The landlocked West Bank -- the larger of the two Palestinian territories -- is home to some three million Palestinians. Inhabited...

The Trucial States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the UK control of their defense and foreign affairs in 19th-century...

Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire by reformer and national hero Mustafa KEMAL,...

After World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria....

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's...

Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar within the last 60 years transformed itself from a poor...

The inhabitants of the area of present-day Oman have long prospered from Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century,...

As a result of its location at the crossroads of three continents, the area that is modern-day Lebanon is rich...

Kuwait has been ruled by the AL-SABAH dynasty since the 18th century. The threat of Ottoman invasion in 1899 prompted...

After World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to...

Israel has become a regional economic and military powerhouse, leveraging its prosperous high-tech sector, large defense industry, and concerns about Iran to...