List of Maps
Abbreviations
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgements
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE: THE STRATEGIC GEOGRAPHY OF THE LEVANT
Vulnerable Frontiers Strategic Pivot
Internal Fragmentation
Population Growth, Limited Resources, Compressed Space
PANORAMA: FROM THE ROMANS TO THE OTTOMANS
CHAPTER TWO: ROME, ISLAM, AND BYZANTIUM
The Roman Levant
Umayyads and ‘Abbasids
The Byzantine-Fatimid Standoff
Seljuk Turkish Intervention
Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE: CRUSADERS, MAMLUKS, AND OTTOMANS
Crusaders and Muslims
Mamluk Supremacy
The Ottoman Levant
Conclusion
THE JEWS OF THE LEVANT FROM THE ISLAMIC CONQUEST TO ZIONISM
CHAPTER FOUR: THE MODERN LEVANT
Overview, 1918—2002
Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arabs
The Arab Levant States
Turkey in the Levant: The New Byzantium?
CHAPTER FIVE: SYRIAN CONFLAGRATION, 2011-2014
Contours of Catastrophe
Responsibility
Evolution of the Crisis
Dilemmas for Turkey and Lebanon
The Southern Levant
On the Horizon
Notes
Glossary
References
Index of Names
About the Author