Empire of Sand: How Britain Made the Middle East

by Walter Reid

Overview

At the end of the First World War Britain and to a much lesser extent France created the modern Middle East. The possessions of the former Ottoman Empire were carved up with scant regard for the wishes of those who lived there. Frontiers were devised and alien dynasties imposed on the populations as arbitrarily as in medieval times.

From the outset the project was destined to failure. Conflicting and ambiguous promises had been made to the Arabs during the war but were not honoured. Brief hopes for Arab unity were dashed, and a harsh belief in western perfidy persists to the present day. Britain was quick to see the riches promised by the black pools of oil that lay on the ground around Baghdad. When France too grasped their importance, bitter differences opened up and the area became the focus of a return to traditional enmity. The war-time allies came close to blows and then drifted apart, leaving a vacuum of which Hitler took advantage.

Working from both primary and secondary sources, Walter Reid explores Britain's role in the creation of the modern Middle East and the rise of Zionism from the early years of the twentieth century to 1948, when Britain handed over Palestine to UN control. From the decisions that Britain made has flowed much of the instability of the region and of the world-wide tensions that threaten the twenty-first century. How far was Britain to blame?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857900807
Publisher:	Birlinn, Limited
Publication date:	12/20/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	472
Sales rank:	384,488
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Walter Reid studied at the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh and is the author of a number of acclaimed biographies and books of military and political history. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Walter Reid studied at the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh and is the author of a number of acclaimed biographies and books of military and political history. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2013 Edition x

Acknowledgements xv

List of Illustrations xvii

Maps xix

I Background

1 Introductory 3

2 The Ottoman Empire 9

II The War

3 Turkey and the War 25

4 India in the War 32

5 Making Policy in the War 36

6 Making Policy: The Arab Dimension 46

7 The McMahon-Hussein Correspondence 50

8 The Arab Revolt 78

9 Kut and Beyond 92

10 Sykes-Picot 97

11 The Background to the Balfour Declaration 109

12 Gestation of the Declaration 124

13 The Birth of the Declaration 130

14 Personalities 143

III The Stresses of Peace

15 The Entente under Pressure 149

16 The End of Turkey's War 167

IV Making Peace

17 Versailles 175

18 The Balkans at Paris 184

19 Britain and France Again 188

20 The Meeting at the Rue Nitot 191

21 Faisal at Versailles 198

22 The Middle East Defeats Paris 205

23 .Mandates 210

24 Palestine and Zionism 217

V Diplomacy by Conference

25 Resort Diplomacy: San Remo, Sèvres, Lausanne and Cairo Introduction 223

26 San Remo and Sevres 226

27 Lausanne 229

28 Preparing for Cairo: Churchill Takes the Reins 244

29 Churchill's Durbar: The Cairo Conference 253

VI Alternative Models: Egypt, Persia and Syria

30 Egypt 267

31 Persia 274

32 Syria 282

VII Jordan under the mandate

33 Jordan 287

VIII Iraq

34 Strategy 303

35 Establishment 315

36 Churchill, and Mesopotamia 320

37 Nation-Building 324

38 British Iraq 332

39 Moving Forward 343

IX Palestine

40 'Mandatory of the World' 353

41 Administration in Practice 359

42 Churchill's Work 365

43 Disturbances and Commissions 375

44 Arab Reaction and the British Response 382

45 More Commissions and the Approach of War 387

46 War 392

47 The End of British Palestine 396

48 Bevin Stan s Work 403

49 Events 406

50 Surrendering the Mandate 408

51 After the Announcement 411

X Conclusions

52 Tentative Judgements 419

Appendix 1 Outline Chronology 425

Appendix 2 Hashemite Family Tree 429

Notes 431

Select Bibliography 451

Index 459

Editorial Reviews

Derek Perkins is, as always, a flawless narrator, and few could equal the range of skills required here.

AudioFile

Reid engages in a fascinating examination of whether decisions that shaped today’s Middle East were made in good faith, even if some of them turned out to be badly flawed.

Toy Solder & Model Figure

[An] impeccably researched book

The Herald

[Reid] is judicious; his very capable prose just begs to be read

Scotsman - Michael Bye

Extremely well written and enjoyable to read

European Review of History

Structured in an accessible and intelligent way [...] Empire of Sand is a useful, meticulously written introduction to a complex history, of direct relevance to our own times [...] well researched, well planned, and overall a useful addition to the literature on this subject

Journal of Israeli Foreign Affairs

[Reid] is judicious; his very capable prose just begs to be read.” —Michael Nye, Scotsman

From the Publisher

Reid engages in a fascinating examination of whether decisions that shaped today’s Middle East were made in good faith, even if some of them turned out to be badly flawed.

Toy Soldier and Model Figure Magazine

At 15 hours, this fine audiobook history of the West’s role in shaping Middle Eastern politics—and more importantly, its geography—takes a fresh look at some familiar names, including T.E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, and Woodrow Wilson. Derek Perkins is, as always, a flawless narrator, and few could equal the range of skills required here. Many threads come together in this illuminating and impressively researched narrative, one that even the most informed listeners may learn much from. For those with only a general knowledge of the Middle East, here is a frank appraisal that bares the machinations, connivances, and conflicting interests that drew the map of today’s Arab and Jewish nations, and lit the politics that still burn there decades later. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile

At 15 hours, this fine audiobook history of the West’s role in shaping Middle Eastern politics—and more importantly, its geography—takes a fresh look at some familiar names, including T.E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, and Woodrow Wilson. Derek Perkins is, as always, a flawless narrator, and few could equal the range of skills required here. Many threads come together in this illuminating and impressively researched narrative, one that even the most informed listeners may learn much from. For those with only a general knowledge of the Middle East, here is a frank appraisal that bares the machinations, connivances, and conflicting interests that drew the map of today’s Arab and Jewish nations, and lit the politics that still burn there decades later. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile