FRAGILE NATION, SHATTERED LAND : the modern history of syria

How Did The Lands That Are Today Syria Survive The Vicissitudes Of Centuries Of Ottoman, Egyptian, And French Rule, Only To Stand In Ruins Today, Shattered By A Brutal Civil War? To Provide Answers, James Reilly Traces Five Centuries Of Syrian History, From The Ottoman Period To The Present. Reilly Brings To Life The Myriad Historical, Cultural, Social, Economic, And Political Factors That Have Bound Syrians Together, As Well As Those That Have Torn Them Apart. Drawing On Extensive Primary Sources And Recent Historiography In English, French, And Arabic, He Has Written An Essential Book For Those Who Want To Understand Not Only Contemporary Syria, But Also The Middle East Region.--amazon.com Syria Becomes Ottoman, Sixteenth To Seventeenth Centuries -- Syria's Long Eighteenth Century : Political Crises And Local Rulers -- Syria Between Europe And The Ottomans, 1820s-1900s -- The Idea Of Syria And World War I -- France And The Creation Of The Syrian Territorial State -- Crises Of Independent Statehood -- Thirty Years Of Hafez Al-assad -- A False Spring And Gathering Storms -- Uprising, Civil War And Fragmentation -- Syria Divided. James A. Reilly. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 239-245) And Index. How did the lands that are today Syria survive the vicissitudes of centuries of Ottoman, Egyptian, and French rule, only to stand in ruins, shattered by a brutal civil war? To provide answers, the author traces five centuries of Syrian history, from the Ottoman period to the twenty-first century. This book brings to life the myriad historical, cultural, social, economic, and political factors that have bound Syrians together, as well as those that have torn them apart. Drawing on extensive primary sources and recent historiography in English, French, and Arabic, the author provides information on not only the state of Syria, but also the state of the larger Middle East region.--adapted from publisher's description The death and destruction in Syria has grabbed headlines across the world. But for many outside the Middle East, the details of this nation's culture and history remain obscure. Historian James Reilly explains the backstory in this study of the past century of Syrian nation-building. Reilly describes misguided colonialism, a brief and disastrous union with Egypt and nearly half a century of police-state rule under two generations of Assads. His writing style is dry, but this account provides important background that illuminates more compelling accounts of Syria's bloodshed