Middle East

Christopher J. Walker asks whether the two religions that frequently appear locked in an inevitable clash of civilizations in fact share more than has often been thought.

Kristian Ulrichsen believes that the politicians and planners behind the 2003 invasion ignored the lessons of the first British occupation of Iraq, which began with the capture of Baghdad from the Ottomans in 1917.

Frankish disunity and impetuosity produced a disaster that lost Christendom the holy city of Jerusalem.

While Hezbollah often hits the headlines, its history is less familiar. The emergence of Shia militancy in Lebanon was centuries in the making.

Jonathan Phillips sees one of the most notorious events in European history as a typical ‘clash of cultures’.

Robin Waterfield, author of a new book on the Greek soldier Xenophon, explains how he came to retrace the steps of the soldier’s famous journey to the Black Sea.

Cultural historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett considers how perceptions of Cleopatra have moved in the last decade and a half.

Diplomat and traveller Hugh Leach draws on his experience of working with Arab tribes to examine T.E. Lawrence’s strategy in the Arab revolt, in anticipation of a new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum.

Umej Bhatia discusses Muslim memories of the Crusades and their resonances in Middle Eastern politics today.