Sources for Everything You Need To Know About The Middle East

My basis for understanding The Middle East region came most fully from Peter Mansfield's A History Of The Middle East which includes revisions, and updates by Nicholas Pelham. This work provided an inclusive if at times long winded analysis of both the political and human factors that have shaped the region. Focusing most heavily on the past two centuries, I recommend this volume to anyone who seeks to further their understanding. 

The Shia Revival, a remarkably readable account of the events leading to and from the great schism of Islam by Vali Nasr provided invaluable insight into the Shia perspective often lost to contemporary scholars. 

Bernard Lewis' The Arabs In History, a text noted in Mansfield's aforementioned work is dense yet unmatched in its discussion of the Arab race from the beginning of recorded history up through the Ottoman period. 

While not what I would call an academic work, Karen Elliott-House's On Saudi Arabia proved a deft insight into one of the most difficult to understand countries on Earth. The authors ability to balance many different topics within the same framing served the reader in understanding the difficult balancing act carried on by the House of Saud in the present day. 

Retired Col. Andrew J Bacevich succeeded in presenting an entire account of the United States' blunders throughout the region in his scathing military history America's War For The Greater Middle East. From the first entry of the west on a failed rescue mission of the hostages from Iran up to The Arab Spring, Bacevich walks through the various American commanders and civilians who consistently placed American troops into un-winnable conflicts while ignoring the role of tribal and religious unity throughout the region. 

Smaller works including news articles, podcasts, documentaries, and short form videos bolstered my knowledge. They are so listed below: 

BBC News, "Who are the Kurds?"  

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29702440  

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook- Afghanistan

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html

Dan Carlins Hardcore History, "King Of Kings"

PBS Frontline, "Analyses- Wahhabism"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html

The Telegraph, "Benjamin Netanyahu Rebukes Barack Obama Over 1967 Plan"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8527226/Benjamin-Netanyahu-rebukes-Barack-Obama-over-1967-plan.html

BBC News, "Profile: Arab League"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15747941

BBC News, "Why border lines drawn with a ruler in WWI still rock the Middle East

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25299553

The Atlantic, "Bin Laden's 'War of a Thousand Cuts Will Live On" 

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/05/bin-ladens-war-of-a-thousand-cuts-will-live-on/238228/

The Guardian, "Full text: Bush's speech"

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/18/usa.iraq

The Guardian, "Fear of a Shia Full Moon"

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jan/26/worlddispatch.ianblack

The Christian Science Monitor, "Why Israel is Pulling Out Settlers From Gaza, West Bank?"

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0815/p10s01-wome.html

Vox, "ISIS Is Losing. Watch how and why its happening" 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbDIYj7IIQo#t=188.675052

The Guardian, "How Hosni Mubarak Misread His Military Men"

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/12/hosni-mubarak-misread-military-men

BBC News, "Gaddafi Vows To Push Africa Unity" 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7864604.stm

BBC News, "Libya, President Obama Gives Gaddafi Ultimatum"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12791910

Al Jazeera, "Timeline: Three Years After Libya's Uprising"

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2014/02/timeline-three-years-after-libya-uprising-201421691755192622.html

Al Jazeera, "UN Says Syria Conflict Is 'Overtly Sectarian'"

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/2012122015525051365.html

The Guardian, "Saudi Arabia and Iran Must End Their Proxy Conflict in Syria"

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/15/saudia-arabia-iran-proxy-war-syria

CNN.com, "U.S., Russia Escalate Involvement in Syria"

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/13/middleeast/syria-civil-war/index.html

Al Jazeera, "Iraqi al-Qaeda Chief Rejects Zawahiri Orders"

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/2013615172217827810.html

Vox, "The Rise Of ISIS Explained in 6 Minutes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzmO6RWy1v8

The New York Review of Books, "How al-Qaeda Changed the Syrian War"

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2013/12/27/how-al-qaeda-changed-syrian-war/

Al Jazeera, "Muslim Leaders Reject Baghdadi's Caliphate" 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/muslim-leaders-reject-baghdadi-caliphate-20147744058773906.html

The New York Times, "U.S. Weaponry is Turning Syria Into A Proxy War With Russia"

 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/world/middleeast/syria-russia-airstrikes.html?_r=1

Carnegie Middle East Center, "The Revolutionary Command Council: Rebel Unity in Syria?"

http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=57350

Rudaw.com, "PYD Announces Surprise Interim Government in Syria's Kurdish Regions"

http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/13112013

BBC News, "Iran Quietly Deepens Involvement In Syria's War" 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34572756

Reuters, "Syria's Muslim Brotherhood Rise From The Ashes"

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-brotherhood-idUSBRE84504R20120506

BBC News, "Turkey V Syria's Kurds V Islamic State"

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33690060

Al Jazeera, "Turkey's Zaman: Editorial Tone Changes After Takeover" 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/turkey-largest-newspaper-tows-line-seizure-160306082619067.html

Vox, " 27 Maps That Explain The Crisis in Iraq" 

http://www.vox.com/a/maps-explain-crisis-iraq

The New York Times, "Hillary Clinton, 'Smart Power' and A Dictators Fall"

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-libya.html?_r=0

The New York Times, "A New Libya, With Very Little Time Left"

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/libya-isis-hillary-clinton.html

Frontline PBS, "Al Qaeda in Yemen"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/al-qaeda-in-yemen/

The Wall Street Journal, "The Iran Nuclear Deal Explained" 

http://www.wsj.com/video/the-iran-nuclear-deal-explained/BCDEC52C-E9F0-431C-A645-B6E6F00F6F50.html

Financial Times, "Five Key Points of The Iran Nuclear Deal Explained" 

https://www.ft.com/content/f7dab4ae-2491-11e5-bd83-71cb60e8f08c

The New York Times, "The Iran Nuclear Deal- A Simple Guide"

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/31/world/middleeast/simple-guide-nuclear-talks-iran-us.html

Vox, "How The Iran Nuclear Deal Works, Explained in 3 Minutes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqvghou5m3U

The Washington Post, "The Battle For Aleppo , Explained"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/24/the-battle-for-aleppo-explained/?utm_term=.56682ad47fe4

The Economist, "Daily Chart: Syria's Drained Populationhttp://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/09/daily-chart-18

Vox, "The Controversial New UN Resolution on Israel, Explained in Under 600 Words"

http://www.vox.com/world/2016/12/27/14093320/netanyahu-controversial-new-un-resolution-on-israel-trump-explained

IMAGE SOURCES 

(1) BBC News, “Who Are The Kurds?”

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29702440

(2) Study.com, "Kings of the Persian Empire: Cyrus, Cambyses II & Darius I” 

http://study.com/academy/lesson/kings-of-the-persian-empire-cyrus-cambyses-ii-darius-i.html

(3) Ancient History Encyclopedia, “Sassanian Empire"

http://www.ancient.eu/Sasanian_Empire/

(4) Zonu.com, “The Arsacid or Parthian Emire"

http://www.zonu.com/fullsize-en/2009-12-31-11530/The-Arsacid-or-Parthian-Empire-248224-BC.html

(5) Keyword-suggestions.com, “Ummayad” 

http://www.keyword-suggestions.com/dW1tYXlhZA/

(6) Encyclopedia Britannica, "Ottoman Empire” 

https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire/images-videos

(7) Tes.com, “Safavid Empire”

https://www.tes.com/lessons/mbjMOg_AFjQyKQ/safavid-empire

(8 + 9) Vox, “27 maps that explain the crisis in Iraq”

http://www.vox.com/a/maps-explain-crisis-iraq

(10) Redline, “Is there a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict?”

https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/is-there-a-two-state-solution-to-israel-palestinian-conflict-2/

(11) Mr. Dowling.com, “Gamel Abdel Nasser and Arab Unity”

http://www.mrdowling.com/608-nasser.html

(12) Mideast web “Israel- The 6-Day War”

http://www.mideastweb.org/israelafter1967.htm

(13) WikiQuote, “Ruhollah Khomeini”

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ruhollah_Khomeini

(14) Informed COMMENT, “Map of Lebanon by Religious Sect”

http://www.juancole.com/2010/12/map-of-lebanon-by-religious-sect.html

(15) The Asia-Pacific Journal, “US Military Bases on Guam in Historical Perspective” 

http://apjjf.org/-Catherine-Lutz/3389/article.html

(16) Wikipedia, “Map of The West Bank and the Gaza Strip with Israeli Settlements, 2007”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_settlement#/media/File:Palestine_Map_2007_(Settlements).gif

(17) La Historia con Mapas, “Afghanistan Tribal Map” 

http://www.lahistoriaconmapas.com/atlas/country-map01/afghanistan-tribal-map.htm

(18) Informed COMMENT, “Map: Religions & Ethnicities of Iraq”

http://www.juancole.com/2010/12/map-religions-ethnicities-of-iraq.html

(19) On Being, “The Shia Crescent” 

http://www.onbeing.org/program/sunni-shia-divide-and-future-islam/particulars/4481

(20) Al Jazeera, “Timeline: Egypt’s Revolution” 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/01/201112515334871490.html

(21) Wikipedia, “Libyan Civil War (2014-Present)”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%93present)

(22) BBC News, “Islamic State and The Crisis in Iraq and Syria in Maps”

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034