Why does one of the world's most historically significant cultural regions remain, to this day, at the centre of a conflict that shapes the Middle East and international politics? Anyone wishing to understand Palestine needs more than headlines. As a well-founded audiobook, "History of Palestine" conveys, in an accessible and structured way, the essential knowledge needed to understand the eventful history of this region and the causes of the Middle East conflict.
Even its early development shows why Palestine is far more than a present-day crisis zone. As an important cultural region in the eastern Mediterranean, it formed a geographical link between Europe, Asia and Africa and, over thousands of years, became a stage for religious, political and military upheavals. Canaanites, Israelites, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders and Ottomans all shaped this landscape. Under the kings David and Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel emerged; in the first century BC the Romans conquered the region; in the seventh century a new era began with the Arab conquest; and during the Crusades Palestine once again became a focal point of fierce fighting.
The audiobook also shows impressively how profoundly the modern era transformed the region. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Palestine came under British administration from 1922 onwards. At the same time, Jewish immigration increased sharply, especially under the impact of National Socialist persecution and the murder of European Jews in the Holocaust. This intensified the conflict with the Arab population, which was increasingly displaced. When the UN General Assembly adopted a partition plan in 1947, providing for a Jewish and an Arab state, the Arab side rejected it because of perceived disadvantages.
