Middle East

Frieze panel showing triumphant Romans carrying the seven-branched menorah from the Temple of Jerusalem from the Arch of Titus, Rome, by Edizione Brogi, c.1875-1907. Rijksmuseum. Public Domain.

Jerusalem Burning, AD 70

When Roman forces burned the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, the Flavian dynasty thought it had defeated the Jewish god in the name of Jupiter. It was mistaken.

The Fall of Isfahan

In March 1722 rebellious Afghan forces laid siege to the Safavid capital. Was the great Iranian empire on the brink of collapse?

Ahmad Massoud (right) with adviser Abdullah Abdullah at his HQ, Charikar, Afghanistan, 1996.

Before the Taliban

Reporting from the frontlines of the mujahideen war against the Soviet Union.

For wealthy tourists travelling to the Middle East in the 19th century, the services of a dragoman were an essential purchase. Yet the often difficult lives of these local agents and guides remain elusive.

Yemen’s Endless Wars

For more than a century, what is now Yemen has seen waves of insurgency and conflict backed by competing foreign powers.

A Turning Point in Arab-Israeli Relations?

2020’s Abraham Accords was described at the time as ‘historic’. Four experts consider whether it will lead to long-term change.

The Hajj, by Alfred Dehodencq, c.1880 © Hulton Getty Images.

Pilgrims Processed

Muslims from Asia who wished to travel to Mecca on the Hajj were exploited by a trade in human cargo that grew with the opening of the Suez Canal.

British and Indian troops at the Lions’ Gate, Jerusalem’s Old City, 4 April 1920. Courtesy Library of Congress/G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. Public Domain.

A House Divided in the Nebi Musa Riots

What did the Easter 1920 riots in Jerusalem reveal about British rule in Palestine?

Slaves to War

The military elite of the Muslim world was comprised of men who had been captured and forced into service. But to what extent were they subject to slavery?