After a brief survey of the Islamic background of the Middle East and the analysis of the rise and decline of the Ottoman Empire, the course focuses on the development of the Middle East since Napoleon?s invasion of Egypt in 1798. Modernization, imperialism, and nationalism are the dominant themes in the history of this region in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The national histories of Turkey, Iran, the Arab states, and Israel are examined. Attention is given to the role of the Great Powers of the Middle East.