From the 14th through the early 20th century, the Middle East consisted of a hybrid civilization composed of various tribes and peoples stretching from the Balkans down through the Arabian Peninsula under the auspices of the Ottoman Empire. To its promoters, Constantinople administered a multicultural society that balanced ethnic and religious differences into a harmonious whole. To its detractors, the Ottoman regime was a decadent, degenerate ruling class that lived above the poverty of its servants and relied upon an endless supply of slaves to feed its military and royal harems. In the end, economic and political weakness led to the empire’s unraveling, as nationalism in the wake of the first world war broke the back of the empire and led it to the carve up into the modern Turkish state and the surrounding nations.
Very special guest Borzoi
— References —
Lawrence of Arabia, Lean (1962)
The Sultans, Barber (1973)
Age of Empires II, Microsoft (1999)
The Ottoman Endgame, McMeekin (2016)
The Fall of the Ottomans, Rogan (2016)
Useful Enemies, Malcolm (2019)
The Ottomans, Baer (2021)
If pessimism is despair, optimism is cowardice and stupidity. -Francis Parker Yockey
Lawrence was unsurprisingly disillusioned by the British Govt attitude towards the Arabs after WW1 and by the Balfour declaration. He died in a mysterious motor accident(Patton anyone) on route to meet author and an Anti-war adherent Henry Williamson. To have a high-profile, publicly acclaimed person such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ involved in the Anti-war movement would have been problematic for the War Party of Churchill and his ‘backers.’ The investigation into the accident was carried out by Home Office officials and not the local police which is usually the case. Also, the inquest was held in camera. Enough said.