Now really the final episode of the series...

This is the final episode of the series. And maybe of the entire podcast too. Want to stay informed if and when a new episode comes out, then best include History of Asia in your library.

Thank you all for listening, I hope you enjoyed it.

We talk about Assyria (and to a lesser extent Babylonia) during the Iron Age.

Just a short explanation why it takes me ever longer to get out episodes. Sorry for the wait.

The Germanic peoples and the Arabs were in a similar condition when they took over their respective parts of Roman territory. A century after they did, the West lived through the Dark Ages, while the East entered a Golden Age. What explains this? In this episode, we try to find out.

Most important (extra) sources for the episode (for general list see 3.1):

LEWIS D.L. God’s Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215. Norton, 2009, 522 p.

BORRUT A., COBB P.M., Umayyad Legacies. Medieval Memories from Syria to Spain. Brill Academic Pub. 2010, 528 p.

In terms of scientific output, Muslim majority countries are currently behind the curve. Many people blame Islam itself. One of the best counterarguments to this, is that Islam was in many ways responsible for the fact that in the Middle Ages, Iraq, Syria and other Muslim regions were way ahead of the pack in many ways. 

Hope you enjoy the episode.

Main (additional) sources for the episode: Al-Khalili, Jim. De bibliotheek van Bagdad : de bloei van de Arabische wetenschap en de wedergeboorte van de Westerse beschaving⁠

Lyons, Jonathan. Het huis der wijsheid : hoe Arabieren de westerse beschaving hebben beïnvloed.

We talk about the Ottoman empire. They survived for over 6 centuries. What is their secret?

This episode is about the later stages of the Ottoman period, with the focus on Syria and especially Iraq.

Most important sources for the episode (for more specific info you can e-mail me):

Yitzhak Nakash - The Shi'is of Iraq

TRIPP C. Irak: een geschiedenis ANSCOMBE F.F. State, faith, and nation in Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Lands BAYLY C.A. The Birth of the modern world 1780-1914.

DALE S. The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals MCDOWAN D. A modern history of the Kurds MCHUGO J. Syria a recent history. SIMONS G., BENN T. Iraq: from Sumer to Saddam.

We discuss the history of Iraq and Syria in the first half of the 20th century.

A long overdue explanation why this podcast narrates history backwards.

We discuss the 50s and 60s. What explains the turbulence of this period, as opposed to the longevity of the Assad- and Saddam-regimes?

Sorry if the audio is leaky sometimes: there is something wrong with my microphone. I'll have it fixed.

If we say the Iraq war was a mistake, we must consider the alternatives. What would Iraq be like with Saddam or his son still in power? We now discuss the rule of Hafez al-Assad and Saddam Hussayn. We compare their strategies and ask whether Machiavelli would have approved of them.

We talk about the Iraq war, its immediate consequences, and its effect on Syria.

This is the story of the Arab Spring in Syria and Iraq, and how it turned to another Long Winter.

In our third series, we set out to discover Syria and Iraq. We tavel by podcast so it's perfectly safe. And free. Enjoy.

Sources for the series (others may be added to later episodes):

The Oxford history of IslamThe New Cambridge History of Islam HARDY R. The Poisoned Well. Empire and its legacy in the Middle East SIMONS G., BENN T. Iraq: from Sumer to Saddam. HOURANI A. De geschiedenis van de Arabische volken KADRI A., MATER L. Syria: from national independence to proxy war SCHWARTZ S. The Other Islam. Sufism and the road to global harmony ANSCOMBE F.F. The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudia Arabia, and Qatar STONE N. De beknopte geschiedenis van Turkije TRIPP C. Irak: een geschiedenis VALTER S. La construction nationale syrienne : légitimation de la nature communautaire du pouvoir par le discours historique VAN DE MIEROOP M., A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 - 323 BC MARR P. The Modern History of Iraq ANSCOMBE F.F. State, faith, and nation in Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Lands MCDOWAN D. A modern history of the Kurds MCHUGO J. Syria a recent history BAYLY C.A. The Birth of the modern world 1780-1914 BODANSKY Y. Secret History of the Iraq War ROBERTSON J. Iraq: a history BOURKE S. Het Midden Oosten. Van de prehistorie en het Babylonische koninkrijk tot de opkomst van de islam BRYCE T. Ancient Syria. A three thousand year history DALE S. The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals NYDELL M.K. De Arabische cultuur leren kennen en begrijpen.

HEIRMAN MARK, Oosterse dagen, Arabische nachten.

LEWIS B. Het Midden-Oosten: 2000 jaar culturele en politieke geschiedenis.

HOLLAND T. Het vierde beest: God, de strijd om de wereldmacht en het einde van de oudheid. DULMERT R. Bonbons voor mevrouw Assad: achter de linies van het Syrische regime.

PAUWELS L. Geschiedenis van de Koerden: de strijd van een volk voor een eigen staat

CORNILIE B. In de schaduw van Saddam: het Koerdische experiment in Irak.

SCHUTTEN H. De val van Saddam

GALBRAITH P. Het einde van Irak: hoe Amerikaanse incompetentie een oorlog zonder einde teweeggebracht

LESCH D. The new lion of Damascus: Bashar a-Asad and modern Syria

NAKASH Y. The Shi'is of Iraq

DUMAS V. Syrië en de hyena's van Damascus STERN J. ISIS: the stat of terror DE BRABANDER L. Het Koerdisch Utopia If you want more specific notes, you can e-mail me.

In this last episode on Iran, we talk about one of the most important peoples you probably never heard of: the Elamites.

"Power doesn't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes from lying... lying big and getting the whole ×××× world to play along with you." (Quote from sin city)How does that work? Check out this episode and find out...

The Persians, and especially the Achaemenids, have for centuries been presented as the ultimate "other". Corrupt, decadent, freedom-hating...

In this episode, we look how accurate these stereotypes fit the real thing. The episode owes a large debt to professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones' excellent work (and several others), which takes many new findings and weaves them into a fascinating new narrative. I advise you all to buy it, of course. Other sources are on my Facebook page.

We talk about Alexander the Great, and how he (may have) conquered the Achaemenid Persian empire.

In the next episode, we'll talk about how Alexander the Great managed to conquer the Persian empire.

In this one, we'll see why we will probably never know that.