A major history of the British Empire’s early involvement in the Middle East
Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 showed how vulnerable India was to attack by France and Russia. It forced the British Empire to try to secure the two routes that a European might use to reach the subcontinent―through Egypt and the Red Sea, and through Baghdad and the Persian Gulf. Promised Lands is a panoramic history of this vibrant and explosive age.
Charting the development of Britain’s political interest in the Middle East from the Napoleonic Wars to the Crimean War in the 1850s, Jonathan Parry examines the various strategies employed by British and Indian officials, describing how they sought influence with local Arabs, Mamluks, Kurds, Christians, and Jews. He tells a story of commercial and naval power―boosted by the arrival of steamships in the 1830s―and discusses how classical and biblical history fed into British visions of what these lands might become. The region was subject to the Ottoman Empire, yet the Sultan’s grip on it appeared weak. Should Ottoman claims to sovereignty be recognised and exploited, or ignored and opposed? Could the Sultan’s government be made to support British objectives, or would it always favour France or Russia?
Promised Lands shows how what started as a geopolitical contest became a drama about diplomatic competition, religion, race, and the unforeseen consequences of history.
0 有用 HBT 2022-11-27 11:07:36 海南
相当硬核的一本书,主题是英国势力与影响在19世纪上半叶近东的发展过程,但其中对奥斯曼史本身也有很多有益的补充。从中央朝廷和坎宁为代表的驻伊斯坦布尔视角,到奥斯曼各地的领事及其参与的地方事务,甚至是海湾与红海沿线,视角相当齐全。尤其是其中有关伊拉克的部分,和Claudius Rich的简短传记,属实大开眼界。不过还是建议先读下dangerous gift了解东方危机脉络,并补习拿战史后再读这本。
0 有用 HBT 2022-11-27 11:07:36 海南
相当硬核的一本书,主题是英国势力与影响在19世纪上半叶近东的发展过程,但其中对奥斯曼史本身也有很多有益的补充。从中央朝廷和坎宁为代表的驻伊斯坦布尔视角,到奥斯曼各地的领事及其参与的地方事务,甚至是海湾与红海沿线,视角相当齐全。尤其是其中有关伊拉克的部分,和Claudius Rich的简短传记,属实大开眼界。不过还是建议先读下dangerous gift了解东方危机脉络,并补习拿战史后再读这本。