Why an avid history buff must read Eugene Rogan's "The Arabs: A History" at least once in this lifetime?
Eugene Rogan in 2010, published a mammoth epic (The Arabs: A History) that chronicled 550-600 years of modern Arab history stemming from the Mamluk and Ottoman Empires to the gut-wrenching days of the Arab Spring Revolution. Later on, he revised this book four times (until 2018) to include additional crucial events that stamped the supremacy of the region. In his work, he covers the events en masse from the corners of Morocco unto the borders of Iran.
Rogan's work discusses the lives of Arab people from the perspective of an Arab citizen. Characters ranging from a barber, a courtier to various military generals are given equal importance due to their unique skillset in preserving the notes of life and aspirations endured by the people for a lifetime. As we go through certain chapters, one cannot help but shed tears on those people whose lives were purged due to fanatical ambitions pursued by their leaders.
When we view the Arab world, we think about 'Islam' as the only religion and 'Arabic' as their only language. However, Rogan differs from this convention and urges the reader to look beyond it. He ensured the readers see for themselves how sectarianism already prevalent within the Arab society, upon propelled by demonic colonial policies adopted by foreign powers such as the Ottoman Turks, Britain and France all later intensified the disunity, discord and suspicion among the Arab brethren. Moreover, he clearly spends time in explaining some of the unique governance systems established in select Arab countries by multiple colonial powers resulting in perpetual instability that will plague the world even in the 21st century.
In the book, Egypt takes a strategic share of the history discussion owing to its central position in rousing the Arab identity, nationalism and future revolutions. Meanwhile, the painful stories of oppressed communities from Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Palestine and Iraq will deeply move you. Subsequently, Rogan elucidated on the importance of women in shaping the freedom movements and sovereignty of their countries. These anecdotes recounted by homemakers to UN envoys will give a strong idea as to how the social order of the day persisted in the region. The triumvirate of comprising of radical Islamist ideologies, the discovery of crude oil and the Cold War dynamics will go on to cement the prominence of the Arab World even today.
Beyond random dates, Eugene Rogan offers a massive cinematic experience into the determination and willpower of generations of Arabs that built their presence and shaped their influence in this world. Lastly, this book also provides an answer to a question governing our minds, "Why Do Conflicts and Ideologies Overseas Directly Influence Our Lives?", and it clearly directs us to reexamine the precursor events that molds modern society.
Book - https://goodreads.com/book/show/15931363.The_Arabs_A_History
