Turning Points in Middle Eastern History

by Eamonn Gearon (Lecturer)

Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins

The Middle East is a critically important area of our world. And, with its current prominence in international affairs, media images of the Middle East reach us on a daily basis. Much media coverage, however, is incomplete at best, failing to take account of either the complexities or the historical background of this pivotal region. For most of us, the real story of the Middle East remains untold. What made this crucial geopolitical area what it is today? In coming to terms with the present and future of the Middle East, an understanding of its history is not only highly valuable but essential.

Now, the 36 lectures of Turning Points in Middle Eastern History unfurl a breathtaking panorama of history, exploring a 1,300-year window from the rise of the warrior prophet Muhammad to the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. Each lecture focuses on a specific moment that changed the direction of events or the narrative of history.

You'll witness the Battle of Karbala, where Muhammad's heirs - the Sunni and Shia - split once and for all. You'll discover the wonders of the Islamic Golden Age and marvel at the superlative advances in astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and literature - and the preservation of classical Greek and Roman wisdom - that unfolded in global centers of learning such as Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordoba. You'll follow the empire building of the Persian Safavids, the Egyptian Mamluks, and the Ottomans, among others.

The breakup of the Ottoman Empire yielded most of the modern states of the Middle East. The far-reaching impacts of its rise and fall, plus the long-lasting influence of the 18th-century Saud-Wahhab Pact between a desert ruler and a religious reformer, creating today's Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are two more expressions of how the past suffuses the present. The stories you'll discover here are as dazzling as anything in the Arabian Nights and are all the more astonishing for being true.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Middle East, Politics, Islam, Religion

19 pages, Audible Audio

First published February 5, 2016

Reviews

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very good lecture series focusing on the Middle East from roughly around 600s CE to 1920s CE. This focused a lot on the religions of the area and the various caliphates and wars that have taken place during that time period. It would've been nice to get more info on things like art and theater, science, etc. as well, but alas, it was not to be. But it does serve as a good building block for beginning to understand the complexities of the history of the region and can give you an idea on where you might be interested to dig in deeper on certain subjects.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an outstanding course or anyone who is interested in knowing more about the history of the Middle East from the Mohammed’s first vision (610) to the end of the Ottoman Empire (1924) and Ottoman Caliphate (1925). The format of the book – thirty-six independent lectures – works very well for helping the listener retain the information. You can listen to any lecture independently of the others, because the author doesn’t make references, even to material covered in previous lectures, without explanation. And every single subject covered was fascinating. The eighteen hours flew by. Highly recommended.

[SALEM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please read your own history from other people view point

It is very refreshing and eye opening

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this. I learned so much about an area that we were taught nothing about in any level of school. While it does not totally clear up my misunderstandings of the middle east, it definitely helped me understand some aspects and I believe that it has given me a foundation o which to read more and build an even better understanding. I think that I may listen to this again in the future as there is so much information that it is impossible to internalize all in one listen. Let me know what you think!

[Abhi Gupte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the history of the Middle East through the lens of Western Histories so many times that it was a refreshing change to listen to this course. Professor Gearon covers many widely known events from a fundamentally Middle Eastern perspective; as well as events not very famous but certainly pivotal.
I felt like the decline and breakup of the Ottoman Empire could have been covered in more detail. The chapters jump from the Siege of Vienna in 1683 to the French Invasion of Egypt in 1798 - a complete reversal of aggressor-defender roles that merited some detailed explanation. Perhaps the change of fortune wasn't tied to particular events but a gradual shift in power.
The structure of the individual lessons is... interesting, to say the least. Dr. Gearon starts with some quirky tidbits (many drawn from his personal experience), then weaves a narrative of the topic and ends with another parable. Sometimes, this hits the mark but sometimes not so much.
Dr. Gearon, being a Westerner, compiling this series for a Western audience under the auspicies of a Western company, cannot help but insert a Western perspective occasionally. But all in all, I consider this one of the best courses to learn about the Middle East.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I greatly appreciate the fairness that this lecture series tries to keep but at times it borders on a misleading narrative of history.

The Christian crusades were horrendous, the Mongol destruction of Baghdad was horrendous, and the earlier Muslim conquests were also horrendous. The Muslim conquests may have been more “tolerant” compared to other conquests before and since, however they were devastating to Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Levant, India, etc., you could say these cultures never recovered.

In the current climate, it is necessary to be carful with how you present this content, lest you fuel the fires of the ignorant, but I think this lecture series goes too far in the other direction.

Overall the lectures are well done, the content is richly informative and the organization is good.

[Lucia Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introductory course in Middle Eastern History. Ok, college level, 36 lecture entry level but still only covers the surface.

It gives a lot of background on why things are like they are, and it upends many myths about the middle east and about Islamic influence on things.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes history, or likes to shake off misconceptions about current events.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically a history of the Middle East from the Arab invasion to the end of the Ottoman Empire. Told through snippets of time and events. Very well done and worth the time commitment.

[Vincent Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to think that my overall knowledge of history is rather strong. I am always looking to make it stronger. One area which I felt my knowledge was lacking was in the Middle East. Sure I know of various cultures and civilizations in the area in the ancient world, but when it comes to after the rise of the Muslim religion, my knowledge is lacking. Really, while I had heard of the Umayyads, the Abassids, the Fatamids, the Seljuk Turks, Saladin, and the Ottoman Turks. Much of my knowledge derives from my enjoyment of assorted strategy-based computer games over the years.

This series of lectures, just like so many other Great Courses I have listened to, turned what to me were just names into people and cultures with their own ambitions, strengths and weaknesses. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys history.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining lecture series. Prof. Gearon is very good at making the history entertaining while still revealing the widespread modern implications of many of the events that unfold throughout. He talks about large events such as the Sunni/Shiite split, the Crusades, the rise and fall of the Ottomans, and the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia, while also going into lesser-known stories such as the founding of the world's first university, the adventures of the richest man in history, and a bedouin marriage that changed the course of world history. I would recommend this series to anyone interested in learning more about the rich history of the Middle East

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author tackled a huge chunk of history and made it accessible and fun. He balanced major trends with individual stories. He shared both sides of the story, when there was controversy. And he busted a lot of myths about the middle east.

I wish he would have shared more about the situation post-WWII and leading up to today. He mentions it briefly at the end. But, to be fair, it is a history book, not a current affairs book.

This book was engaging, insightful, and more significant to modern life than you might guess. If you're into biographies or history, or even study leadership and organizations, then this is worth getting.

[Kate Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, the Great Courses provided another excellent learning experience (I streamed this free on Kanopy through my public library). The instructor was top-notch, and since I knew so little about the history of the Middle East, every one of the 36 lectures contained new, exotic, and often surprising facts and historical figures. Highly recommended.

[Somi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still reading. About 30% in.

I appreciate this course, but there is some effort to paint the Arabic/Islamic conquests is a light that diminishes how horrible they were. I understand not wanting to sell a narrative of Arab world bad/Europe good, but training the whole conquest of North Africa and Spain as lucky raiding, glossing over the Jizya taxation hat forced many to convert is a little far.
I love his passion for the subject though, and I've learned things I didn't know before, like the Fatimids Shias in North Africa and the Norman kingdom in Sicily.
___
50% in.

Sometimes, the writer seems very scornful of the Christian lands the muslims displaced and makes it seem like they deserved it. The Visigoths in Spain, the North African Christians, the Byzantine empire...whenever he mentions them, he never fails to observe that they were either weak or corrupt. Whenever he mentions an atrocity committed by Muslim conquerors, he mentions something comparable that Christians did, almost like an excuse. Where there’s nothing comparable, he glosses over it. It’s one thing to want to leave readers aware of the glories of the middle eastern empires, but it’s another thing entirely to promote a mean view of the European Christian world.
___
You can mention that the Arabs were racist toward black people without trying to excuse it by drawing parallels with the British empire.
___
Dude, you just said a Christian crusader army invaded Constantinople and wreaked untold havoc, bloodshed, and rape. Paragraphs later, you're poking holes in the stories of carnage at the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. "The Ottomans had no reason to rape and pillage and murder because they would have needed the ransoms more." Really? It starts to look like the mention of the raping crusaders was groundwork to make the Ottoman slaughter less jarring.

______
Finally finished this, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot! Spanning centuries and very easy to listen to, this has given me many things to think about and ideas for other books to read. The last chapter about the end of the Ottoman caliphate saddened me, especially with the expulsion of the Ottomans from their home country.

[J O'Toole]

Currently halfway through this and have been for a fair while...

The first half was an enlightening, interesting, but fairly cleaned up version of the Middle East, particularly when relating to Mohammed and his life, which was laughably whitewashed in comparison to the Koran...

Still, you can feel how passionate the speaker is about the subject, which makes it all the more interesting. I'm just more interested in other things right at this moment.

[Isabelle Duchaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Themes:
Middle east, Islam, political vs religious identity


Two sentence summary:

Broad, sweeping exploration of 1500 years of Middle Eastern history, focused on 36 distinct episodes, raising from the founding of Islam to the destruction of Baghdad to the siege of Vienna and the end of the last caliphate. Structured for people who have a solid understanding of European history, can point to at least five Muslim-majority countries on a map, and want a survey of factors affecting comtemporary middle eastern geopolitics.

Good line:
“Of the 16 countries mentioned above, it’ll be about the year 2050 before a majority have had
even a century of independence. The American Civil War— which left more than 600,000 dead—began just 85 years after the United States declared independence from Britain. When we remember that, we begin to understand just how radically things can change.”

Things I liked:
1. The chapter on the sack of Baghdad (1266 CE) was probably my favourite. Mongols, man! They’re everywhere.
2. Did exactly what I wanted it to do – introduced me to the major trends in ME history, highlighted a few of the biggest players, and set up a basic narrative that I can follow when I start refining my understandings.

Things I didn’t like:
1. I’m sure there are some episodes that were left out – and a couple seemed a little out of place.
2. Important to point out that it’s a British author telling these stories – and although he’s quick to point out how colonial powers fostered many of the problems in the ME today – it would’ve been great to have an author indigenous to the area. But honestly, for me to grasp so much of the history, a reference point to contemporary events in Europe (especially France and UK) was extraordinarily helpful.

[Zan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lecturer does a great job of telling a story, and bringing historical figures to life. I genuinely enjoyed it and am so glad I've had this refresher course on ME history. One thing is that I think the title is a misnomer: it should be Turning Points of Islamic History... since it doesn't cover Middle Eastern history that is non-Muslim (nothing pre-Muhammad or about Roman/Judeo-Christian history in the Middle East), and it covers areas that are decidedly not in the Middle East (Moorish Spain, North Africa). Other than that, great audiobook!

[Jeff Beardsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed going through this highly comprehensive lecture series. While each and every lecture could be vastly expanded upon with its own lecture series (that is certainly the case with most of The Great Courses lectures), this gives a broad and fairly detailed history of the Middle East. Let’s face it; this is a region that everyone needs to better understand. This lecture series does that in good fashion. Eamonn Gearon is thoroughly knowledgeable of the region and its history, and captivated throughout the lectures. Highly recommended!

[Ilinca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars not because it's an exceptional history, but because it does the job of highlighting certain things you might never hear about otherwise, and because it does convey the author's love for a certain part of the region's history. He is obviously much fonder of the history of the early Middle Ages than modern history, and he glosses over the 20th century. But if you're just taking it as it is, it's still a fun bit of history.

[Srinivas Nidugondi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have been trying to read up on Middle Eastern history and Islam for a while. After a few books I got this lecture series and I do have mixed views. Firstly, did not realise that TE Lawrence or some other aspects of the 20th century would be covered - but it was good anyways.

for the lentime span of and geography that was involved the autauthor the author has done a good job of giving snippets - yes that is essentially what it is where each topic is briefly talked about. Anyone wanting to understand about the religion and region then it is a good beginning point.
However I felt that the initial period the author could have done much better - be it talking about Mohammed itself or Malik who captured Jerusalem or about the Isnailites (they do have an interesting history) I thought enough justice was not done. Also, while covering topics I thought the author would have wanted to say something but forgets to complete his thought.

Finally, I thought the author was disingenuous when he was referring to the oldest university - trying to quote UNESCO but not saying he was talking about the oldest running university and not the oldest university per se - ignoring Taxila or Nalanda. Similarly while he does acknowledge Hindu/Indian origination of the number system he again gives credit to the Middle East
All in all worth a read

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let’s be clear about this—this collection of lectures is both well written and very interesting, but it also seems to be misnamed. First off, it begins with Mohammad and focuses very much on the growth of Islam as a political (and religious) force. Nothing that happens before Mohammad is even mentioned. It also covers events that happen in North Africa, Spain, the Balkans and Eastern Europe, areas that we do not classically think of as the Middle East. This led me to think that what Gearon was really writing was a history of Islam, but it’s truly that either as it doesn’t cover important events that brought Islam further around the globe.

The focus is also very heavily on the Middle Ages, and as such I thought was very light on the twentieth century. I would have liked to see an analysis of the ousting of the Shah of Iran and the resulting Hostage Crisis and radicalization of that country. The two Persian Gulf Wars also would have made interesting material. And I could go on. So this is a highly informative book about Islam in the Middle East, North Africa, and neighboring regions that would seriously benefit from an addendum that covers the region since World War I. This was a great start, but I feel it ended prematurely.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Great Courses audiobook that hits all the highlights of history in the Middle East. That means his lectures have mostly to do with Islam. Very little is said about Orthodox Christianity or Judaism, though individuals are occasionally mentioned.

The narrator has a British accent but after a short time his accent drifted into the background of my consciousness and no longer noticed it after a while.

The professor hits all the major connections between the past and today. His theme is that the past informs the present. That is right enough. It does. He tends to avoid direct criticism of Islam although all his points are well taken.

If there is a moderate view on the Middle East, this certainly looks like it.

I'm not sure I would "read" this audiobook again. It is not bad, but it doesn't have the detail I was looking for. "Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present" by Michael B. Oren had the kind of treatment I was hoping for.

[Maynard Handley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating work because it makes one point so absolutely clear:
The lectures starts off long ago, in squabbles between locals, and the details are portrayed without judgement, whether it's towers of skulls, destruction of cities, enslavement of neighbors, or slaughter of rivals to the throne.
And this non-judgemental tone persists right to the French takeover of Algeria, at which point the tone abruptly shifts and the lecturer feels compelled, every few minutes, to pass moral judgement (of course on the French/Europe/The West, of course negative). And once that Rubicon has been crossed, you can predict how the remaining ten or so lectures play out.

If this sort of thing appeals to you (history as way of scoring heroes and villains) then go ahead and listen to the whole thing. If you're a saner sort of human, you probably want to bow out around when France sets its eye on Algeria.

[Mark Lawry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among the best Great Courses yet. It would be more correct to call it Turning Points in Islam. The title made me think it was going to be just another review of the crusades. It turned out to be much larger and Gearon didn't stick to the Middle East. Unless we count India, Mali, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Vienna, the Balkans in the Middle East. As usual, a Great Course instructor will add several places to see on anyone's bucket list. We forget how much Europe has been shaped by the Islamic world. Many in the west for example would think of Adam Smith and David Ricardo as founders of economics and capitalism. Both of these intellectual giants would have probably told you that they just read Ibn Khaldun, from 400 years prior to themselves. If you have any interest in world history this is a good one.

[Hedyeh Javaheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly an excellent audio book, it's structured like university lectures, I felt like I was back in school! I do think that Dr. Gearon should have covered the Iranian revolution as his final topic, he talks about the 1953 coup in Iran in the lecture on oil but as the first successful modern Middle Eastern revolution against a western puppet ruler it was a turning point, especially when u look at how other middle eastern nations' response to the 1979 revolution affected the path towards democracy of basically every country in the region. I think Great Courses may have another book on the modern Saudi-Iran relationship that would cover the topic and then some, I'll be sure to listen to that.

[Kimberlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to an area that is much discussed, but I don't think much understood beyond political rhetoric. It really helped me to understand some of the tensions among the various Islamic groups, which leads me to one criticism that has been noted by previous reviewers. This is really an introduction to Islamic turning points, as it deals with Islamic history in Spain, France, and northern African, but treat Christian or Jewish history in the middle east. Though, still a great source and very entertaining.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really in-depth, authoritative and even-handed (at least from what I can tell) survey of Middle Eastern history. Definitely recommend for someone looking for a deep look at major moments in the history of a fascinating region.

[Kevin McClear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, this leaves me with more questions then answers. Any survey series of lectures would. I now have, however, the ability to frame my questions for further study, and the interest to do so, which is the most one could ask if such a course

[Shana Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illuminating set of lectures covering major events over many centuries in the middle east. Professor Gearon is enthusiastic and expansive, even-handed and knowledgeable. I came away understanding more about this critical region and eager to read additional books about its history.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This course is a wonderful review of key moments in middle eastern history. Having read several similar histories in the past, this was more a review for me, but it was a great refresher! I give it a 3.5.

[Jane Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started out knowing nothing, which is honestly embarrassing. After listening (some times more carefully than others) for 18 hours, I know some things, and if I spend a little time reviewing the course materials, I'll learn a lot more. Mr. Gearon tells great stories that help keep you interested.