The Middle East and the Making of the Modern World

How do historians make sense of the spatial layeredness of the past? Cyrus Schayegh argues that the modern world’s ultimate socio-spatial feature is not the oft-studied processes of globalization or state formation or urbanization, but rather the fast-paced, mutually transformative intertwinements of cities, regions, states, and global circuits. This Book Is A Socio-spatial History Of The Middle East, And Uses That Case To Reflect More Broadly On The Making Of The Modern World. Pivoting Around Bilād Al-shām (greater Syria) - Alternatingly Zooming In On Cities And Nation-states And Zooming Out To Neighboring Countries, Imperial And Transnational Links, And Overseas Diasporas - It Asks: Why, How, And In Which Stages Did Well-rooted Cities And Regions Mold A Dynamic Modern World Economy And Powerful Modern States, And How Were They Remolded In Return? Covering Culture, The Economy, And Administration From The Mid-19th To The Mid-20th Century In Five Chapters, Each Prefaced By One Person's Illustrative Story, The Book Identifies Three Key Developments In The Late Ottoman Period. Cities Were Transformed But Remained Powerful; Interurban Ties Grew Stronger; And Bilād Al-shām Became More Integrated. These Developments Did Not End In 1918 But, As Is Shown Next, Deeply Shaped Post-ottoman Times. While Quartered, Bilād Al-shām Became An Umbrella Region For Palestine, Transjordan, Syria And Lebanon, And Forced French And British Rulers To Coordinate Policies. And While Cities Lionized Their Weight In Transnational Circuits As Well As Reimagined Themselves As National Places To Assert Their Rank In New Nation-states, The Latter Were From The Start Multi-urban And Transnationalized Spaces. Building On The Middle Eastern Case, The Book Argues That The Modern World Cannot Be Truly Grasped By Studying Globalization Or State Formation Or Urbanization, As Many Histories Do. Rather, The Modern World's Most Fundamental Socio-spatial Feature Is What Can Be Called Transpatialization: The Intertwinement Of Cities, Regions, States, And Global Circuits In Faster Changing And More Mutually Transformative Ways Than Before In History.-- Prelude 1. Khalil Sakakini Has A Dream -- Rise Of An Urban Patchwork Region: 1830s-1914 -- Prelude 2. Rafiq Al-tamimi And Muhammad Bahjat Make A Tour -- Crucible Of War: 1914-1918 -- Prelude 3. Alfred Sursock Keeps Busy -- Ottoman Twilight: 1918-1929 -- Prelude 4. Hauranis Migrate To Palestine -- Birth Of A Region Of Nation-states: 1929-1939 -- Prelude 5. Eliahu Rabino's War -- Empire Redux: 1939-1945 -- Postscript: The More Things Change...?: 1945-2016. Cyrus Schayegh. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book is a socio-spatial history of the Middle East, and uses that case to reflect more broadly on the making of the modern world. Pivoting around Bilād al-Shām (Greater Syria) - alternatingly zooming in on cities and nation-states and zooming out to neighboring countries, imperial and transnational links, and overseas diasporas - it asks: Why, how, and in which stages did well-rooted cities and regions mold a dynamic modern world economy and powerful modern states, and how were they remolded in return? Covering culture, the economy, and administration from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century in five chapters, each prefaced by one person's illustrative story, the book identifies three key developments in the late Ottoman period. Cities were transformed but remained powerful; interurban ties grew stronger; and Bilād al-Shām became more integrated. These developments did not end in 1918 but, as is shown next, deeply shaped post-Ottoman times. While quartered, Bilād al-Shām became an umbrella region for Palestine, Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon, and forced French and British rulers to coordinate policies. And while cities lionized their weight in transnational circuits as well as reimagined themselves as national places to assert their rank in new nation-states, the latter were from the start multi-urban and transnationalized spaces. Building on the Middle Eastern case, the book argues that the modern world cannot be truly grasped by studying globalization or state formation or urbanization, as many histories do. Rather, the modern world's most fundamental socio-spatial feature is what can be called transpatialization: the intertwinement of cities, regions, states, and global circuits in faster changing and more mutually transformative ways than before in history.-- Provided by publisher. This book is a socio-spatial history of the Middle East, and uses that case to reflect more broadly on the making of the modern world. Pivoting around Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria) - alternatingly zooming in on cities and nation-states and zooming out to neighboring countries, imperial and transnational links, and overseas diasporas - it asks: Why, how, and in which stages did well-rooted cities and regions mold a dynamic modern world economy and powerful modern states, and how were they remolded in return? Covering culture, the economy, and administration from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century in five chapters, each prefaced by one person's illustrative story, the book identifies three key developments in the late Ottoman period. Cities were transformed but remained powerful; interurban ties grew stronger; and Bilad al-Sham became more integrated. These developments did not end in 1918 but, as is shown next, deeply shaped post-Ottoman times. While quartered, Bilad al-Sham became an umbrella region for Palestine, Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon, and forced French and British rulers to coordinate policies. And while cities lionized their weight in transnational circuits as well as reimagined themselves as national places to assert their rank in new nation-states, the latter were from the start multi-urban and transnationalized spaces. Building on the Middle Eastern case, the book argues that the modern world cannot be truly grasped by studying globalization or state formation or urbanization, as many histories do. Rather, the modern world's most fundamental socio-spatial feature is what can be called transpatialization: the intertwinement of cities, regions, states, and global circuits in faster changing and more mutually transformative ways than before in history.-- Provided by publisher "This book is a socio-spatial history of the Middle East, and uses that case to reflect more broadly on the making of the modern world. Pivoting around Bilād al-Shām (Greater Syria) - alternatingly zooming in on cities and nation-states and zooming out to neighboring countries, imperial and transnational links, and overseas diasporas - it asks: Why, how, and in which stages did well-rooted cities and regions mold a dynamic modern world economy and powerful modern states, and how were they remolded in return? Covering culture, the economy, and administration from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century in five chapters, each prefaced by one person's illustrative story, the book identifies three key developments in the late Ottoman period. Cities were transformed but remained powerful; interurban ties grew stronger; and Bilād al-Shām became more integrated. These developments did not end in 1918 but, as is shown next, deeply shaped post-Ottoman times. While quartered, Bilād al-Shām became an umbrella region for Palestine, Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon, and forced French and British rulers to coordinate policies. And while cities lionized their weight in transnational circuits as well as reimagined themselves as national places to assert their rank in new nation-states, the latter were from the start multi-urban and transnationalized spaces. Building on the Middle Eastern case, the book argues that the modern world cannot be truly grasped by studying globalization or state formation or urbanization, as many histories do. Rather, the modern world's most fundamental socio-spatial feature is what can be called transpatialization: the intertwinement of cities, regions, states, and global circuits in faster changing and more mutually transformative ways than before in history."--De l'éditeur In The Middle East and the Making of the Modern World, Cyrus Schayegh takes up a fundamental problem historians face: how to make sense of the spatial layeredness of the past. He argues that the modern world's ultimate socio-spatial feature was not the oft-studied processes of globalization or state formation or urbanization. Rather, it was fast-paced, mutually transformative intertwinements of cities, regions, states, and global circuits, a bundle of processes he calls transpatialization.To make this case, Schayegh's study pivots around Greater Syria (Bilad al-Sham in Arabic), which is roughly coextensive with present-day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel/Palestine. From this region, Schayegh looks beyond, to imperial and global connections, diaspora communities, and neighboring Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. And he peers deeply into Bilad al-Sham: at cities and their ties, and at global economic forces, the Ottoman and European empire-states, and the post-Ottoman nation-states at work within the region. He shows how diverse socio-spatial intertwinements unfolded in tandem during a transformative stretch of time, the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, and concludes with a postscript covering the 1940s to 2010s. In The Middle East and the Making of the Modern World , Cyrus Schayegh takes up a fundamental problem historians how to make sense of the spatial layeredness of the past. He argues that the modern worlds ultimate socio-spatial feature was not the oft-studied processes of globalization or state formation or urbanization. Rather, it was fast-paced, mutually transformative intertwinements of cities, regions, states, and global circuits, a bundle of processes he calls transpatialization. To make this case, Schayeghs study pivots around Greater Syria (Bilad al-Sham in Arabic), which is roughly coextensive with present-day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel/Palestine. From this region, Schayegh looks beyond, to imperial and global connections, diaspora communities, and neighboring Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. And he peers deeply into Bilad at cities and their ties, and at global economic forces, the Ottoman and European empire-states, and the post-Ottoman nation-states at work within the region. He shows how diverse socio-spatial intertwinements unfolded in tandem during a transformative stretch of time, the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, and concludes with a postscript covering the 1940s to 2010s. Contents MAP 1. Ottoman Greater Syria, 1888 To World War I MAP 2. Railroads In Greater Syria, 1914 MAP 3. Greater Syria In The Mandate Period Introduction PRELUDE 1. Khalil Sakakini Has A Dream 1. Rise Of An Urban Patchwork Region 1830S–1914 PRELUDE 2. Rafiq Al-Tamimi And Muhammad Bahjat Make A Tour 2. Crucible Of War 1914–1918 PRELUDE 3. Alfred Sursock Keeps Busy 3. Ottoman Twilight 1918–1929 PRELUDE 4. Hauranis Migrate To Palestine 4. Toward A Region Of Nation-States 1929–1939 PRELUDE 5. Eliahu Rabino’S War 5. Empire Redux 1939–1945 Postscript: The More Things Change 1945–2017 Conclusion Abbreviations Notes Acknowledgments Index Cyrus Schayegh’s socio-spatial history traces how a Eurocentric world economy and European imperialism molded the Middle East from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. Building on this case, he shows that the making of the modern world is best seen as the reciprocal transformation of cities, regions, states, and global networks.