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By William Dalrymple
Within the spring of A.D. 587, John Moschos and his student Sophronius the Sophist launched into a extraordinary excursion around the whole Byzantine global, touring from the shorelines of Bosphorus to the sand dunes of Egypt. utilizing Moschos’s writings as his advisor and concept, the acclaimed go back and forth author William Dalrymple retraces the footsteps of those clergymen, offering alongside the best way a relocating elegy to the slowly loss of life civilization of japanese Christianity and to the folks who're suffering to maintain its flame alive. the result's Dalrymple’s unsurpassed masterpiece: a superbly written travelogue, instantaneously wealthy and scholarly, relocating and brave, overflowing with shiny characters and highly topical insights into the historical past, spirituality and the fractured politics of the center East.
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Extra resources for From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East
Example text
Iraq’s endeavors toward union or hegemony in Syria had increased steadily since the signing of the treaty with Britain in 1930 and the receipt of independence in 1932. Iraq’s regional foreign policy, which was maintained by the heads of the Hashemite Royal House and the politicians from the ruling elite, was intended to legitimize them within the domestic Iraqi political arena and to ensure the continued existence of Iraq in the face of the threat presented by its neighbors. The shaping of Iraq’s foreign policy was influenced by interaction among four forces: (1) the geopolitical situation; (2) social and ideological tensions and contradictions; (3) trends in nation-building which aimed toward defining the Iraqi national identity; and (4) the process of state building.
According to that treaty, the British Mandate was to come to an end in 1932, following which Britain would support Iraq’s acceptance into the League of Nations. Britain retained dominance and exclusivity regarding Iraq’s foreign and defense policy, ensuring British control of Iraqi oil. British forces, mainly the RAF, continued to be stationed in Iraq, and Britain retained control of the military bases in Habbaniya and Shu eiba and of the Basra port, as well as supervision of the Iraqi Army. Iraq was required to coordinate its foreign and 20 / Chapter 1 defense policy with Britain.
However, in view of the lack of available capital dictated by the weakness of the local bourgeoisie and the limited interest of the tribal landowners in modernization, as well as world market conditions, Iraq’s economic progress was very limited. By the end of the 1930s, increasing numbers of high school and college graduates were finding it difficult to obtain employment within Iraq. While it is true that several development projects had been planned and even implemented during the 1920s, most of King Faysal’s energies and resources were devoted to ensuring his political survival, maneuvering between rival forces and politicians within Iraq, and constructing the basic organizational infrastructure of the state.