Gaza: A History - Softcover

Filiu, Jean-Pierre

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019062308X ISBN 13: 9780190623081

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2017

Synopsis

Gaza has become synonymous with conflict and dispute. Though only slightly larger than Omaha, Nebraska, at 140 square miles, the small territory of Gaza has been a hot spot for bitter disputes between sparring powers for millennia, from the Ancient Egyptians up until the British Empire and even today.

Wedged between the Negev and Sinai deserts on one side and the Mediterranean Sea on the other, Gaza was contested by the Pharaohs, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Fatimids, Mamluks, Crusaders, and Ottomans. Then in 1948, 200,000 people sought refuge in Gaza - a marginal area neither Israel nor Egypt wanted. It is here that Palestinian nationalism grew and sprouted into a dream of statehood, a journey much filled with strife.

Though small in size, Gaza's history is nothing short of monumental. Jean-Pierre Filiu's Gaza is the first complete history of the territory in any language. Beginning with the Hyksos in 18th century BC, Filiu takes readers through modern times and the ongoing disputes of the region, ending with what may be in store for the future.

About this title

About the Author

Jean-Pierre Filiu is Professor of Middle East Studies, Sciences Po, Paris; author of The Arab Revolution: Ten Lessons from the Democratic Uprising (OUP 2011), and From Deep State to Islamic State: The Arab Counter-Revolution and its Jihadi Legacy (OUP 2015).

Review

"This history ranks as a masterpiece in the literature of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It tells the facts, explains both sides of the coin and leaves readers to draw their conclusions. [...] An excellent but sobering book."

--Michael Sheridan, The Sunday Times

"Jean-Pierre Filiu's authoritative and well-sourced history of Gaza from earliest times to the end of 2011 fills a serious gap. Even those who know Gaza well will find much in this book to enlighten them."

--The Independent

"Jean-Pierre Filiu tells the story of Gaza's modern political history in impressive detail."

--David Shulman, New York Review of Books

"Superbly researched and well written, Filiu's work is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand contemporary affairs in the Middle East and the relationship between the state of Israel and the Palestinian people."

--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"In this thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and deftly written historical account of the Gaza Strip beginning with the Hyksos from 18th century BCE and extending to the present, Filiu... has arguably written the best book on Gaza's history. He shows the historical intricacies between
political and military developments and how such processes have shaped the Arab-Israeli conflict. [...] A must read for students and scholars of the modern Middle East, and anyone who wants to understand Palestinian history."

--Choice

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 019062308X
• ISBN 13: 9780190623081
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 440