Turning Points in Middle Eastern History

Uncover the dramatic 1,300-year saga that shaped today’s Middle East through 36 pivotal moments with a professor, US consultant, and explorer.

Course Overview (No. 8340)

This 36-lecture series reveals the hidden history behind modern Middle Eastern geopolitics, from Muhammad’s rise to the Ottoman Empire’s fall. Go beyond headlines to understand how battles, empires, and cultural movements created today’s complex region.

Video Lectures

1. Muslim Empires: Land, Language, Religion (33 min)
   Mapping the Greater Middle East’s diverse nations and cultures.
2. Muhammad and the Dawn of Islam – 622 (30 min)
   The prophet’s life and Islam’s establishment as a global force.
3. Arab Invasion of North Africa – 639 (31 min)
   How Arab armies permanently transformed Egypt and the Maghreb.
4. Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus – 661 (31 min)
   Islam’s shift from religious movement to imperial power.
5. Battle of Karbala – 680 (28 min)
   The defining schism between Sunni and Shia Islam.
6. Arab Invasion of Andalusia – 711 (30 min)
   800 years of Muslim rule begins in Iberia.
7. Battle of Talas – 751 (29 min)
   The Abbasid-Chinese clash that spread papermaking globally.
8. The Founding of Baghdad – 762 (31 min)
   Building Islam’s intellectual capital.
9. Islamic Golden Age Begins – 813 (32 min)
   Al-Ma’mun’s patronage of science, literature and theology.
10. Qairouan University – 859 (31 min)
    The world’s first university founded by a Muslim woman.
11. The Fatimids of Cairo – 969 (31 min)
    History’s only Shia caliphate rises.
12. Umayyad Exile in Cordoba – 784-1031 (31 min)
    Andalusia’s golden age of coexistence.
13. Al-Ghazali and Orthodoxy – 1090 (31 min)
    Islam’s most influential theologian challenges Neo-Platonism.
14. Crusaders Capture Jerusalem – 1099 (31 min)
    The holy war’s complex motives and bloody aftermath.
15. Muslims in the Court of Roger II – 1130 (31 min)
    Norman Sicily’s enlightened multicultural kingdom.
16. Saladin: Chivalry and Conquest – 1187 (31 min)
    The legendary general who reclaimed Jerusalem.
17. The Egyptian Mamluks – 1250 (30 min)
    Slave-warriors who defeated the Mongols.
18. Mongols Sack Baghdad – 1258 (30 min)
    The horrific siege that ended the Islamic Golden Age.
19. Ottoman Empire Rises – 1299 (31 min)
    Osman’s dream becomes a 600-year superpower.
20. Mansa Musa, Richest Man – 1324 (30 min)
    The African emperor whose hajj shook Egypt’s economy.
21. Ibn Khaldun’s Masterpiece – 1377 (31 min)
    The Muqaddimah: history’s first sociology text.
22. Ottomans Seize Constantinople – 1453 (30 min)
    The siege that ended the Middle Ages.
23. Fall of Granada – 1492 (30 min)
    Muslim Spain’s last kingdom collapses.
24. Safavid Dynasty of Persia – 1501 (30 min)
    Shiism becomes Iran’s state religion.
25. Selim the Grim – 1512 (30 min)
    The Ottoman ruler who tripled his empire.
26. Suleiman the Magnificent – 1520 (31 min)
    Lawgiver, builder, and devoted husband to Roxelana.
27. Second Siege of Vienna – 1683 (30 min)
    The Ottoman high-water mark in Europe.
28. The Saud-Wahhab Pact – 1744 (31 min)
    The alliance that created modern Saudi Arabia.
29. Napoleon Invades Egypt – 1798 (29 min)
    The birth of Egyptology amid military occupation.
30. Murder at the Citadel – 1811 (29 min)
    Muhammad Ali becomes Father of Modern Egypt.
31. French Invasion of Algeria – 1830 (31 min)
    Europe’s imperial scramble for the Middle East begins.
32. East India Company in Yemen – 1839 (31 min)
    Britain seizes strategic Aden.
33. Egypt, Europe, and the Suez Canal – 1869 (30 min)
    The waterway that cost Egypt its independence.
34. Discovering Middle East Oil – 1908 (30 min)
    The “oil curse” begins.
35. World War I in the Desert – 1914 (31 min)
    Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt.
36. The Last Caliphate Falls – 1924 (35 min)
    How Britain and France redrew the Middle East.