"The Middle East"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews Bernard Lewis's book "The Middle East". This paper takes a look at Lewis's aim to provide a concise history of the region over the past two millennia, with an emphasis that is somewhat different to that of many of his predecessors. This paper shows how Lewis sees one fundamental shortcoming of previous writers in that they have downplayed the significance of the pre-Islamic rivalry between Byzantium and Persia.

From the Paper:

"Additionally, Lewis tackles the driving issue of Western influence upon the Middle East. To him, the most apparent outward indicator of the recent changes in the region is how people dress: "The first, most obvious visible change is in the clothes that he [the stereotypical citizen] wears." (Lewis, 3). Nevertheless, this change must be put into its historical context; this is not the first time that cultural changes, like dress, have come about through outside influences. Lewis notes that this also occurred when the Mongols invaded in the Middle Ages. Lewis also sees many of the current political and social battles in the Middle East as stemming from the divisions created by the colonial powers. So, if there was one pervasive theme that a historian could extract from the history of the region, according to Lewis, it would be dispute and competition between opposing powers. "

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