Status Updates From A History of the Middle East

ottoman empire rise and fall. Didn't know anything about the Albanian-Turk Muhammad Ali and how close he got to taking over the Ottoman Empire. Without European intervention, it would have been interesting to see if he could have strengthened the empire and maybe it wouldn't have fallen when it did

35 pages to provide a brief but detailed overview of almost 4500 years of conquest and conflict in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia, as well as the establishment of the Abrahamic religions. What a dense first chapter. It sets the stage for the last 200+ years starting with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, but sheesh, my head hurts.