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HistoryCentral · World History

The Modern Middle East

A century of upheaval — from the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the European mandates through the birth of Israel, the Arab–Israeli wars, the Iranian revolution, and the conflicts that still shape the region. The major events, year by year.

The Mandate Era · 1917–1939
1917Britain Captures Palestine1920Palestine Becomes the British Mandate1920Syria Becomes a French Mandate1921Faisal Becomes King of Iraq1921Transjordan Is Established1922Egypt Given Limited Independence1925The Druze Revolt Against the French1929Riots in Palestine1936Oil Is Found in Saudi Arabia1936The Arab Revolt in Palestine1937The Peel Commission Recommends Partition1939The British White Paper
Independence & Upheaval · 1947–1964
1947The UN Votes for Partition1947Unrest in Palestine1948The State of Israel Is Declared1951King Abdullah Is Assassinated1952King Farouk Abdicates1953Mossadegh Is Ousted in Iran1956The Sinai-Suez Campaign1958Egypt and Syria Form the United Arab Republic1958US Troops Land in Lebanon1959De Gaulle Agrees to an Algerian Vote1961Kuwait Gains Independence1962Algeria Is Granted Independence1962Israel Finds Eichmann Guilty1964Faisal Becomes King of Saudi Arabia
The Arab–Israeli Wars · 1967–1979
1967The Six-Day War1969The War of Attrition1970Black September1973The October War1974The Disengagement Agreements1975Civil War Erupts in Lebanon1975The Suez Canal Reopens1976The Entebbe Rescue1977Sadat Comes to Jerusalem1979Peace Treaty Between Israel and Egypt1979The Shah of Iran Is Ousted1979Militants Seize the US Embassy in Tehran
Conflict & Terror · 1980–1999
1980The Iran-Iraq War1981Israel Destroys Iraq's Nuclear Reactor1981Anwar Sadat Is Assassinated1982Israel Invades Lebanon1983The Massacre at Sabra and Shatila1983US Peacekeepers Killed in Lebanon1986US Planes Attack Tripoli1987The USS Stark Is Attacked by Iraq1988US Downs an Iranian Passenger Jet1990The Gulf War1993The Israel-PLO Accord1995Yitzhak Rabin Is Assassinated1997The Khobar Towers Bombing1999Barak Is Elected Israeli Prime Minister
The Twenty-First Century · 2002–2018
2002The Bali Nightclub Bombing2005Israel Withdraws from Gaza2011Mubarak Resigns in the Arab Spring2012Morsi Is Elected President of Egypt2015The Iran Nuclear Deal2018Jamal Khashoggi Is Killed
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