Sicker explores the political history of the Middle East from
antiquity to the Arab conquest from a geopolitical perspective. He
argues that there are a number of relatively constant environmental
factors that have helped "condition"-not determine-the course of
Middle Eastern political history from ancient times to the present.
These factors, primarily, but not exclusively geography and
topography, contributed heavily to establishing the patterns of
state development and interstate relations in the Middle East that
have remained remarkably consistent throughout the troubled history
of the region.
In addition to geography and topography, the implications of
which are explored in depth, religion has also played a major
political role in conditioning the pattern of Middle Eastern
history. The Greeks first introduced the politicization of
religious belief into the region in the form of pan-Hellenism,
which essentially sought to impose Greek forms of popular religion
and culture on the indigenous peoples of the region as a means of
solidifying Greek political control. This ultimately led to
religious persecution as a state policy. Subsequently, the Persian
Sassanid Empire adopted Zoroastrianism as the state religion for
the same purpose and with the same result. Later, when Armenia
adopted Christianity as the state religion, followed soon after by
the Roman Empire, religion and the intolerance it tended to breed
became fundamental ingredients, in regional politics and have
remained such ever since. Sicker shows that the political history
of the pre-Islamic Middle East provides ample evidence that the
geopolitical and religious factors conditioning political
decision-making tended to promote military solutions to political
problems, making conflict resolution through war the norm, with the
peaceful settlement of disputes quite rare. A sweeping synthesis
that will be of considerable interest to scholars, students, and
others concerned with Middle East history and politics as well as
international relations and ancient history.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(3)
