Synopses & Reviews
What caused the decline of the Ottoman empire in the Persian Gulf? Why has history credited only London, not Istanbul, with bringing about the birth of the modern Gulf States? Using the Ottoman imperial archives, as well as European and Arab sources, Anscombe explains how the combination of poor communication, scarce resources, and misplaced security concerns undermined Istanbul's control and ultimately drove the Gulf shaikhs to seek independence with ties to the British.
Review
"Too much modern Arab history has been written as if the Ottoman Empire had virtually no standing in the unfolding events. Anscombe corrects and enriches the record by uncovering and interpreting the significant Ottoman input without, however, slighting the Wahhibi-Saudi and British-Western sources and interpretations. All are deftly balanced in this fine study." L. Carl Brown, author of Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East
Review
"The nineteenth-century Persian Gulf has been much studied but, Anscombe stresses, always relying primarily on the British archives and therefore seen predominantly from the British point of view. He instead bases his work on the Ottoman documents and sees the Gulf from the perspective of Istanbul... Excellent." Middle East Quarterly
Synopsis
This book dispels the notion that Britain is exclusively responsible for the formation of the Persian Gulfs modern states, putting into perspective the central role played by the Ottoman empire.
Frederick Anscombe explains the reasons behind the Ottoman occupation of the Persian Gulf in 1871 and its inability to defend and cultivate the new territory.
Anscombe frames his analysis around a key question: Given the troubles that the Ottomans encountered in ruling such heavily tribal, nomadic areas, were they still equipped to rule an empire in the Middle East? The spread of unrest in the Gulf states led Ibn Sa'ud to create Saudi Arabia, bringing the Ottoman's place in Gulf history to a close in 1913.
Anscombe traces the diplomatic game of the "Eastern Question" -- what was to become of the Ottoman empire? Contrary to popular belief, eastern Arabia's importance to Europe predates its emergence as a major supplier of oil; today, international tensions engendered by the Eastern Question influence the course of events in the Gulf, and around the world.
Synopsis
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About the Author
Frederick F. Anscombe is assistant professor of history at American University in Bulgaria.