The Last Ottoman Generation and the Making of the Modern Middle East

The modern Middle East emerged out of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, when Britain and France partitioned the Ottoman Arab lands into several new colonial states. The following period was a charged and transformative time of unrest. Insurgent leaders, trained in Ottoman military tactics and with everything to lose from the fall of the Empire, challenged the mandatory powers in a number of armed revolts. This is a study of this crucial period in Middle Eastern history, tracing the period through popular political movements and the experience of colonial rule. In doing so, Provence emphasises the continuity between the late Ottoman and Colonial era, explaining how national identities emerged, and how the seeds were sown for many of the conflicts which have defined the Middle East in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This is a valuable read for students of Middle Eastern history and politics.

1. Introduction; 2. Ottoman modernity in the long nineteenth century: training state servants and making citizens; 3. The theory and practice of colonialism in the post-Ottoman Middle East; 4. Losing the war and fighting the settlement: the post-Ottoman Middle East takes shape, 1918–22; 5. League of Nations hopes and disappointments: the return of armed struggle in the post-Ottoman era, 1923–7; 6. Colonial constitutions and treaties: post-Ottoman militarism, 1927–36; 7. The final days of the last Ottoman generation, 1936–8; 8. Epilogue and conclusion.

Michael Provence teaches Middle East history at the Department of History, University of California, San Diego. He is the author of The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism (2005).