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?
Middle East
Before the Taliban
Reporting from the frontlines of the mujahideen war against the Soviet Union.
Here be Dragomans
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.
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.
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?
Oil and Water: The Tanker Wars
The Strait of Hormuz has become a fraught passage in the Tanker Wars between Iran and Iraq.
The First Tanker War with Iran
If tensions between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf lead to war, it will not be the first time. In 1987 and 1988, the US intervened to protect shipping from Iranian attacks.