12 Muslim Revolutions, and the Struggle for Legitimacy Against the Imperial Powers

About the Book

In Twelve Muslim Revolutions, Professor Kortepeter presents a broadly encompassing study of the medieval and modern history of the central lands of Islam over a period of centuries. Told in three parts: 1) Revolutions from pre-Islamic Arabia to the Ottoman Turks, 2) The imperial powers’ establishing footprints in the Middle East in the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, and 3) American presidents and their inability to fully comprehend the complexities of the Middle East since World War II. This narrative is told in a very personal manner, borne of on-the-ground experience in those lands, an essential read for anyone wishing to comprehend the story of the Middle East present, past and future. University students, scholars, and policy-makers alike will find Kortepeter’s insights equally compelling.

About the Author

An avid traveller with a gift for foreign languages, Professor Max Kortepeter spent decades studying and teaching about the Middle East. He taught at New York University for three decades and held faculty appointments at the University of Toronto and Princeton University. He has lectured around the world, often in his adopted languages. Other works written or edited by Kortepeter include: Ottoman Imperialism During the Reformation; The Ottoman Turks: Nomad Kingdom to World Empire; Atatürk and the Transformation of Turkish Culture; Oil and Economic Geography in the Middle East; The Modern Middle East: Literature and Society; and The Human Experience, a popular world history text.

Professor Kortepeter holds a B.A. in American Studies from Harvard University, an M.A. in Islamic Studies from McGill University, and a Ph.D. in Middle East History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.