian territorial changes in the [[Six-Day War]] and [[Yom Kippur War]]|301x301px]]The Arab countries had 18,000 casualties in the war, while Israel had 700. In November 1967, [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 242|UN Resolution 242]] called for Israel to return the conquered territories in exchange for a lasting peace, which the country did not do. One million Palestinians now lived under Israeli occupation.<ref name=":25" /> With an overwhelming Israeli victory, many viewed the defeat as the failure of Arab socialism. Militant and [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] Islam filled the "political vacuum" that was made.<ref name="watson">Watson, Peter (2006). ''Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud''. New York: Harper Perennial. p. 1096. {{ISBN|0-06-093564-2}}.</ref>

=== War of Attrition (1967—1970) ===
The Arab position, as it emerged in September 1967 at the [[Khartoum Resolution|Khartoum Summit]], later become known as the "three nos": no peace, no recognition and no negotiation with Israel. In 1968, Nasser announced his plans to take back the Sinai Peninsula, receiving aid from the Soviets to make up for Egyptian losses in the war. The [[War of Attrition]] started with limited fighting. The war paused with a mutual ceasefire as both countries built up their forces. In 1969, a larger-scale war began, minorly involving Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria in an eastern front. In 1970, Nasser asked for direct military support from the Soviets, who began air strikes on Israelis in Egypt. This led to the U.S. mediating another ceasefire, ending the war with no territorial changes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=War of Attrition {{!}} History, Combatants, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-Attrition-1969-1970 |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 June 2020 |title=Remembering the Rogers Plan and Israel's forgotten war |url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/remembering-the-rogers-plan-and-israels-forgotten-war-630770 |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 August 2012 |title=This Week In History: The Arab League's three no's |url=https://www.jpost.com/features/in-thespotlight/this-week-in-history-the-arab-leagues-three-nos |access-date=13 December 2024 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Yom Kippur War, the PLO, and the Camp David Accords (1973—1979) ===
After the War of Attrition, new Egyptian president [[Anwar Sadat]] expressed willingness to reach an accord with Israel based on UNSC resolution 242, but [[Golda Meir]] rejected the proposal, leading to the [[Yom Kippur War]]. In October 1973, Egypt and Syria invaded the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights to take them back. The U.S. sided with Israel, and the Soviet Union with Egypt and Syria. In 1974, the three warring states agreed to ceasefires and the construction of a UN buffer zone between Egypt and Syria.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 November 2024 |title=Yom Kippur War {{!}} Summary, Causes, Combatants, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Yom-Kippur-War |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The Sinai Peninsula stayed under [[Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula|Israeli occupation]].<ref name=":26">{{Cite web |date=6 December 2024 |title=Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) {{!}} Leaders, History, Mission, & Relations with Hamas {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palestine-Liberation-Organization#ref284493 |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1964, the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|Palestinian Liberation Organization]] (PLO) was created as an [[umbrella organization]] for underground anti-Israel Palestinian rebels. They grew in the post-1967 occupation, and in 1969, [[Yasser Arafat]] was made their chairman. PLO's many factions have different ideologies, from wanting to destroy the state of Israel and replace it with a religiously-equal state, or negotiating with Israel for peace. In the 1970s, some PLO factions engaged in guerrilla warfare against Israel and elsewhere from the PLO's headquarters in Jordan, before Jordan forced them out in 1971. The PLO moved to Lebanon. In 1974, Arafat ordered the end of attacks outside of Israel, and Arab states recognized the PLO as the legitimate Palestinian governmental body.<ref name=":26" />
[[File:Camp David, Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat, 1978.jpg|thumb|U.S. president [[Jimmy Carter]], Israeli prime minister [[Menachem Begin]], and Egyptian president [[Anwar Sadat]] at the [[Camp David Accords|1978 Camp David Accords]]]]
The 1978 [[Camp David Accords]] mediated by the U.S. led to the 1979 [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty|Egypt—Israel peace treaty]], in which Israel agreed to stop occupying the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt unsuccessfully tried to get Israel to recognize a Palestinian state which governed Gaza and the West Bank; Israel still sought to destroy the PLO. The accords' "Framework for Peace in the Middle East" put off peace between Israel and Palestine for a later time.<ref name=":26" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Camp David Accords {{!}} Summary, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Camp-David-Accords |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== White Revolution and the Iranian revolution (1963—1979) ===
From 1963 to 1979, the Shah reformed Iran in the [[White Revolution]]. A Western ally, he rapidly urbanized, secularized, and [[Westernization|Westernized]] the country, while forgoing democracy and [[human rights]]. Women received more liberties, [[Iranian Land Reform|land was redistributed]] to families, literacy increased, tribal groups were given greater autonomy, and the economy boomed from oil. Contrarily, political opposition was marginalized and censored, and dissidents were surveilled, harassed, or tortured. ''[[Ulama]]'' Shia scholars were undermined by secular leaders, and the economic changes did not reach everyone equally.<ref name=":18">{{Cite web |date=26 October 2024 |title=Iranian Revolution {{!}} Summary, Causes, Effects, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite web |title=White Revolution (Iran) {{!}} History, Significance, & Effects {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/White-Revolution |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite web |date=22 October 2024 |title=Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi {{!}} Biography, History, & White Revolution {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Reza-Shah-Pahlavi |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Mass demonstration in Iran, date unknown.jpg|thumb|Shi'ite protests against the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] during the [[Iranian revolution]]]]

Shi'ite leaders disliked secularization and women's rights—one leader was the populist and [[Anti-Western sentiment|anti-Western]] [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], who was [[Ruhollah Khomeini's life in exile|exiled from Iran]] in 1964 by the Shah.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":19" /><ref name=":21">{{Cite web |date=13 November 2024 |title=Ruhollah Khomeini {{!}} Biography, Exile, Revolution, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruhollah-Khomeini |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> However, he still had influence there, and called for the Shah's overthrow. During the 1979 [[Iranian revolution]], the [[Pahlavi dynasty]] was overthrown. The Shah died from health issues in Egypt, and Khomeini became the country's leader. He made Iran a Shi'ite [[Theocracy|theocratic state]], cut ties with the West, and rolled back women's rights. He stayed in power until 1989.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":20" /><ref name=":21" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 February 2019 |title=Iranian women - before and after the Islamic Revolution |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47032829 |access-date=12 December 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Shi'ite militants [[Iran hostage crisis|held 66 Americans hostage]] in the [[Embassy of the United States, Tehran|U.S. embassy in Tehran]] from November 1979 to January 1981. The hostage takers wanted the U.S. to [[Extradition|extradite]] the Shah to Iran to be put on trial for human rights abuses. The U.S. did not comply, and stopped buying Iranian oil, which [[1979 oil crisis|hurt the U.S. economy]]. The Shah's death did not end the crisis, and U.S. president [[Jimmy Carter]] lost the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential election]] amidst an oil-related recession. In 1981, when Carter's successor [[Ronald Reagan]] took office, the hostages were freed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 October 2024 |title=Iran hostage crisis - US-Iran Conflict, Diplomacy, Resolution {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-hostage-crisis/Conflict-and-resolution |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Lebanese Civil War (1975—1990) ===
The PLO's move to Lebanon, and Israel's wish to destroy the PLO, partially led to the [[Lebanese Civil War]], which was fought from 1975 to 1990.<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":27">{{Cite web |date=20 November 2024 |title=Lebanese Civil War {{!}} Summary, History, Casualties, & Religious factions {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Lebanese-Civil-War |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Fighting was between the [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese Army]]; Israel; Syria; the PLO; the [[Lebanese Front]], representing the country's traditional Christian elites; the [[Lebanese National Movement]] of leftists, Arab nationalists, and Sunnis; and the [[Amal Movement]] of Shi'ite [[Populism|populists]]. The war ultimately led to Israel and Syria occupying different parts of Lebanon until 2000 and 2005, respectively.<ref name=":27" />[[File:כוחותינו במלחמת שלום הגליל, 1982.jpg|thumb|Israeli troops [[1982 Lebanon War|invading Lebanon]] in 1982|left]]During the [[1982 Lebanon War]], Israel invaded Lebanon, seven years into the civil War.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |date=7 December 2024 |title=Hosni Mubarak {{!}} Biography, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hosni-Mubarak |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> The invasion was ostensibly because of attacks launched on Israel by PLO members located in [[Southern Lebanon]]. Israel reached as far as west Beirut, where the PLO had its main stronghold, putting that part of the city [[Siege of Beirut|under siege]]. 19,000 people died under the siege. Those PLO members made an agreement with Israel to leave Lebanon for Tunisia, while Israel [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|occupied Southern Lebanon]] until 2000, supporting [[proxy war]]s there.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Rebeiz |first=Mireille |date=24 September 2024 |title=Lebanese civilians are fleeing the south, fearing an Israeli invasion − a look back at 1982 suggests they have every reason to worry |url=https://theconversation.com/lebanese-civilians-are-fleeing-the-south-fearing-an-israeli-invasion-a-look-back-at-1982-suggests-they-have-every-reason-to-worry-239653 |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref>

In September 1982, Lebanese president-elect [[Bachir Gemayel]] was [[Assassination of Bachir Gemayel|assassinated]] by a [[Syrian nationalism|Syrian nationalist]] potentially under orders from Hafez al-Assad.<ref name=":15" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 October 1982 |title=PHALANGISTS IDENTIFY BOMBER OF GEMAYEL AS LEBANESE LEFTIST |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/03/world/phalangists-identify-bomber-of-gemayel-as-lebanese-leftist.html |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> Soon after, the [[Kataeb Party]] right-wing Lebanese militia, coordinating with the IDF, carried out the [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]] of 2,000 to 3,500 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |author=Al Jazeera Staff |title=The history of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/18/hezbollah-and-israel-a-timeline-of-conflict |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 September 2022 |title=40 years on, survivors recall horror of Lebanon's Sabra and Shatila massacre |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220914-40-years-on-survivors-recall-horror-of-lebanon-s-sabra-and-shatila-massacre |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 September 2022 |title=Palestinians commemorate horrific 1982 massacre in Beirut |url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-lebanon-migration-beirut-e0537e7b4ecfff974b7421459ffbbbef |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> Out of this conflict came [[Hezbollah]], a Lebanese Shi'ite political party and militant organization opposed to Israel, the U.S., and Saudi Arabia, and supported by Iran.<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 December 2024 |title=Hezbollah {{!}} Meaning, History, Ideology, Iran, Israel, & Flag {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hezbollah |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> In October 1983, [[1983 Beirut barracks bombings|a terrorist attack]] by the [[Islamic Jihad Organization]] on an American military barrack in Beirut killed 300 American and French soldiers.<ref name=":15" />

=== Iran—Iraq War (1980—1988) ===
[[File:Battle of khorramshahr 2.jpg|thumb|Iranians resisting the [[Iraqi invasion of Iran|Iraqi invasion]] during the [[Battle of Khorramshahr (1980)|First Battle of Khorramshahr]] in 1980]]
[[Saddam Hussein]] became the president of Iraq in July 1979. The Shi'ite revolution in Iran concerned Hussein, who thought that majority-Shi'ite Iraq would face a similar uprising. He also wanted to overturn the [[1975 Algiers Agreement]], which let Iran control the [[Shatt al-Arab]] waterway in exchange for Iran withdrawing support for an insurgency by northern Iraqi Kurds. The Shatt al-Arab had been Iraq's only way to access the Persian Gulf. Hussein had begun relying on Iraq's minority Sunni population when in September 1980, [[Iraqi invasion of Iran|Iraq invaded Iran]], starting the [[Iran–Iraq War|Iran—Iraq War]]. Hussein considered this militarily viable because Iran's military was considered to be weakened after the revolution. Iraq first captured the oil-producing region of [[Khuzestan province|Khuzestan]], but Iranians intensely resisted, and by early 1982, all the Iranian territory that Iraq had taken was reclaimed. Nevertheless, the war continued for another six years at great cost for both sides.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2021 |title=Iran‑Iraq War ‑ Summary, Timeline & Legacy |url=https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-iraq-war |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 October 2024 |title=Iran-Iraq War {{!}} Causes, Summary, Casualties, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Iraq-War |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Assassination of Anwar Sadat (1981) ===
In October 1981, on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, [[Assassination of Anwar Sadat|Anwar Sadat was assassinated]] by a group of Islamic extremists while he was inspecting troops in Cairo. They disliked that Sadat negotiated with Israel and let the Shah die in Egypt instead of extraditing him to Iran. The perpetrators were led by [[Khalid Al-Islambuli|Khaled el Islambouli]], who had connections to the terrorist group [[Takfir wal-Hijra|Takfir Wal-Hajira]]. Takfir Wal-Hajira was partially funded by Libyan leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]], who unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Sadat in 1980. Sadat was succeeded by his vice president [[Hosni Mubarak]], who put hundreds of people on trial for conspiracy in the assassination.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The president of Egypt is assassinated {{!}} 6 October 1981 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-president-of-egypt-is-assassinated |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=HISTORY |date=13 November 2009 |language=en}}</ref> In the following years, Mubarak continued following the terms of the Camp David Accords, and improved relations with other Arab states, Israel, and the U.S.<ref name=":13" />

=== Iran—Contra affair (1985—1987) ===
In the 1980s, the U.S. supported the [[Contras]]—fighting the [[Marxism|Marxist]] [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Nicaraguan government]]—financially and militarily, as Ronald Reagan feared Marxism spreading through [[Central America]]. Supporting the Contras was soon [[Boland Amendment|banned]] by the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]]. Meanwhile, Americans in Lebanon [[Lebanon hostage crisis|were being held captive]] by Shi'ites supporting Iran; the U.S. publicly denied [[Government negotiation with terrorists|negotiating with terrorists]] or aiding Iran during its war with Iraq, labeling Iran a [[terrorist state]]. Secretly, starting in 1985, Reagan [[Iran–Contra affair|sold Iran weapons]] in exchange for the hostages' release, diverting some sales revenue to the Contras. This was publicized in 1986, but Reagan was not punished for the illegal act.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 October 2024 |title=Iran-Contra Affair {{!}} Definition, History, Oliver North, Importance, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-Contra-Affair |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 December 2024 |title=Contra {{!}} Guerrilla Warfare, Insurgency, Reagan Doctrine {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/contra-Nicaraguan-counterrevolutionary |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Terry Waite released after four‑year kidnapping in Lebanon {{!}} 18 November 1991 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/terry-waite-released |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=HISTORY |date=24 November 2009 |language=en}}</ref>

=== First Intifada (1987—1993) ===
[[File:Intifada in Gaza Strip, 1987 V Dan Hadani Archive.jpg|thumb|A protest in Gaza during the [[First Intifada]] in 1987]]
In 1977, the right-wing political party [[Likud]] won the [[1977 Israeli legislative election|Israeli elections]], leading to Israel expropriating more land and furthering settlements in the West Bank. Palestinian protests following the invasion of Lebanon increased Israel's repression in Gaza and the West Bank. The conditions for a Palestinian uprising were greater as certain Palestinians challenged the PLO's leadership and viewed Israel, which in the mid-1980s had a significant number vying for peace, as more receptive to Palestinian protests.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":23" /><ref name=":24" />

In December 1987, an Israeli caused a vehicle crash that killed four Palestinians, as revenge for the fatal stabbing of an Israeli in Gaza years prior. The crash led to the [[First Intifada]], a Palestinian uprising—involving the PLO—against Israel. It started as protests and turned into a military conflict against the occupiers. 2,000 people died, around three quarters being Palestinian deaths. In 1988, the PLO denied the U.S.' deal of making peace with Israel on the condition that the PLO acknowledge "Israel’s right 'to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries'". The Intifada politically and economically hurt Israel, who elected politicians favoring peace in the [[1992 Israeli legislative election|1992 elections]].<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=Intifada {{!}} History, Meaning, Cause, & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/intifada |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":23">{{Cite web |title=Intifada begins on Gaza Strip {{!}} 9 December 1987 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/intifada-begins-on-gaza-strip |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=HISTORY |date=9 February 2010 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":24">{{Cite web |last=Medina |first=Jacqueline |date=22 March 2019 |title=What you need to know about the 1987 Intifada {{!}} Women, War and Peace {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/uncategorized/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-1987-intifada/ |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=Women, War and Peace}}</ref>

=== Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991) ===
The fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism in the early 1990s had several consequences for the Middle East. It allowed large numbers of [[Soviet Jews]] to emigrate from [[Russia]] and [[Ukraine]] to Israel, further strengthening the Jewish state. It cut off the easiest source of credit, armaments, and diplomatic support to the anti-western Arab regimes, weakening their position. It opened up the prospect of cheap oil from Russia, driving down the price of oil and reducing the west's dependence on oil from the Arab states. It discredited the model of development through authoritarian state socialism, which Egypt, Algeria, Syria, and Iraq had followed since the 1960s, leaving these regimes politically and economically stranded. Rulers such as Saddam Hussein increasingly relied on Arab nationalism as a substitute for socialism.

In most Middle Eastern countries, the growth of market economies was said to be limited by political restrictions, corruption, and [[cronyism]], overspending on arms and prestige projects and over-dependence on oil revenues. The successful economies were countries that had oil wealth and low populations, such as [[Qatar]], [[Bahrain]], [[Kuwait]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]] (UAE), where the ruling emirs allowed some political and social liberalization, but without giving up any of their own power.
[[File:Divided Yemen.svg|left|thumb|The two halves of Yemen which [[Yemeni unification|unified in 1990]]. The gray area, controlled by Saudi Arabia, was [[Treaty of Jeddah (2000)|ceded to Yemen]] in 2000.]]

=== Yemeni unification and civil war (1990—1994) ===
In 1990, North and South Yemen [[Yemeni unification|unified]] as the Republic of Yemen, [[Constitution of Yemen|whose constitution]] outlines a liberal [[parliamentary democracy]] led by a popularly elected president and a [[bicameral legislature]], one house being popularly elected and the other elected by the president.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 December 2024 |title=Yemen - Tribalism, Unification, Conflict {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Yemen/Government-and-society |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The first president of the republic was [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]]. In the following years, southern Yemenis felt they had a lesser status than the northerners, and tried to split off from the north. Saleh disallowed this, starting the [[Yemeni civil war (1994)|Yemeni civil war]] of 1994. He ultimately maintained the union.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=A timeline of Yemen's slide into conflict and war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/11/a-timeline-of-yemens-slide-into-conflict-and-war |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> In the 2000 [[Treaty of Jeddah (2000)|Treaty of Jeddah]], Saudi Arabia ceded land to northern Yemen.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |title=The Saudi-Yemeni Militarized Borderland |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2020/01/the-saudi-yemeni-militarized-borderland?lang=en |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |language=en}}</ref>

=== Gulf War, 1991 Iraqi uprisings, and the 1998 bombing of Iraq ===

In August 1990, Iraq—with the world's fifth-largest army—[[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invaded Kuwait]] in retaliation for oil-related economic disputes between the two countries. The Kuwaitis strongly resisted Iraq, but within days, the capital of [[Kuwait City]] was captured. Kuwaiti emir [[Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah]] fled to Saudi Arabia and established a [[Kuwaiti Government in exile|government-in-exile]], to which 350,000 Kuwaitis fled. Iraq was supported by Algeria, Jordan, the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|Palestinian Liberation Organization]], Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen, while Kuwait was supported by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and other Gulf states. As Iraqi troops neared Saudi Arabia, Saudi [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|King Fahd]] asked his allies to respond militarily, which the Soviets supported.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=23 October 2024 |title=Persian Gulf War {{!}} Summary, Dates, Combatants, Casualties, Syndrome, Map, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Persian-Gulf-War |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>[[File:DesertStormMap v2.svg|thumb|250x250px|In Operation Desert Storm (''movements pictured''), an [[Coalition of the Gulf War|international coalition]] launched an invasion of Iraq and [[Republic of Kuwait|Iraq-occupied Kuwait]]]]

The U.S. launched [[Operation Desert Shield]], deploying more than 400,000 troops and backed by [[Coalition of the Gulf War|an international coalition]]. Iraq stopped plans to invade Saudi Arabia. Iraq then established the [[Republic of Kuwait]] occupation government led by Colonel [[Alaa Hussein Ali|Alaa Hussain Ali]]. The occupiers "began a systematic campaign of pillage, rape, torture, murder, and theft".<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Operation DESERT SHIELD {{!}} U.S. Army Center of Military History |url=https://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/dshield_dstorm/desert-shield.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807180721/https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/dshield_dstorm/desert-shield.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 August 2020 |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=www.history.army.mil}}</ref> Hussein used the Kuwaiti crisis to end the Iran—Iraq War, as Iraq accepted Iranian terms and stopped occupying parts of Iran. In January 1991, the coalition's Operation Desert Storm started, led by U.S. General [[Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.|Norman Schwarzkopf]]. It involved air, ground, and naval offenses. Iraq, outnumbered and using ineffective weaponry, was quickly defeated. [[Casualties of the Gulf War|Iraqi casualties]] vastly outnumbered the coalition's. Iraq was forced into making peace and recognizing the re-established Kuwaiti emirate's soveriegnty.<ref name=":12" />

In the war's aftermath, [[Kurds in Iraq|Kurds in northern Iraq]] started [[1991 Iraqi uprisings|a rebellion]] against Hussein's government, which was brutally suppressed. This caused the coalition countries to establish a [[Iraqi no-fly zones conflict|no-fly zone over parts of Iraq]]. As part of the war's peace terms, Iraq had to cooperate with UN investigators who would search the country for the presence of [[Weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] (WMDs). Iraq refused to cooperate with the UN, leading to the [[1998 bombing of Iraq]] by the U.S. and U.K.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=1998 - Operation Desert Fox |url=https://www.afhistory.af.mil/FAQs/Fact-Sheets/Article/458976/1998-operation-desert-fox/ |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=Air Force Historical Support Division |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Oslo Accords (1993—1995) ===
The 1993 and 1995 [[Oslo Accords]] between Israel and the PLO were initially a significant step towards peace between Israel and Palestine. The accords advocated a [[two-state solution]], and in a slight weakening of Israel's post-1967 occupation of Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank were allowed limited self-governance by the [[Palestinian Authority]]. The agreement had the goal of ending the Israel—Palestine conflict by May 1999, but this did not happen. In November 1995, Israeli prime minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]] was [[Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin|assassinated]] by a Jewish extremist who was against the accords. This brought up concerns about Israel's national security, which led to the [[1996 Israeli general election|1996 election]] of [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], who was against the accords, as prime minister. Netanyahu refused to negotiate with Yasser Arafat. While Netanyahu's successor [[Ehud Barak]] resumed negotiations, tensions between Israel and Palestine had once again started to rise.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 November 2024 |title=Oslo Accords {{!}} Significance, Palestine, Israel, Two-State Solution, Breakdown, & Map {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oslo-Accords#ref360514 |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What were the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/what-were-oslo-accords-israel-palestinians |access-date=11 December 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 September 2023 |title=Oslo Accords: 30 years of lost Palestinian hopes |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66751704 |access-date=11 December 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== 21st century ==

=== Second Intifada (2000–2005) ===
[[File:MiddleEast.png|thumb|The Middle East in 2003]]
The [[2000 Camp David Summit]], meant to further peace between Israel and Palestine, failed. Also that year, Israeli politician [[Ariel Sharon]], leader of Likud, visited the [[Temple Mount]]—a holy site for both Jews and Muslims in the Old City of Jerusalem—to promote Israeli sovereignty over the site. Sharon's visit and rioting by Israeli Arabs led to the [[Second Intifada]], an uprising by Palestinians against Israeli security forces in Palestine which lasted until 2005. The Intifada and the failure of the Camp David summit, ''Britannica'' writes, "convinced a majority of Israelis that they lacked a partner in [Yasser] Arafat to end the [Israel-Palestine] conflict".<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=9 December 2024 |title=Israel - Netanyahu, Politics, Middle East {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel/The-second-intifada |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Adam |first=Ali |title=Palestinian Intifada: How Israel orchestrated a bloody takeover |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/28/palestinian-intifada-20-years-later-israeli-occupation-continues |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=Intifada {{!}} History, Meaning, Cause, & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/intifada |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In June 2002, at the height of the uprising, [[West Bank barrier|Israel built a barrier]] between and Israel and the West Bank, and inside of the West Bank, which Israeli security forces still continued to patrol. 10% of the West Bank's territory effectively became under the control of Israel through the barrier's construction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2022 |title=AP PHOTOS: Israel's separation barrier, 20 years on |url=https://apnews.com/article/politics-middle-east-jerusalem-israel-west-bank-2ce5d9956b729ad6169c880d00068977 |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |date=9 December 2024 |title=Gaza Strip {{!}} Definition, History, Facts, & Map {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Gaza-Strip#ref279792 |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2003, Sharon, then the prime minister of Israel, announced Israeli security forces would withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. [[Death of Yasser Arafat|Arafat died]] in 2004, leading to negotiations between Israel and a more moderate Palestinian government, which led to an agreement for a ceasefire in 2005. In September 2005, Israel withdrew its military and settlers from the Gaza Strip, but still patrolled the territory's borders and airspace.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" />

=== Al-Qaeda and the Iraq War (2001–2011) ===

In 1988, [[Osama bin Laden]]—an [[Islamism|Islamist]], [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamist]], and [[Jihadism|jihadist]] of the wealthy [[bin Laden family]] which had connections to the [[House of Saud|Saudi royal family]]—founded [[al-Qaeda]], a militant terrorist organization. In 1996 and 1998, he declared war on the U.S. in response to their foreign policy in the Middle East, such as their permanent military presence in countries like Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 2024 |title=Osama bin Laden {{!}} Biography, al-Qaeda, Terrorist Attacks, Death, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Osama-bin-Laden |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> On 11 September 2001 (9/11), al-Qaeda launched a series of [[September 11 attacks|major terrorist attacks]] on various targets in the U.S., killing almost 3000 people. U.S. president [[George W. Bush]] launched a "[[war on terror]]" against terrorist organizations worldwide, including al-Qaeda and their supporters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 November 2024 |title=September 11 attacks {{!}} History, Summary, Location, Timeline, Casualties, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/September-11-attacks |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> In October, the U.S. [[United States invasion of Afghanistan|invaded Afghanistan]] to find Osama bin Laden and dissolve the [[Taliban]] government which had been harboring al-Qaeda in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 October 2024 |title=Afghanistan War {{!}} History, Combatants, Facts, & Timeline {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Afghanistan-War |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Bush soon proclaimed that Iraq, Iran, and [[North Korea]] constituted an "[[axis of evil]]" which supported anti-American terrorism.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Glass |first=Andrew |date=29 January 2019 |title=President Bush cites 'axis of evil,' Jan. 29, 2002 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/29/bush-axis-of-evil-2002-1127725 |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Politico}}</ref> His administration [[Rationale for the Iraq War|worked to falsely tie Iraq]] to 9/11, and claim Iraq too was harboring al-Qaeda.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Corn |first=David |title=The Iraq invasion 20 years later: It was indeed a Big Lie that launched the catastrophic war |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/03/the-iraq-invasion-20-years-later-it-was-indeed-a-big-lie-that-launched-the-catastrophic-war/ |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History Illustrated: How to sell a war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/3/20/history-illustrated-how-to-sell-a-war |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Mattathias |title=George W. Bush misrepresented our work at CIA to sell the Iraq invasion. It's time to call him what he is: 'A liar.' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/george-bush-liar-cia-mohammed-atta-prague-911-iraq-invasion-2023-3 |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> This was while the U.S. maintained [[Saudi Arabia–United States relations|relations with Saudi Arabia]], who have been more credibly [[Alleged Saudi role in the September 11 attacks|accused of working with the perpetrators]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Golden |first=Tim |date=11 September 2024 |title=At Least Two Saudi Officials May Have Deliberately Assisted 9/11 Hijackers, New Evidence Suggests |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/saudi-officials-may-have-assisted-911-hijackers-new-evidence-suggests |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 June 2024 |title=New video and documents revive questions about Saudi role in 9/11 attacks |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/new-video-documents-revive-questions-saudi-role-911-attacks-rcna158768 |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Mattathias |date=9 August 2024 |title=Video and Airplane Sketch Raise New Questions About Saudi Ties to 9/11 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/nyregion/sept-11-saudi-ties.html |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>[[File:SaddamStatue.jpg|thumb|The [[Firdos Square statue destruction|statue of Saddam Hussein]] in Baghdad's [[Firdos Square]] being taken down during the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]|left]]
In 2002, U.S. Defense Secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]] developed a plan to invade Iraq, remove Hussein from power, and turn Iraq into a democratic state with a [[Market economy|free-market economy]], which he hoped would serve as a model for the rest of the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LoBianco |first=Jake Tapper,Tom |date=9 June 2015 |title=Rumsfeld defends remarks about democracy in Iraq, says he wasn't criticizing Bush {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/09/politics/rumsfeld-no-democracy-in-iraq/index.html |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Naylor |first=Sean |date=28 March 2006 |title=How the Iraq War Was Planned and Launched |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/28/books/how-the-iraq-war-was-planned-and-launched.html |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cockburn |first=Andrew |date=5 July 2021 |title=Iraq was Donald Rumsfeld's war. It will forever be his legacy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/05/donald-rumsfeld-iraq-war-defence-secretary-legacy |access-date=24 November 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The Bush administration falsely claimed that Iraq was developing and hiding WMDs which could be used to harm the U.S. or other western democracies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |date=9 July 2016 |title=No, really, George W. Bush lied about WMDs |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/7/9/12123022/george-w-bush-lies-iraq-war |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=William |title='Blot' on Powell's record: Lies to the UN about Iraq's weapons |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/18/stain-on-powells-record-lies-to-the-un-about-iraqs-weapons |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bayoumi |first=Moustafa |date=14 March 2023 |title=The Iraq war started the post-truth era. And America is to blame |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/14/iraq-war-9-11-george-bush-post-truth |access-date=24 November 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] sided with the U.S.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 July 2016 |title='I will be with you, whatever': Read Blair's secret 2002 memo to Bush on Iraq |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/06/full-text-annotated-tony-blairs-2002-iraq-memo-to-george-bush/ |access-date=26 November 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoge |first=Warren |date=27 January 2003 |title=THREATS AND RESPONSES: BRITAIN; Blair Pays a Price at Home For Supporting Bush on Iraq |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/27/world/threats-responses-britain-blair-pays-price-home-for-supporting-bush-iraq.html |access-date=26 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> In March 2003, a U.S.-led international coalition [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invaded Iraq]], toppling Hussein's government in April. [[Capture of Saddam Hussein|Hussein was captured]] in December 2003, [[Trial of Saddam Hussein|put on trial]] for crimes against humanity in 2005, and was found guilty before [[Execution of Saddam Hussein|being executed]] in December 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 November 2024 |title=Iraq War {{!}} Summary, Causes, Dates, Combatants, Casualties, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iraq-War |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 November 2024 |title=Saddam Hussein {{!}} Biography, History, Death, Sons, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saddam-Hussein |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

When Hussein's government collapsed, Iraq's major cities were subject to widespread looting, and the occupation soldiers came under attack by a new [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)|Iraqi insurgency]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=23 November 2024 |title=Iraq War - Surge, Coalition, Insurgency {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Iraq-War/The-surge |access-date=26 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The insurgency was driven by Al-Qaeda, [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq|now present in Iraq]], under the leadership of [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]]. The return of formerly-persecuted Shi'a Muslims to the country [[Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)|created a civil war]] with the Sunnis, who had just lost significant power with the dissolution of the ruling [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Ba'ath Party]] and were radicalized by al-Zarqawi.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Anonymous |date=13 August 2015 |title=The Mystery of ISIS |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/08/13/mystery-isis/ |access-date=26 November 2024 |work=The New York Review of Books |language=en |volume=62 |issue=13 |issn=0028-7504}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Al-Qaeda in Iraq |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/al-Qaeda-in-Iraq#ref1112104 |access-date=26 November 2024 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

[[Casualties of the Iraq War|U.S. troop deaths rose]], while they tried to recreate Iraq as a democratic country with free elections.<ref name=":4" /> In the U.S. in 2004, it was publicized that U.S. soldiers working at the Iraqi [[Abu Ghraib prison]]—which held Iraqi prisoners of war—had engaged in [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|widespread torture and abuse]] of the inmates; these soldiers were prosecuted by the military, but it still had a negative effect on the war's popularity.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=12 November 2024 |title=Abu Ghraib prison |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Abu-Ghraib-prison |access-date=26 November 2024 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica.com }}</ref> In 2006, al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. bombing.<ref name=":5" /> In 2007, amidst greater numbers of U.S. deaths in a "grave and deteriorating" war, Bush started a [[Iraq War troop surge of 2007|surge of American troops]] in Iraq; it is debatable if successive U.S. gains in Iraq were due to the troop surge or other concurrent factors.<ref name=":4" />

=== Further conflict involving Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon (2000–2009) ===
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Hezbollah Secret Bunker (1).jpg|thumb|During the [[2006 Lebanon War]], a soldier of the [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli Defense Forces]] tosses a grenade into a bunker occupied by [[Hezbollah]] militants]]
Starting in 2000, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in skirmishes over [[2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict|land disputes]] and the [[Lebanese prisoners in Israel|detention of Lebanese nationals by Israel]]. In July 2006, Hezbollah fired a series of rockets into northern Israel and had ground troops [[2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid|cross the border into Israel]], where eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two were kidnapped. This began the [[2006 Lebanon War]], which lasted until August, when Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah agreed to follow [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701|UN Resolution 1701]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 October 2024 |title=2006 Lebanon War {{!}} Summary, Casualties, Hezbollah, & Israel {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/2006-Lebanon-War |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Windsor |first1=Richard |last2=published |first2=The Week UK |date=2 October 2024 |title=How the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war set the stage for 2024 |url=https://theweek.com/defence/how-the-2006-israel-lebanon-war-set-the-stage-for-2024 |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=theweek |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tran |first=Mark |date=30 January 2008 |title=The second Lebanon war |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/30/israelandthepalestinians.marktran |access-date=10 December 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The Palestinian militant organization [[Hamas]] won the [[2006 Palestinian legislative election]]. Israel recognized the West Bank's administration as being led by the moderate [[Fatah]], who came in second in the election. Hamas, who only succeeded in governing the Gaza Strip, was declared a hostile group. Israel started a [[Blockade of the Gaza Strip|blockade around the Gaza Strip]], closing border crossings and limiting imports into the strip. Hamas attacked Israel multiple times, before they made a six-month ceasefire agreement that lasted from June to December 2008. Once the agreement was over, the military conflict restarted with greater intensity, starting the [[Gaza War (2008–2009)|Gaza War]] of 2008 to 2009. The war ended with another ceasefire agreement, but the blockade by Israel as well as Egypt has continued until the present day.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tharoor |first=Ishaan |date=24 October 2023 |title=The election that led to Hamas taking over Gaza |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/24/gaza-election-hamas-2006-palestine-israel/ |access-date=10 December 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>[[File:Burj Khalifa.jpg|thumb|The [[Burj Khalifa]], the world's tallest building, was completed in [[Dubai|Dubai, UAE]] in 2010]]

=== Dubai in the 21st century ===
In the first decades of the 21st century, the [[United Arab Emirates|Emirati]] city of [[Dubai]] underwent rapid development in previously barren desert land. This included the 2010 opening of the [[Burj Khalifa]], the world's tallest building at 2,717 feet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas Jr. |first=Landon |date=4 January 2010 |title=Dubai Opens a Tower to Beat All |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/business/global/05tower.html |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Robert Simmon, Holli Riebeek, and Michon |date=17 January 2012 |title=NASA Scientific Visualization Studio {{!}} Dubai's Rapid Growth |url=https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10894 |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=NASA Scientific Visualization Studio |language=english}}</ref> In 2016, ''[[Forbes]]'' wrote that Dubai could be "the most important city" of the century, noting that its growth increased the population of the UAE by around 1.3 million in the previous decade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacBride |first=Elizabeth |title=Nine Reasons Dubai Could Be The Most Important City Of The 21st Century |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride/2016/03/31/9-reasons-dubai-could-be-21st-century-capital/ |access-date=24 November 2024 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

=== Arab Spring (2010–2012) ===
In the early 2010s, the [[Arab Spring]] [[revolutionary wave]] created major protests and uprisings to several Middle Eastern and Arab-majority countries' governments. It started in December 2010 with the [[Tunisian revolution]], which forced the resignation of the country's president [[Zine El Abidine Ben Ali|Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali]]. In January 2011, the [[2011 Egyptian revolution|Egyptian Revolution]] started which forced the resignation of Hosni Mubarak in February. In Bahrain, protests against the government in February and March 2011 were violently suppressed by the government. In March, [[Syrian revolution|protests in Syria]] against Bashar al-Assad were violently suppressed, leading to the [[Syrian civil war]] that year. In Yemen, protests forced the resignation of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was succeeded by [[Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi]] in November; Hadi's government was similar unstable, which led to the [[Yemeni civil war (2014–present)|Yemeni civil war]] which started in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2024 |title=Arab Spring {{!}} History, Revolution, Causes, Effects, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Spring |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2020 |title=Arab Spring |url=https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/arab-spring |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 February 2021 |title=Arab Spring: How the uprisings still echo, 10 years on |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56000950 |access-date=21 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Modern Yemeni conflicts (2003–present) ===
In 2003, the Iran-backed Yemeni [[Houthi movement]] began [[Houthi insurgency|an insurgency]] against Saleh's government—which persecuted [[Zaydism|Zaydi]] Shi'ites—as well as Saudi Arabia.<ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Jung |first=Meen Wook |title=Is everyone equally exposed to heat risk? Socio-economic characteristics and urban heat island in the Global South |date=2022 |publisher=Iowa State University |doi=10.31274/td-20240329-464 |url=https://doi.org/10.31274/td-20240329-464}}</ref> In 2009, [[al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula]] formed in Yemen, causing Saudi Arabia to secure their [[Saudi Arabia–Yemen border|border with Yemen]].<ref name=":17" /> The Yemeni civil war, ongoing since 2014, has been fought between the [[Republic of Yemen]] government; the Houthis and their [[Supreme Political Council]] government; al-Qaeda; and each faction's allies. In September 2014, the Houthis [[Battle of Sanaa (2014)|took over]] the Yemeni capital of [[Sanaa]], and Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi was put under house arrest. He escaped to Saudi Arabia in 2015. Saudi Arabia and the UAE fought alongside the Republic of Yemen, but the Houthis maintained their holdings. The Houthis [[Battle of Aden (2018)|captured]] the city of [[Aden]] in 2018, influencing the UAE to withdraw from Yemen.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Yemeni Civil War |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Yemeni-Civil-War#ref373212 |access-date=10 December 2024}}</ref>

=== Syrian civil war and the Islamic State (2011–present) ===

2012 was successful for [[Syrian opposition|Syrian rebel groups]] opposing al-Assad, establishing a foothold in Aleppo. The [[Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016)|Battle of Aleppo]] became a stalemate in early 2013. The civil war soon became a proxy war, as al-Assad received support from Hezbollah, Iran, and Russia, while rebel groups—starting to have their own infighting—received support from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the U.S.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=Syrian Civil War - Conflict, Refugees, Destruction {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Syrian-Civil-War/Civil-war |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> In August 2013, hundreds of civilians in Damascus [[Ghouta chemical attack|were killed]] in a [[Ghouta chemical attack|chemical attack]] by the al-Assad regime.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Suleiman |first=Ali Haj |title='Foaming at the mouth': 10 years since chemical attacks in Syria's Ghouta |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/21/people-foaming-at-the-mouth-10-years-since-chemical-attacks-in-ghouta |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=31 May 2024 |title=Reporters - Syria's Ghouta chemical attack: Exiled activists seek justice for 2013 atrocity |url=https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/reporters/20240531-syria-ghouta-chemical-attack-exiled-activists-seek-justice-2013-atrocity |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref> This caused debate in the U.S., U.K., and France over whether or not they should militarily intervene in Syria. This was opposed by China, Iran, and Russia. In September, Syria, the U.S., and Russia made an agreement that al-Assad would rid Syria of chemical weapons, which was [[Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons|successfully carried out]]. Meanwhile, the [[Al-Nusra Front]], an Islamist al-Qaeda affiliate, had military success in Syria.<ref name=":6" />[[File:Territoires de l'Etat islamique juin 2015.png|thumb|A map of Syria and Iraq in June 2015, showing territories controlled by, among others, [[Ba'athist Syria]] (pink), the [[Islamic State]] at their greatest extent (gray), [[Kurdistan|Kurdish forces]] (yellow), and the Republic of Iraq (purple)|250x250px|left]]

In 2013, a Sunni insurgent terrorist group, the [[Islamic State]] (IS), started an offensive that took [[Territory of the Islamic State|large amounts of territory]] in Iraq and Syria, fighting both the Iraqi government and, in Syria, al-Assad and his opposing rebels. In June 2014, IS proclaimed themselves a caliphate led by [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]]. They launched many terrorist attacks worldwide.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 2024 |title=Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) {{!}} History, Leadership, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-State-in-Iraq-and-the-Levant |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> IS' growth overshadowed the successes of the Al-Nusra Front.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 April 2018 |title=What is ISIS? Key facts about the Islamic State |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/smart-facts/what-isis-what-you-need-know-about-islamic-state-iraq-n859996 |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> In 2016, the Al-Nusra Front cut ties with al-Qaeda and soon dissolved, succeeded by the group [[Tahrir al-Sham]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 January 2017 |title=Al Qaeda and allies announce 'new entity' in Syria {{!}} FDD's Long War Journal |url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/01/al-qaeda-and-allies-announce-new-entity-in-syria.php |access-date=8 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128200911/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/01/al-qaeda-and-allies-announce-new-entity-in-syria.php |archive-date=28 January 2017 }}</ref>

There was an [[War against the Islamic State|international military campaign]] against IS in Iraq and Syria from 2013 to 2017, which fed into the Syrian civil war. The U.S. and a coalition of Arab countries [[US intervention in the Syrian civil war|bombed IS]]; [[Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war|Russia bombed]] IS and unrelated Syrian rebel groups, falsely claiming they [Russia] were mostly targeting IS. The U.S. allied with Kurdish-aligned forces such as the [[Syrian Democratic Forces]]. Turkey and the Kurds continued their decades-long war with each other, while both were allied with the U.S. and fighting IS. Turkey [[Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war|backed Syrian rebels]] along the [[Syria–Turkey border]], and the Turkish military directly [[Turkish occupation of northern Syria|occupied part of northern Syria]] in August 2016 to fight IS and the Kurds. IS was thus fighting three simultaneous fronts: al-Assad, Kurds, and Turkey, as well as each of their allies.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=31 October 2024 |title=Turkey looks to end Kurdish PKK conflict as regional instability grows |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-looks-end-kurdish-pkk-conflict-regional-instability-grows-2024-10-31/ |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaheen |first=Kareem |date=24 August 2016 |title=Turkey sends tanks into Syria in operation aimed at Isis and Kurds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/turkey-launches-major-operation-against-isis-in-key-border-town |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

Outnumbered, IS lost control of three major cities: Aleppo, [[Raqqa]], and [[Deir ez-Zor|Deir al-Zour]]. The group was "effectively defeated" by November 2017, though they kept a small territory until 2019.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=The rise and fall of ISIL explained |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/6/20/the-rise-and-fall-of-isil-explained |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> In 2018, [[Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war|Israel targeted Iranian soldiers]] stationed in Syria.<ref name=":6" /> [[Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi|Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died]] in Syria in October 2019, when he committed suicide amidst an attack on him by U.S. forces.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 October 2019 |title=Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: IS leader 'dead after US raid' in Syria |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50200339 |access-date=21 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 October 2019 |title=ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in U.S. raid in Syria |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-leader-isis-targeted-u-s-raid-n1072506 |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> While the original IS organization declined, a branch of IS based in south-central Asia named [[Islamic State – Khorasan Province]] became more powerful in the 2020s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 August 2021 |title=Afghanistan: Who are Islamic State Khorasan Province militants? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58333533 |access-date=8 December 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 October 2024 |title=ISIS-K threat grows as it targets disaffected Muslims with sophisticated propaganda |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/isis-k-threat-grows-targets-disaffected-muslims-sophisticated-propagan-rcna175646 |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

=== 2014 Gaza War ===
In 2014, Hamas militants kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers, and two Israelis retaliated by murdering a Palestinian teenager. Large demonstrations by people in both Israel and Palestine led to exchanges of rocket fire between Israel and Hamas. Israel launched a [[2014 Gaza War|ground invasion of the Gaza Strip]] to destroy [[Palestinian tunnel warfare in the Gaza Strip|Hamas' underground tunnel network]] that was used to store their missiles. Israel successfully destroyed them, limiting Hamas' ability to greatly attack Israel for around a decade. Israel and Hamas then agreed to a ceasefire.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 October 2023 |title=How Does Israel's Last Invasion of Gaza Compare to Now? |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/how-does-israel-s-last-invasion-of-gaza-compare-to-now-/7314700.html |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref>

=== COVID-19 pandemic (2020–present) ===
In late 2019, the deadly [[COVID-19|Coronavirus disease 2019]] (COVID-19), which is transmitted by the contagious [[coronavirus]] [[SARS-CoV-2]], was [[COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei|first detected in China]]. By March 2020, the disease had spread worldwide, and its spread was [[World Health Organization response to the COVID-19 pandemic|declared a pandemic]] by the [[World Health Organization]] that month.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archived: WHO Timeline - COVID-19 |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/27-04-2020-who-timeline---covid-19 |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref> Jon Alterman writes for the [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] that the Middle East "navigated [COVID-19] better than many initially had feared", as its governments prioritized [[Preventive healthcare|preventative measures]] against the disease, such as distributing [[COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccines]].<ref name=":48">{{Cite journal |last=Alterman |first=Jon B. |date=April 27, 2021 |title=Covid-19 Splits the Middle East |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/covid-19-splits-middle-east |journal=[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] |language=en |pages=1}}</ref> Compared to other regions of the world, Middle Eastern countries generally had lower rates of death (Jordan and Lebanon being exceptions), and less national economies faced massive decline (Lebanon and Syria being exceptions), even for countries economically dependent on tourism.<ref name=":48" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Infographic: Cumulative deaths from COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/infographic-cumulative-deaths-from-covid-19-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref>[[File:Damages after 2020 Beirut explosions 1.jpg|thumb|Aftermath of the [[2020 Beirut explosion]], showing the city's ruined port right by its downtown area]]

=== Lebanon liquidity crisis and Beirut explosion (2019—present) ===
Lebanon was already facing a [[Lebanese liquidity crisis|national economic crisis]] when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated their economic decline. This crisis further worsened in August 2020, when the city of Beirut [[2020 Beirut explosion|was heavily damaged]] in a large explosion; a stockade of [[ammonium nitrate]] had been negligently left in the [[Port of Beirut]] for years until 4 August, when the stockade exploded, destroying most of the port and creating a [[Shock wave|shockwave]] which damaged much of the city. At least 200 people were killed, 6,000 injured, and 300,000 were made homeless.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Mawad |first=Dalal |date=3 August 2023 |title=The aftermath: how the Beirut explosion has left scars on an already broken Lebanon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/03/port-of-beirut-explosion-aftermath-scars-on-already-broken-lebanon |access-date=21 November 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 January 2023 |title=Investigation into Beirut's massive 2020 port blast resumes |url=https://apnews.com/article/politics-beirut-lebanon-03eb5ff04f6ad86b3d0d6fb2ab25bdd6 |access-date=21 November 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=DC |first=Arab Center Washington |date=2025-01-02 |title=Lebanon Struggles to Pick up the Pieces After the Beirut Port Explosion |url=https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/lebanon-struggles-to-pick-up-the-pieces-after-the-beirut-port-explosion/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Arab Center Washington DC |language=en-US}}</ref> 

=== Israeli conflict with Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, and Iran (2023–present) ===
[[File:7 october collage.jpg|thumb|Various pictures of the [[7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel|7 October 2023 attack]] on Israel by [[Hamas]]: a satellite photo of fires throughout Israel, destroyed buildings, and civilians being attacked]]
In 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu returned as Israeli prime minister, cementing what [[CNN]] referred to as "Israel’s likely most right-wing government ever".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tal |first=Rob Picheta,Hadas Gold,Amir |date=29 December 2022 |title=Benjamin Netanyahu sworn in as leader of Israel's likely most right-wing government ever |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/29/middleeast/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-swearing-in-intl/index.html |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 December 2022 |title=Israel swears in Netanyahu as prime minister, most right-wing government in country's history |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israel-swears-in-netanyahu-as-prime-minister-most-right-wing-government-in-countrys-history |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=PBS News |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 December 2022 |title=Israel's most right-wing government agreed under Benjamin Netanyahu |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63942616 |access-date=12 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a [[7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel|large-scale surprise attack on Israel]], killing around 1,200 people, the majority Israeli civilians. Hundreds were [[Gaza war hostage crisis|taken hostage by Hamas]]. It was the deadliest day in the history of Israel, who [[Gaza war|declared war]] on Hamas.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=12 November 2024 |title=Israel-Hamas War {{!}} Explanation, Summary, Casualties, & Map {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Israel-Hamas-War |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=7 October 2024 |title=Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7: The deadliest day in Israel's history |url=https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20241007-hamas-terrorist-attacks-7-october-deadliest-day-israel-history-anniversary |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 2024 |title=The October 7 hostages: A national cause suppressed by Benjamin Netanyahu |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/10/07/the-october-7-hostages-a-national-cause-suppressed-by-benjamin-netanyahu_6728471_4.html |access-date=12 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Hezbollah began [[Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)|rocket attacks on Israel]], and Israel responded with air strikes.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=12 November 2024 |title=Hezbollah {{!}} Meaning, History, Ideology, Iran, Israel, & Flag {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hezbollah |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hezbollah rocket attacks kill seven in northern Israel |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8yjr3zyz8o |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=www.bbc.com |date=November 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Israeli also conducted [[Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip|air strikes on Gaza]], followed by a [[Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip|full land invasion]]. By November 2024, 43,000 Gazan civilians and militants have been [[Casualties of the Gaza war|killed in the war]] and most of the strip has been destroyed.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 November 2024 |title=Israeli strikes kill 31 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and 6 east of Beirut, medics say |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-lebanon-hezbollah-iran-news-november-12-2024-095148946dcc1d0dcb75cbd423b1be3a |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 November 2024 |title=Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon and isolated northern Gaza, officials say |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israeli-strikes-kill-dozens-lebanon-isolated-northern-gaza-officials-s-rcna179490 |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>[[File:An aerial view showing destruction in Rafah after Israeli forces withdrawal and as the ceasefire took hold, Gaza Strip.jpg|thumb|Aerial view showing the destruction of [[Rafah]] in the [[Gaza Strip]] in January 2025]]There were multiple peace talks between Israel and Hamas—involving the U.S.—but most of these failed.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Al Jazeera Staff |title=Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks: A timeline of obstruction |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/15/israel-hamas-ceasefire-talks-a-timeline-of-obstruction |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2 November 2024 |title=War grinds on as peace talks continue to falter |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/war-grinds-peace-talks-continue-falter-rcna178500 |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> U.S. president [[Joe Biden]] minorly held back Israel's plans for Gaza,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liptak |first=Kevin |date=8 May 2024 |title=Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if it launches major invasion of Rafah {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/politics/joe-biden-interview-cnntv/index.html |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2024 |title=How Joe Biden lost his grip on Israel's war for 'total victory' in Gaza |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/03/biden-israel-gaza-war-middle-east-crisis/ |access-date=12 November 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dress |first=Brad |date=13 May 2024 |title=Why Biden is holding back heavy bombs from Israel |url=https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4657423-why-biden-holding-back-heavy-bombs-israel/ |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=The Hill}}</ref> while at the same time [[United States support for Israel in the Gaza war|supplying Israel with weapons]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 May 2024 |title=Biden administration is sending $1 billion more in weapons, ammo to Israel, congressional aides say |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/15/biden-administration-sending-1-billion-more-in-weapons-to-israel-congressional-aides.html |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 August 2024 |title=Biden administration approves $20 billion in weapons, aircraft sales to Israel - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-approves-20-billion-weapons-sales-israel-hamas-backs-out-cease-fire-talks/ |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Seligman |first=Lara |date=15 May 2024 |title=Confused about Biden's Israel weapons policy? Here's what you should know. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/15/biden-israel-weapons-policy-00158210 |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=Politico}}</ref> Israel [[Palestinian genocide accusation|was accused]] by multiple countries and international organizations of committing a [[Gaza genocide|genocide of Palestinians]]. Iran formed an anti-Israel "[[Axis of Resistance|axis of resistance]]" with Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, and Yemeni [[Houthi movement|Houthis]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2024 |title=What is Iran's 'Axis of Resistance'? |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/what-is-irans-axis-resistance-which-groups-are-involved-2024-01-29/ |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 October 2024 |title=What to Know About the Axis of Resistance, the Iran-backed Militia Network |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/axis-resistance-iran-militia.html |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>  Iran and Israel launched air strikes at each other.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 October 2024 |title=Israel's first open attack on Iran targets missile sites and apparently spares oil and nuclear ones |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-lebanon-hezbollah-iran-news-10-26-2024-9c9f366c71c508e6dd0ee74cff8400d2 |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 October 2024 |title=Israel Strikes Iran in Retaliatory Attack |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/10/25/world/israel-lebanon-gaza-iran |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> The Houthis [[Red Sea crisis|attacked shipping]] in the Red Sea, leading to a U.S.-led [[Operation Prosperity Guardian|military response]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 November 2024 |title=Houthi movement {{!}} Yemen, Rebels, Red Sea Attacks, & Religion {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Houthi-movement#ref1300931 |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Sabbagh |first1=Dan |last2=Defence |first2=Dan Sabbagh |last3=editor |first3=security |date=19 December 2023 |title=US announces naval coalition to defend Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/19/us-announces-naval-coalition-to-defend-red-sea-shipping-from-houthi-attacks |access-date=12 November 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
In September 2024, Israeli intelligence launched a [[2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks|widespread attack in Lebanon]], by flooding the country with electronic devices such as [[pager]]s which had been rigged to explode. The devices were intended to be sold to Hezbollah members, though some civilians were killed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 September 2024 |title=What we know about the Hezbollah device explosions |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz04m913m49o |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheung |first=Eliza Mackintosh, Tamara Qiblawi, Yong Xiong, Kara Fox, Wayne Chang, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Eric |date=27 September 2024 |title=Israel concealed explosives inside batteries of pagers sold to Hezbollah, Lebanese officials say |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/27/middleeast/israel-pager-attack-hezbollah-lebanon-invs-intl/index.html |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 September 2024 |title=Lebanon is rocked again by exploding devices as Israel declares a new phase of war |url=https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-exploding-pagers-hezbollah-syria-ce6af3c2e6de0a0dddfae48634278288 |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> In October, Israel [[2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon|invaded Lebanon]], escalating their conflict with Hezbollah.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 October 2024 |title=What to know about Israel's ground invasion in southern Lebanon |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-what-to-know-hezbollah-incursion-c44358cb4c70db69bdab4b254cb2ed76 |access-date=12 November 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Dissolution of Ba'athist Syria (2024) ===
In December, [[2024 Syrian opposition offensives|a coalition]] of Syrian opposition armies [[Fall of Damascus (2024)|captured Damascus]], forcing Bashar al-Assad [[Fall of the Assad regime|to flee the country]]—likely to Russia—ending [[Ba'athist Syria]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=Assad gets asylum in Russia, rebels sweep through Syria |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-celebrate-captured-homs-set-sights-damascus-2024-12-07/ |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chowdhury |first=Lucas Lilieholm, Eyad Kourdi, Raja Razek, Edward Szekeres, Simone McCarthy, Catherine Nicholls, Sophie Tanno, Maureen |date=8 December 2024 |title=Assad flees to Moscow as Syria rebels capture Damascus |url=https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/syria-civil-war-12-08-2024/index.html |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Since 2022, al-Assad had received less support from Russia, who were "bogged down" in the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Troianovski |first=Anton |date=8 December 2024 |title=Bogged Down in Ukraine, Russia Pays a Price in Syria |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/europe/russia-syria-assad-putin.html |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]], the head of Tahrir al-Sham from 2017 to 2025, became president of Syria's new national government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chehayeb |first=Kareen |date=8 December 2024 |title=Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria's Assad? |url=https://apnews.com/article/syria-insurgents-algolani-hts-aab4c8894238904a4e351076726499fb |access-date=8 December 2024 |website=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Christou |first=William |date=29 January 2025 |title=Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa made transitional president of Syria |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/29/rebel-leader-ahmad-al-sharaa-made-transitional-president-of-syria |access-date=31 January 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Timeline of Middle Eastern history]]
* [[Genetic history of the Middle East]]
* [[List of modern conflicts in the Middle East]]
'''By country:'''
* [[History of Bahrain]]
* [[History of Cyprus]]
* [[History of Egypt]]
* [[History of Iran]]
* [[History of Iraq]]
* [[History of Israel]]
* [[History of Jordan]]
* [[History of Kuwait]]
* [[History of Lebanon]]
* [[History of Oman]]
* [[History of Palestine]]
* [[History of Qatar]]
* [[History of Saudi Arabia]]
* [[History of Syria]]
* [[History of Turkey]]
* [[History of the United Arab Emirates]]
* [[History of Yemen]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{citation|last=Esposito|first=John L.|title=The Oxford History of Islam|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-19-510799-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=imw_KFD5bsQC&pg=PR7|edition=Illustrated|author-link=John Esposito}}
* {{citation|last=Guzman|first=Gregory|title=Christian Europe and Mongol Asia: First Medieval Intercultural Contact Between East and West|journal=Essays in Medieval Studies|year=1985|volume=2|url=http://www.illinoismedieval.org/EMS/EMSpdf/V2/V2Guzman.pdf}}
* {{citation|last=Hourani|first=Albert|title=A History of the Arab Peoples|year=2013|publisher=Faber and Faber|isbn=978-0-571-30249-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irtb55WDsjMC|edition=Updated|author-link=Albert Hourani}}
* {{citation|last=Stearns|first=Peter N.|year=2007|title=A Brief History of the World|publisher=[[The Teaching Company]]|author-link=Peter Stearns}}
* {{citation |last1=Stearns |first1=Peter N. |author-link1=Peter Stearns |last2=Adas |first2=Michael |author-link2=Michael Adas |last3=Schwartz |first3=Stuart B. |author-link3=Stuart B. Schwartz |last4=Gilbert |first4=Marc Jason |title=World Civilizations: The Global Experience |year=2011 |publisher=Longman |location=Upper Saddle River, NJ |isbn=978-0-13-136020-4 |edition=6th}}
* {{citation|last=Wawro|first=Geoffrey|title=Historical Atlas: A Comprehensive History of the World|year=2008|publisher=Millennium House|location=Elanora Heights, NSW, Australia|isbn=978-1-921209-23-9|author-link=Geoffrey Wawro}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* Cheta, Omar Youssef. "The economy by other means: The historiography of capitalism in the modern Middle East." ''History Compass'' (April 2018) 16#4 DOI: 10.1111/hic3.12444
* Cleveland, William L. and Martin Bunton. (2016) ''A History of the Modern Middle East.'' 6th ed. Westview Press.
* Fawaz, Leila Tarazi. ''A Land of Aching Hearts: The Middle East in the Great War'' (2014)
* Fawcett, Louise, ed. ''International relations of the Middle East'' (Oxford University Press, 2013)
* Gause III, F. Gregory. "'Hegemony' Compared: Great Britain and the United States in the Middle East." ''Security Studies'' 28.3 (2019): 565-587. https://doi.org/10.1080/09636412.2019.1604987
* Goldschmidt, Arthur, and Lawrence Davidson. ''A concise history of the Middle East'' (Westview Press, 1991)
* Issawi, Charles. ''An economic history of the Middle East and North Africa'' (Routledge, 2013) [https://books.google.com/books?id=lZ5TAQAAQBAJ Excerpt and text search]
* Issawi, Charles, ed. ''The Economic History of the Middle East 1800–1914: A Book of Readings'' (1966) [https://archive.org/details/economichistoryo0000unse_o2c3 online] 
* Kirk, George Eden. ''A short history of the Middle East: from the rise of Islam to modern times''(Methuen, 1964) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.206224/page/n5/mode/2up online]
* {{citation|last=[[Bernard Lewis|Lewis]]|first=Bernard|title=The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years|location=New York|publisher=Scribner|year=1995}}
* Monroe, Elizabeth. '' Britain's Moment in the Middle East, 1914–1956'' (1963) [https://www.questia.com/library/954023/britain-s-moment-in-the-middle-east-1914-1956 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921121807/https://www.questia.com/library/954023/britain-s-moment-in-the-middle-east-1914-1956 |date=21 September 2018 }}
* {{citation|title=A History of the Middle East|last1=Mansfield|first1=Peter|last2=Pelham|first2=Nicolas|year=2013|edition=4|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-7181-9967-8}}
* {{citation|last=Rogan|first=Eugene|year=2009|title=The Arabs: A History}}
* {{citation|last=Quataert|first=Donald|title=The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T1jR39OM_hsC|isbn=978-1-139-44591-7}}
* Vasiliev, Alexey. ''Russia's Middle East Policy: From Lenin to Putin'' (Routledge, 2018).
* [[Robert F. Worth|Worth, Robert F.]], "Syria's Lost Chance" (review of Elizabeth F. Thompson, ''How the West Stole Democracy from the Arabs: the Syrian Arab Congress of 1920 and the Destruction of Its Historic Liberal-Islamic Alliance'', Atlantic Monthly, 466 pp.), ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'', vol. LXVII, no. 15 (8 October 2020), pp.&nbsp;31–33. Worth writes (p.&nbsp;33): "Perhaps things would have been different if the Syrians had been left to govern themselves a century ago."
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Wikipedia_-_History_of_the_Middle_East.ogg|date=28 March 2008}}
* [http://www.qdl.qa/en/articles-from-our-experts Articles From Our Experts] – [[Qatar Digital Library]] – an online portal providing access to previously undigitised [[British Library]] archive materials relating to Persian Gulf history and Arabic science
* [http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552622 The Middle East : peace and the changing order] from the [[Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives]]
* [http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/6308/1/Ancient-Civilizations--Mesopotamia.html Ancient Civilizations Medicine]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131017014421/http://www.aina.org/brief.html Assyrians]
* [http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/MidEast_Cultural_Historical_Zones_lg.png Middle East: Primary Cultural and Historical Zones]

{{Middle East}}
{{Middle East topic| History of }}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of The Middle East}}
[[Category:History of West Asia| ]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern studies]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]