The history of the Middle East and Israel: Tracing the empires that ruled 'the cradle of civilisation'

The region of the Middle East, often dubbed the "Cradle of Civilisation," brought many breakthroughs in fields such as astronomy, mathematics and philosophy. Some of the most prominent ancient civilisations that emerged in this region include Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia and the Levant. 

In the 13th century, a Turkish tribe initiated a series of conquests that ultimately led to the rise of the Ottoman Empire. This empire controlled the vast majority of the Middle East, extending its influence as far as the gates of Vienna and reigning for centuries.

However, the modern borders of the Middle East began to take form in the early 20th century following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Although the once-mighty empires no longer governed the region, the struggle for land, oil and power continues to shape the modern history of the Middle East. Here we trace the history of the Middle East up to the establishment of Israel.

Early Mesopotamia (4000 BCE-323 BCE): This region witnessed the birth of agriculture, writing and technology, with ancient Mesopotamia playing a key role. The Levant saw the creation of the first alphabet. Civilisation in this area dates back to the fourth millennium. It was a time when various empires, including the first Egyptian and Sumerian civilisations, the Akkadian Empire, Babylonian Empire, Neo-Assyrian Empire, Phoenician Empire and Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, rose and fell.

Greek and Roman Empires (323 BCE-632 CE): In 334 BCE, Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king, successfully invaded and conquered the entire Persian Empire. At the time of his death in 323 BCE, his empire spanned from Greece to northwestern India. Although Hellenistic cultural impacts in the area have often been eclipsed by later empires, traces of Hellenic history endure, even in something as simple as names, such as Alexandria in Egypt or the historical name of Amman, known as "Philadelphia."

The rise and fall of empires

Throughout its history, the Middle East has been a battleground for powerful empires. The region saw the rise and fall of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Achaemenids, Seleucids, and eventually the Roman and Byzantine Empires. These empires left a mark on the cultural, religious, and political landscape of the Middle East. The spread of Christianity and later Islam in this region significantly shaped the course of world history.

The Early Roman Empire (31 BCE-285 CE): In 31 BCE, Augustus toppled Hellenic powers, marking the start of the Roman Empire. He ruled until 14 CE, implementing legal reforms and securing the empire's borders, establishing a 200-year Pax Romana. However, from 235 CE, the Roman Empire faced persistent threats, leading to its division by Diocletian in 285 CE. The Western Roman Empire oversaw the West, while the Eastern Roman Empire governed the East, evolving into the Byzantine Empire, which continued to rule the Middle Eastern territories.

The Byzantine Empire (285 CE –  632 CE): The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, but the Byzantine Empire endured until 1453 CE when Constantinople was captured by the Ottomans. However, its Middle East power waned by the mid-7th century due to Islamic forces invading and taking over territories like Syria, Palestine, Egypt and North Africa.

The Islamic Empires (632 CE - 1918 CE): After the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE, Islam spread throughout the Middle East. From 632 to 661 CE, the "Rashidun" caliphate was established and led by the first four Islamic Caliphs: Abu Bakr (632-634 CE), 'Umar (634-644 CE), 'Uthman (644-656 CE) and 'Ali (656-661 CE). Following Ali's death, the Umayyad family took power and founded the first significant Islamic dynasty.

The Umayyad Dynasty (661 CE - 750 CE): The Umayyad family, led by Abu Sufyan, were initially wealthy Qurayshi merchants who resisted converting to Islam. However, they later became prominent in Prophet Muhammad's administration and subsequently as Caliphs. After years of conflict, Abu Sufyan's son, Mu'awiya I, overthrew 'Ali, the last "Rightly Guided" Caliph, establishing the Umayyad dynasty.

The Umayyad dynasty had two branches: the Sufyanids and the Marwanids. Mu'awiya I and his descendants ruled from 661-684 CE, while Marwan I and his successors reigned from 684 CE until the dynasty's end in 750 CE. They promoted the Arabisation of the region, making Arabic the official language and introducing Arabic currency in place of Byzantine coins. Notably, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was completed under the Umayyad dynasty in 692 CE.

The Abbasid Dynasty (750 CE - 1258 CE):  The Abbasid Dynasty, the second significant Islamic Empire, was founded in 747 CE after ousting the Umayyad Caliph, Marwan II. They expanded their influence and relocated the capital to Baghdad, but eventually faced internal challenges in the 9th century. The Buyids and Seljuks established rival dynasties, and in 1258 CE, the Mongols sacked Baghdad, ending the Abbasid rule. The Mongols were later stopped by the Mamluks in the Middle East, who then established their empire.

The Mamluk Dynasty (1260-1517): The Mamluks, originally Turkish slave soldiers, served the Abbasid dynasty in the 9th century. The name 'Mamluk' means 'possessed' in Arabic. They rose to power, overthrowing caliphs within the Abbasid dynasty and defending against Mongol and Crusader invasions. Despite being non-Arab Muslims, they earned respect in the Arab-Islamic world. They retained influence in Egypt and Syria even after these areas became Ottoman provinces in 1517.

The Ottoman Empire (1517-1918): The Ottoman Empire, which governed the Middle East from Algeria to Iraq for 400 years, collapsed after World War I. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire expanded, controlling trade routes and reshaping the Islamic world. It faced internal issues but retained influence in the 16th and 17th centuries. By the 18th century, Western pressures led to its decline, prompting 19th-century reforms for centralisation.

In 1908, the Young Turks overthrew the monarchy, initiating modernisation. However, the Ottoman Empire's involvement in World War I, overestimating German support, led to its downfall. After the war in 1918, Western powers divided up the Ottoman territories using the Sykes-Picot Agreement, shaping modern Middle Eastern nation-states.

In 1917, Leon Trotsky's publication of the Sykes-Picot Agreement in the Izvestia newspaper was a pivotal event in Middle Eastern history, revealing secret European plans to partition the Ottoman Empire after World War I.

This revelation had a profound impact on the region, infuriating many Arabs who felt betrayed by the Allies and bolstering the Bolsheviks in Russia. Lenin characterised the agreement as "the agreement of the colonial thieves." It exemplified European imperialism, with lasting repercussions in the Middle East.

The modern day Middle East

After World War I, the League of Nations granted Britain the mandate to govern Palestine. The British Mandate provided the political framework for the eventual establishment of Israel.

The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a small minority Jewish population.

Although the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine was met with strong opposition from the Arab population, factors such as Zionism and Jewish settlements which began in the last 1800s, were already planted in historic Palestine.  

The Holocaust increased international support for the creation of a Jewish state and saw an accelerated immigration of Jews to historic Palestine in the mid-1940s — many survivors and refugees from the Holocaust. 

In 1947, the United Nations passed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which recommended the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international administration. The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Arab states who saw it as a usurpation of their ancestral lands.  

On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, declared the establishment of the State of Israel. This declaration was followed by the 1948 Six-Day War – which is dubbed as Israel's Independence War. 

The State of Israel was recognised by several countries, and it became a member of the United Nations in 1949.

Meanwhile other middle eastern countries started to take shape following WWI. Saudi Arabia's modern borders were shaped through negotiations and conflicts involving Abdulaziz Ibn Saud and Sharif Hussein during and after World War I. The Treaty of Jeddah (1927) and the Treaty of Taif (1934) established the modern Saudi state, consolidating control over the Hejaz region and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Egypt gained independence from British control in 1922 after the Declaration of 1917 recognized its sovereignty. However, British military presence in the Suez Canal Zone continued until 1956. Jordan emerged from the Transjordan region, placed under British mandate by the League of Nations in 1920. It became a separate emirate in 1921 under Hashemite ruler Abdullah I and transitioned into the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946.

Lebanon's borders were delineated in the aftermath of World War I when France received a mandate from the League of Nations over Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon became a separate entity, and its borders were defined by French authorities. Syria's modern borders were shaped by the French mandate, separating it from Lebanon and creating Greater Syria. Syria achieved independence from French rule in 1946. Colonial and imperial actions influenced these border decisions, impacting the region's political dynamics and ethnic composition, with lasting consequences.