British Government files on the Middle East from The National Archives.

Series Editor: Dr Eugene Rogan, The Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.

 

The Middle East Online contains British Government files on the Middle East from The National Archives of the UK. Each series in this documentary presentation of the political history of the modern Middle East will cover a separate geographical region. Drawing on the expertise of the external editors, chosen for their knowledge of the region covered, the most pertinent files are selected from the 8,000,000 documents held at The National Archives to present a vivid primary resource for researchers into the volatile recent history of the region and its relations with the West.

 

Documents are selected from many government departments, most significantly the Foreign Office, but also from the Maps and Plans Department, Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Papers, War Office, Dominions Office, Colonial Office, and most recently, the merged Foreign and Commonwealth Offices.

 

Each series includes contextual essays with links directly to the documents, and other resources for teaching and learning.

 

Series 1:           Arab-Israeli Relations 1917-1970

Series 2:           Iraq 1914-1974

Series 3:           Iran

Series 4:           Jordan, Syria and Lebanon

Series 5:           Egypt, Libya and Sudan

Series 6:           French North Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia)

Series 7:           The Gulf States

Series 8:           Saudi Arabia

Series 9:           Turkey

 

 

Selection Criteria

British Government files on the Middle East are extensive, as anyone who has consulted them in The National Archives will recognise. For this reason, the External Editor of each series of The Middle East Online has selected the most relevant complete files for research on the politics and history of each country or area. The files omitted tend to be ones dealing with the more mundane issues which also occupied government and diplomatic time but which do not throw any greater light on the politics and history of the period. Note: each file selected is reproduced, as far as possible, in its entirety.

 

Scholars and students can visit The National Archives catalogue to locate all the files available. See www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue