History of Asia

We talk about the 6-day-war. A lot of information comes from Tom Segev's book "1967" and to lesser degree Doedens Anne en Liek Mulder, Zesdaagse Oorlog: juni 1967: de Israelische herschepping van het Midden-Oosten.

After the six-day-war, Arab nations gradually left the conflict with Israel to the PLO. The latter became involved in the civil war in Lebanon and in a mini-civil war in Jordan (Black September). Meanwhile, Israeli politics started to shift to the right.

We talk about Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan 1990-today. Notice any mistakes? Let me know, please! A few datapoints: 1987 start first intifada 1988 establishment of Hamas 1988 PLO recognizes Israël 1989 Taif Agreement 1993 Oslo Accords1996 First Palestinian elections, Hamas boycots2000 Israel withdraws from Lebanon. Start second intifada.2004 Arafat dies2005 Cedar Revolution 2006 Hamas wins...

Sources for this series (more will be added later): The Economist often for current affairs (cited when relevant) ABICHT L. Israël, Palestina . ABICHT LUDO. Delalniettemin: over Joodse wijsheid en humor ARNES I. Historische atlas van het jodendom : de bewogen geschiedenis van het joodse geloof in kaart gebracht .Librero, Kerkdriel, 2012, 400 p. BLACK I. Enemies and neighbours. Arabs and Jews in Pa...

Now really the final episode of the series...

This is the final episode of the series. And maybe of the entire podcast too. Want to stay informed if and when a new episode comes out, then best include History of Asia in your library. Thank you all for listening, I hope you enjoyed it.

We talk about Assyria (and to a lesser extent Babylonia) during the Iron Age.

Just a short explanation why it takes me ever longer to get out episodes. Sorry for the wait.

The Germanic peoples and the Arabs were in a similar condition when they took over their respective parts of Roman territory. A century after they did, the West lived through the Dark Ages, while the East entered a Golden Age. What explains this? In this episode, we try to find out. Most important (extra) sources for the episode (for general list see 3.1): LEWIS D.L. God’s Crucible: Islam and the...

In terms of scientific output, Muslim majority countries are currently behind the curve. Many people blame Islam itself. One of the best counterarguments to this, is that Islam was in many ways responsible for the fact that in the Middle Ages, Iraq, Syria and other Muslim regions were way ahead of the pack in many ways.  Hope you enjoy the episode. Main (additional) sources for the episode:Al-Khal...

We talk about the Ottoman empire. They survived for over 6 centuries. What is their secret? Correction: I overstated the access that the Ottomans had to the spice islands. This access was indirect. They had what the European discoverers were looking for, economically, but only in the sense that they profited from the spice trade because of their position.

This episode is about the later stages of the Ottoman period, with the focus on Syria and especially Iraq. Most important sources for the episode (for more specific info you can e-mail me): Yitzhak Nakash - The Shi'is of Iraq TRIPP C. Irak: een geschiedenis ANSCOMBE F.F. State, faith, and nation in Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Lands BAYLY C.A. The Birth of the modern world 1780-1914. DALE S. The M...

We discuss the history of Iraq and Syria in the first half of the 20th century.

A long overdue explanation why this podcast narrates history backwards.

We discuss the 50s and 60s. What explains the turbulence of this period, as opposed to the longevity of the Assad- and Saddam-regimes? Sorry if the audio is leaky sometimes: there is something wrong with my microphone. I'll have it fixed.

If we say the Iraq war was a mistake, we must consider the alternatives. What would Iraq be like with Saddam or his son still in power? We now discuss the rule of Hafez al-Assad and Saddam Hussayn. We compare their strategies and ask whether Machiavelli would have approved of them.

We talk about the Iraq war, its immediate consequences, and its effect on Syria. Correction: relistening to the episode, I was shocked to hear myself say that Syria used Israel's invasion of Lebanon as an excuse for its own invasion. This is of course wrong: the Syrians were there first. What I meant to say was that after Israel invaded, the Syrians used their presence as a pretext to stay in...

This is the story of the Arab Spring in Syria and Iraq, and how it turned to another Long Winter.

In our third series, we set out to discover Syria and Iraq. We tavel by podcast so it's perfectly safe. And free. Enjoy. Sources for the series (others may be added to later episodes): The Oxford history of IslamThe New Cambridge History of Islam HARDY R. The Poisoned Well. Empire and its legacy in the Middle East SIMONS G., BENN T. Iraq: from Sumer to Saddam . HOURANI A. De geschiedenis van de Ar...

In this last episode on Iran, we talk about one of the most important peoples you probably never heard of: the Elamites. We also talk about the Medes and the early Achaemenids. Special attention will go to the enigmatic figure of Cyrus the Great.

"Power doesn't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes from lying... lying big and getting the whole ×××× world to play along with you." (Quote from sin city) How does that work? Check out this episode and find out... We talk about how Darius the Great transformed the Persian empire. Any fake news in this episode is involuntary. If you find any, please let me know.

The Persians, and especially the Achaemenids, have for centuries been presented as the ultimate "other". Corrupt, decadent, freedom-hating... In this episode, we look how accurate these stereotypes fit the real thing. The episode owes a large debt to professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones' excellent work (and several others), which takes many new findings and weaves them into a fascinating...

We talk about Alexander the Great, and how he (may have) conquered the Achaemenid Persian empire.

In the next episode, we'll talk about how Alexander the Great managed to conquer the Persian empire. In this one, we'll see why we will probably never know that.

We discuss how Seleucus managed to win the "funeral games" after the death of Alexander the Great, and found the biggest empire of his time: the Seleucid dynasty.