The History of the Middle East: Every Year (600–2024)

From the first revelation in Mecca to the Arab Spring: 1,424 years of borders in the Middle East and North Africa, one year at a time. The Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, the Fatimids, Seljuks and Crusaders, Saladin, the Mamluks and Mongols, the Ottomans and Safavids, the European mandates, Israel, the Gulf states and the wars of the modern era. 0:00 600 – Rome and Persia before Islam 0:22 632 – The Rashidun conquests 0:39 661 – The Umayyads 1:26 750 – The Abbasids 2:42 909 – Fatimids, Buyids and the break-up 3:50 1055 – The Seljuks 4:13 1099 – The Crusades 4:47 1171 – Saladin and the Ayyubids 5:25 1250 – Mamluks and Mongols 7:03 1453 – The Ottomans 7:36 1517 – Ottomans and Safavids 9:46 1798 – The Europeans arrive 10:45 1916 – Mandates and new borders 11:04 1948 – Israel and the Arab states 11:22 1979 – Revolution and wars 11:41 2011 – The Arab Spring The map pauses on the years of the key events. Occupied territories are hatched in the colour of the occupied country (the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights since 1967, following the UN position). Sources: borders from Cliopatria (Seshat Global History Databank), CC BY 4.0, with corrections · coastlines Natural Earth (modern) · relief ETOPO 2022 (NOAA). Music (public domain, performed by the channel): Satie – Gnossienne No. 3 · Chopin – Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 · Debussy – Arabesque No. 1 · Satie – Gymnopédie No. 1 Found an error? Comment the year and the place – corrections go into the next video. #history #map #middleeast