History of Asia

Episodes

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  4.5. Of genesis and exodus 21.07.2026 42m

  We talk about how the genesis of Israel as a Jewish state came about as a result of a double exodus: one by Jews, another by Palestinians. This is a hotly debated topic. I've tried my best to present the most common arguments by both sides.
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  4.4. 1967. A lot can happen in 6 days. 22.04.2026 40m

  We talk about the 6-day-war. A lot of information comes from Tom Segev's book "1967" and to lesser degree Doedens Anne en Liek Mulder, Zesdaagse Oorlog: juni 1967: de Israelische herschepping van het Midden-Oosten.
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  4.3. '67-'89. Occupation and civil war 14.03.2026 36m

  After the six-day-war, Arab nations gradually left the conflict with Israel to the PLO. The latter became involved in the civil war in Lebanon and in a mini-civil war in Jordan (Black September). Meanwhile, Israeli politics started to shift to the right.
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  4.2. Nothing lasts like the temporary 18.12.2025 42m

  We talk about Israel, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan 1990-today.Notice any mistakes? Let me know, please! A few datapoints:1987 start first intifada1988 establishment of Hamas1988 PLO recognizes Israël1989 Taif Agreement1993 Oslo Accords1996 First Palestinian elections, Hamas boycots2000 Israel withdraws from Lebanon. Start second intifada.2004 Arafat dies2005 Cedar Revolution2006 Hamas wins parliamentary elections. Violence Hamas-Fatah. Israel invades Lebanon. 2007 Palestinian civil war. Hamas takes power in Gaza. 2012 UN observer status for Palestine but sanctions 2018 start political crisis Israel 2020 financial crisis Libanon2022 Netanyahu leads most rightwing government ever2023 Hamas attack followed by Gaza war. 2024 attack on Hezbollah causes death Nasrallah. Fall Assad. 2025 Iran-Israel war
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  4.1. Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan today 30.11.2025 55m

  Sources for this series (more will be added later):The Economist often for current affairs (cited when relevant)ABICHT L. Israël, Palestina. ABICHT LUDO. Delalniettemin: over Joodse wijsheid en humorARNES I. Historische atlas van het jodendom : de bewogen geschiedenis van het joodse geloof in kaart gebracht.Librero, Kerkdriel, 2012, 400 p. BLACK I. Enemies and neighbours. Arabs and Jews in Palistine and Israel, 1917-2017. Alan Lane, s.l., 2017, 605 p.BLOK ARTHUR. Morgen misschien: waarom de problemen in Libanon niet worden opgelost.COOGAN M. The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press, 2001, 508 p.DAVIES W.D., HORBURY W., STURDY J. The Cambridge History of Judaism EVERS LOU: jodendom, een heldere inleiding.HINCHCLIFFE P., MILTON-EDWARDS B. Jordan. A Hashemite LegacyHIRSCHFELD H. Kernpunten van hetIsraelisch-Palestijns conflict,HARRIS W., Lebanon a history. Oxford University Press.JOHNSON P. Ahistory of the Jews. Londen, Phoenix, 2004, 643 p.MASALHA N. Palestine:a four thousand year history. Zed Books, Londen, 2018, 459 p.SCHAMA S. De geschiedenis van deJodenLEVY RACHEL. Israël op een doordeweekse dag. ROBINS P. AHistory of Jordan, University of Oxford, Oxford. 2004, 266 p.SAND SCHLOMO. The invention of the land of Israel: from holy land to HomelandSOETERIK R. De verwoesting vanPalestina. Van der Horst, Pieter Willem. Het joodse koninkrijk Himyar en de christelijke martelaars van Nadiran: joden en christenen in Arabië in de zesde eeuw. Van Diggele, Els. "We haten elkaar meer dan de joden: tweedracht in de Palestijnse maatschappij. "VAN MIDDEN PIET: Israël, een wereld apart: een geschiedenis van 3000 jaar op leven en dood
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  3.15 Back to the Stone Age 26.08.2025 24m

  Now really the final episode of the series...
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  3.14 (final) The Bronze Age and its Collapse 06.08.2025 25m

  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.
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  3.12. Iron Age Assyria. The most cruel empire in history? 23.03.2025 38m

  We talk about Assyria (and to a lesser extent Babylonia) during the Iron Age.
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  Short announcement 23.03.2025 7m

  Just a short explanation why it takes me ever longer to get out episodes. Sorry for the wait.
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  3.11. The Umayyads. ‘l’union fait la force’ or ‘divide and rule’? 13.11.2024 1h 1m

  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.
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  3.10 The Islamic Golden Age 27.08.2024 1h

  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 beschaving⁠Lyons, Jonathan. Het huis der wijsheid : hoe Arabieren de westerse beschaving hebben beïnvloed.Correction: Nicola, an attentive listener, noted that people in Medieval Europe did not believe the earth was flat. My source says that many did because of a mistranslation of Isidorus. But this might well be an exaggeration and I haven't doublechecked it so I shouldn't have mentionned that. So sorry!
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  3.9. The Ottomans. True survivors 27.06.2024 1h 2m

  We talk about the Ottoman empire. They survived for over 6 centuries. What is their secret?Correction: I overstated the access that the Ottomans had to the spice islands. This access was indirect. They had what the European discoverers were looking for, economically, but only in the sense that they profited from the spice trade because of their position.
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  3.8. The sick man and his strong medicine 21.04.2024 37m

  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.
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  3.7. The Mandatory Period. Original sin. 07.03.2024 49m

  We discuss the history of Iraq and Syria in the first half of the 20th century.
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  3.6. How has it come to this? And why does it matter? 12.02.2024 30m

  A long overdue explanation why this podcast narrates history backwards.
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  3.5. Syria and Iraq in the 50s and 60s. In a state of nature? 20.01.2024 51m

  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.
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  3.4. 1970-90s, Saddam and Assad. In a state of terror. 12.12.2023 57m

  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.
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  3.3. Mission Accomplished. The Iraq War, and its aftermath. 12.11.2023 54m

  We talk about the Iraq war, its immediate consequences, and its effect on Syria.Correction: relistening to the episode, I was shocked to hear myself say that Syria used Israel's invasion of Lebanon as an excuse for its own invasion. This is of course wrong: the Syrians were there first. What I meant to say was that after Israel invaded, the Syrians used their presence as a pretext to stay in Lebanon themselves. Sorry!Another thing: when I talk of the Alawites, it sometimes sounds a bit like "Alevites". Just to be clear: I am always talking about the Alawites. The Alevi don't appear in the podcast at all. Sorry for the (possible) confusion.
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  3.2. The Arab Winter 14.10.2023 45m

  This is the story of the Arab Spring in Syria and Iraq, and how it turned to another Long Winter.
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  3.1. Iraq and Syria today 28.09.2023 22m

  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.