Middle Eastern History
The Middle East is a large and diverse region composed of several countries and cultures in north Africa and western Asia. Its complex recent history includes the Persian Gulf War, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Yom Kippur War and more.
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The 1978 Camp David Accords secured a lasting peace between two longtime enemies in the Middle East.
The Ottoman Empire was once among the biggest military and economic powers in the world. So what happened?
Where they built, fought and prayed.
On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. Their reaction was based on President Jimmy Carter’s decision to allow Iran’s deposed Shah, a pro-Western autocrat, to come to the U.S. for cancer treatment and to declare a break with Iran’s past and an end to American interference in its affairs.
Arab Spring
Here's How The Arab Spring Started and How It Affected the World
Learn how The Arab Spring started in Tunisia in 2011, causing a ripple effect of democratic demonstrations in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Discover how the use of technology helped spur on revolution, both good and bad.
3 Revolutions of the Arab Spring
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The narrow Persian Gulf waterway has been a contested choke point for centuries.
Anger at the Shah—and at foreign influence—spurred a popular uprising with lasting worldwide repercussions.
Tensions between the one-time allies have escalated at various points since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
A look back at America's long-simmering conflict with Iran.
In September 1980, Iraqi forces launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War. Fueled by territorial, religious and political disputes between the two nations, the conflict ended in an effective stalemate and a cease-fire nearly eight years later.
Neither Einstein nor Israel thought it was a good idea.
Tanks—particularly the M1A1 Abrams—proved critical for U.S.-led coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War.
Peace in the Middle East The ultimate goal of the Camp David Accords was to establish a framework for peace in the Middle East by formalizing Arab recognition of Israel’s right to exist, developing a procedure for the withdrawal of Israeli forces and ci...
Constantinople is an ancient city in modern-day Turkey that’s now known as Istanbul. First settled in the seventh century B.C., Constantinople developed into a thriving port thanks to its prime geographic location between Europe and Asia and its natural harbor. In A.D. 330, it became the site of Roman Emperor Constantine’s “New Rome,” a Christian city of immense wealth and magnificent architecture.
Origins of the PLO The PLO emerged in response to various compounding events that took place in the Middle East. In 1948, Israel became an independent state, which resulted in more than 750,000 Palestinians fleeing their homeland. The subsequent 1948 wa...
Palestine is a small region of land in the eastern Mediterranean region that includes parts of modern Israel and the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It has played a prominent role in the ancient and modern history of the Middle East and has been marked by frequent political conflict and violent land seizures.
Israel is small country in the Middle East, located on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and bordered by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The nation of Israel—with a population of more than 9 million people, most of them Jewish—has many important archaeological and religious sites considered sacred by Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, and a complex history with periods of peace and conflict.
The Beginnings of the Oslo Accords The negotiations between Israel and the PLO that ultimately led to the Oslo Accords began, in secret, in Oslo, Norway, in 1993. Neither side wanted to publicly acknowledge their presence at the talks for fear of genera...
Zionism is a religious and political movement that brought Jews to their ancient homeland and reestablished Israel as the central location for Jewish identity.
The Six-Day War was a brief but bloody conflict fought in June 1967 between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The brief war ended with a U.N.-brokered ceasefire, but it significantly altered the map of the Mideast and gave rise to lingering geopolitical friction.
