The Arabian Peninsula in Modern Times

31 Pages·2014·0.27 MB·English

JournalofArabianStudies4.2(December2014)pp.244–74
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2014.979080
The Arabian Peninsula in Modern Times:
A Historiographical Survey of Recent Publications
J.E. PETERSON
Abstract:WritingonthehistoryoftheArabianPeninsulahasgrownconsiderablyinrecent
years and this survey — an updating of an earlier examination — cites and describes the
publications in Western languages since 1990 that deal with the Peninsula’s history,
historiography, and related subjects. It looselycategorizes the literature according to subject
and assesses the state of the art during this time period. It also includes some personal
4 observationsoftheauthorontheprogressanddirectionofwritingontheArabianPeninsula.
1
0
2 Keywords: Arabian Peninsula, Gulf, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab
r
e Emirates, Oman, Yemen, history, historiography, country studies, biography, boundaries,
b
m military, economic history, social history, cultural history, diplomatic history, foreign policy,
e
c Britain,USA,Islam,Wahhabism,Islamicsects,IndianOceanstudies,Hadramawt,JewsinYemen
e
D
9
2
1
5
7: 1 Introduction
1
at In an article published in 1991, I wrote that “The outlines of Arabia’s modern history are well
n] known.Itistheunderlyingfirmamentthatremainsterraincognita.”1Tobesure,muchoftheter-
o
rs ritory still remains unknown or unexplored, but, on the positive side, significant inroads have
e
et been made over the two decades since then.
P
E. Thissurveyisanupdateofthatearlierarticle.Thereviewofrecentliteraturenotonlyreflects
J. an augmentation of publications but a (seemingly paradoxical) broadening and narrowing of
Dr focus. I remarked in the earlier essay that much of the literature was descriptive or narrative.
[
y Anincreasingproportionismorerigorouslyanalyticalandmethodological,buildingonthefoun-
d b dationsprovided by earlier “classical” or seminal works.
e
d Thedirectionsofrecentliteratureseemtobedeterminedbytwoindependentvariables.Oneis
a
nlo theunfoldingofeventsthatalterthecanvas.IfBritishwithdrawalfromtheGulf,thequickening
w ofAmericaninterest,theIranianrevolution,andtheIran-IraqWarshapedkeyregionalanddom-
o
D estic developments in the 1970s and 1980s, the landscape of the subsequent decades has been
equally forcefully shaped — or scarred — by such events as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the
Yemeni civil war, 9/11, the Palestinian intifadas, the American-led invasion of Iraq, and the
popular ferment in a number of Arab countries in 2011, culminating in the changes of regime
J.E.Petersonisanindependenthistorianandpoliticalanalyst,7523E.BeachDrive,Tucson,Arizona85715
USA,[email protected].
Author’snote:Duetothisarticle’sextensivecitations,thestandardbibliographyattheendhasbeenomitted
andfullbibliographicinformationincludedinthefootnotesinstead.
1“TheArabianPeninsulainModernTimes:AHistoriographicalSurvey”,AmericanHistoricalReview
96.5(1991),pp.1435–49.Thequotationisfromp.1449.
©2014Taylor&Francis
The ArabianPeninsula in Modern Times 245
in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, as well as a civil war in Syria. Inevitably this has had enormous
impactonboththeselectionofsubjectsandtheapproachestakentostudyingthem.Asapromi-
nent example, theIranian Revolutionand subsequent events focused more attention onthe pol-
iticalroleofIslamandvirtuallydealtadeathknelltotheemphasisontheroleofthemilitaryand
secularideologies.Surprisingly,discussionofthetopicofa“newmiddleclass”,althoughperhaps
more pertinent than ever, has disappeared as well. More recently, the attacks of 11 September
2001 and the emergence of the global threat of al-Qaʿidah and its allies have more tightly
focused attention on militant and extremist Islamists. Much of this writing has been policy-
oriented and geared to impressing policy-makers and/or the general public. Nevertheless, solid
scholarly work hasbegun to distinguish this field.
Myearlierarticlealsoremarkedontherecentemergenceoffragileandseeminglytransitory
states, given the fact that only two of the seven present states of the Peninsula existed in 1935.
From the vantage point of the beginning of the twenty-first century, it appears that the process
of state formation has taken deep root. Now the question is how will these states evolve given
4
1 the pressures of socioeconomic development, political liberalization, globalization and erratic
0
r 2 oil prices, socializationandIslamism, andvulnerability to external developments.
be Second, another conclusion from my earlier article was that “historical scholarship [on the
m
e ArabianPeninsula]hasyettomovebeyondthecomfortablehorizonsofcountrystudiesandpol-
c
De itical analysis” (p. 1436). Fortunately, there has been a deepening in the specificity of topics
9 examined, the analytical and methodological tools used, and the quality of scholarship brought
2
1 to bear on the region. Yemen has long been a popular subject and specialized centers cater to
5
7: the relevant scholars. In the late 1980s, an attempt to create a Society for Gulf Arab Studies
1
at within the Middle East Studies Association eventually foundered due to the lack of interest.
] PerhapsnowwiththeemergenceofacriticalmassconcernedwiththeGulfsideofthePeninsula,
n
o
s the newer Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies will bemore successful.
r
ete It only seems prudent to begin with a few caveats — or explanations. My interpretation of
E. P what is “historical” will be rather broad for some tastes. It does seem important, though, to
J. bring in a broader perspective on scholarly studies in the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, works that
r fallwithinthedisciplinesofpoliticalscience,anthropology,andeconomicswillfindthemselves
D
y [ citedinthefollowingpages.AllthereferencesIwillciteareinWesternlanguages,sinceworksin
d b Arabic and Persian are ably covered by in essays by Fahad Ahmad Bishara and Gholam Reza
de Vatandoust.2 Most of these works are in English, undoubtedly reflecting the long and deep
a
o relations between Britain and the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, as well as English being the
nl
w nexus for academic writing today. But that should not obscure the recognition that there is an
o
D expandingbody of literature in other Western languages, particularlyFrench and German.
Reflectingmyowninterests,therestrictedspaceforthissurvey,andlogicalcontinuationofthe
terms ofmyarticle mentioned earlier, the selection ofworks for citation islimited tothe modern
period and geographically to the Arabian Peninsula. Undoubtedly I have missed many pertinent
andvaluablepublications.Ibegthereader’sindulgenceandwelcomecommentsandsuggestions.
Whoaretheseauthors?Inmyearlierarticle,Imadereferencetothemanybooksandarticles
writtenbyacombinationofforeign(heavilyBritish)officialspostedtotheregionandacadreof
intrepidtravelers.Thesearethefoundationstonesuponwhichlaterworkandsubsequentgener-
ationsofscholarsandotherobservershavebeenabletobuild.Weshallnotseetheirlikeagain.
2“NarrativeandtheHistorian’sCraftintheArabicHistoriographyoftheGulf”and“TheHistoriography
ofthePersianGulf:ASurveyoftheNineteenthandTwentiethCenturyPersianSources”,respectivelyinThe
PersianGulfinModernTimes:People,Ports,andHistory,editedbyLawrenceG.Potter(NewYork:Pal-
graveMacmillan,2015).
246 J.E. Peterson
Foratleastsome,questionsmayremainabouttheirpoliticsandtheirattitudestowardthepeoples
andcultureoftheregion,buttherecanbelittledoubtabouttheirdedicationtoaccurateandoften
minute description, analysis, and translation. The sympathy and close identification of others is
beyonddoubt, among them Miles, Thesiger,Ingrams, Wilson, Lorimer,Cox, and Philby.
Tobesure,therearediplomatstodaywhopublishontheregion—andnotalwaysonpolicy-
orientedmatters.Manyfinditmoreconvenienttowriteaftertheirretirement.Thesemayinclude
subjects in which they have had personal interests, as well as memoirs and mea culpas, for
example,Bernard Burrowsand Glen Balfour-Paul.
Ofcourse,averysignificantandwelcomedevelopmenthasbeenthegrowingemergenceof
scholarsfromtheregion.Manyhavedoneverycompetentdoctoralwork,someofwhichhasbeen
publishedinbookorarticleform.Unfortunately,themajorityseemsubsequentlytoeitherpursue
non-scholarly occupations or get caught in a social environment that deadens the scholarly
impulse. There are disadvantages as well as advantages to being from the region or country on
which one researches and writes.
4
1 ThereisalsothecuriousphenomenonofscholarswhohavepublishedontheArabianPenin-
0
r 2 sulabutthenhavedisappearedfromtheliterature.Somehavepursuedsimilarorotherinterestsin
e
b adifferentgeographicregion,somemaintainedascholarlyinterestinthesubjectonlyduringand
m
e perhapsimmediatelyaftertheirdoctoraldissertation/thesiswork,andsomehaveabandonedscho-
c
De larlypursuitsaltogether.Thiswasperhapsunderstandableinearliertimeswhenaccesswasextre-
9 melydifficult. But it is surprising to see this phenomenon continuing into the last twodecades.
2
1 TherehasalwaysbeenaproblemofaccesstothecountriesofthePeninsulainordertocarry
5
7: outscholarlyresearchandfieldwork.Notably,thishaseasedinrecentyears.Forexample,access
1
at to Saudi Arabia was almost impossible and those who gained it tended either to work in the
] kingdom or have a personal connection with someone who did. In the last decade or so,
n
o
s however, the number of young scholars who have spent time in Saudi Arabia has burgeoned.
r
e
et Their ability to research and write intimately on their areas of specialization owes much to the
E. P liberalizationofattitudesinthePeninsulatoscholars.Manyproblemsremain—forindigenous
J. scholarsaswellasforeignones—butprogresshasbeenmade.Inthemeantime,scholarssuchas
r Assem Dessouki, Paul Dresch, Alexander Knysh, Madawi al-Rasheed, Jane Bristol-Rhys, and
D
y [ Jörg Matthias Determann have contemplated the writing of history in and about the Arabian
d b Peninsula andpublishedtheir conclusions in recent years.3
de Priortothe1990s,historicalstudyoftheregionoftenandnecessarilyrelieduponarchives—
a
o principally(althoughnotexclusively)thosefoundinLondon.Thepassageoftimehasalteredthis
nl
w necessity. The multiplicity of secondary sources and their extensiveness has enabled many new
o
D
3PaulDresch,“ImamsandTribes:TheWritingandActingofHistoryinUpperYemen”,inTribesand
StateFormationintheMiddleEast,editedbyPhillipS.KhouryandJosephKostiner(Berkeley:Universityof
CaliforniaPress,1990),pp.252–87;AssemDessouki,“SocialandPoliticalDimensionsoftheHistoriogra-
phyoftheArabGulf”,inStatecraftintheMiddleEast:Oil,HistoricalMemory,andPopularCulture,edited
byEricDavisandNicolasGavrielides(Miami:FloridaInternationalUniversityPress,1991),pp.92–115;
Madawi al-Rasheed, “Political Legitimacy and the Production of History: The Case of Saudi Arabia”, in
NewFrontiersinMiddleEastSecurity,editedbyLenoreG.Martin(NewYork:StMartin’sPress,1998),
pp.25–46;idem,“TheCaptureofRiyadhRevisited:ShapingHistoricalImaginationinSaudiArabia”,in
Counter-Narratives: History, Contemporary Society, and Politics in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, edited by
Robert Vitalis and Madawi al-Rasheed (New York: Palgrave, 2004), pp. 183–200; Alexander Knysh,
“TheSadainHistory:ACriticalEssayonHadramiHistoriography”,JournaloftheRoyalAsiaticSociety,
Series3,9.2(1999),pp.215–22;JaneBristol-Rhys,“EmiratiHistoricalNarratives”,HistoryandAnthropol-
ogy20.2(2009),pp.107–21;JörgMatthiasDetermann,HistoriographyinSaudiArabia:Globalizationand
the State in the Middle East (London: I.B. Tauris, 2013); idem, “Dynastic Periodization and Its Limits:
HistoriographyinContemporaryArabMonarchies”,DerIslam91.1(2014),pp.94–113.
The ArabianPeninsula in Modern Times 247
directionstobepursued.Externalarchivesstilldominatebutthesenowincludeagrowingnumber
of state archives, such as Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, and especially Ottoman collections. The
missingdimensionisthedifficultyingainingaccesstothearchivalcollectionsofregionalstates.4
WhilearchivesinthePeninsularemainclosedornon-existent,thereismorewrittenmaterial
availableinthePeninsula.ManygovernmentdepartmentsprovidedataontheWeb.Newspapers
are freely accessible. Some oral history collections do exist. A few commercial firms have
allowed researchers to examine their archives. Above all, access to people is easier and often
more productive.
Also in the farther realm of caveat, some classes of publication seem to be routinely over-
looked.Letusnotforgetneweditions.Somemayberecentpublicationsofworkswrittenacon-
siderable time ago (as the dissertation of George Rentz), while others may be updates or
reworkings of earlier books (Frauke Heard-Bey’s survey of UAE history). Some “coffee table”
books are just that, pretty objects to decorate the room. But the value of many other “coffee
table” books should be recognized, both for the original work that has gone into the writing
4
1 and for the value of the illustrations they contain. Furthermore, there has been a burgeoning of
0
r 2 conferences on the region, organized both by outside groups (such as Gulf/2000) and by insti-
e
b tutions within the region. This represents a far cry from such lonely beacons as the 1969
m
e Oxford conference published as The Arabian Peninsula: Society and Politics5 and the earlier
c
De annualconferencesof the Center for ArabGulf Studies at the University of Exeter.
9
2
1
5
7: 2 Political history
1
at 2.1 Country studies
]
n
o Onesegmentofliteraturethatremainspopularisthesteadystreamofcountrystudiesofvarious
s
er sorts.Someofthesearereinterpretations,updates,orbroaderoverarchingstudiesofthePeninsu-
Pet la’s constituent countries, often building upon or extending “classic” works published before
E. 1990. Other studies concentrate on a particular period or slice of a country’s history, most fre-
J. quently on the twentieth century and especially since roughly 1970. In addition, a few view
r
D the country’s history through the prism of a particular theory or aspect. Somewhat surprisingly,
[
y regionaland comparative studies ona countrywide level remain a persistent lacuna.6
b
d Notsurprisinglyformonarchies,afrequentfocushasbeenontheleadershiproleofmonarchs
e
d
a andrulingfamiliesasaframeforthepoliticaldirectionandevolutionofthecountry.Suchstudies
o
nl canbeeithercontemporary(i.e.startingintheearlyormid-twentiethcenturyandrunningupto
w
o the present or reasonably so), or focusing on particular reigns or historical periods. There are
D
4 I am self-consciously pleased that my work in researching and writing the official history of the
Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) in Oman resulted in my creation of the SAFArchives, carefully preserved
within the office of the Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs even though it will be many years
beforeanyoneisallowedtousethem.
5 Derek Hopwood (ed.), The Arabian Peninsula: Society and Politics (London: George Allen and
Unwin,1972).
6Oneofthefewworks,albeitashortone,totacklethejobisFraukeHeard-Bey’scentenarylecturefor
theRoyalSocietyforAsianAffairs,“TheGulfintheTwentiethCentury”,AsianAffairs33.1(2002),pp.3–
17.OnecouldalsoincludeHalaFattah’sexaminationoftradeinIraqandtheGulf,ThePoliticsofRegional
TradeinIraq,Arabia,andtheGulf,1745–1900(Ithaca,NY:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress,1997).
SheilaCarapicohaswrittenasweepingintroductiontothestudyoftheregionin“ArabiaIncognita:AnInvi-
tationtoArabianPeninsulaStudies”,inCounter-Narratives:History,ContemporarySociety,andPoliticsin
Saudi Arabia and Yemen, edited by Robert Vitalis and Madawi al-Rasheed (New York: Palgrave, 2004),
pp.11–34.Ofcoursethereareanumberofsurveyandintroductoryworksthatcovertheregion,especially
withchaptersbyvariousauthors.Asthesearesecondaryinnature,theyarenotdiscussedhere.
248 J.E. Peterson
numerous examples of the former. As one might expect, the strongest focus has been on Saudi
Arabia andOman.
The formation of the Saudi state, in its three distinct phases, continues to provide fertile
ground for analysis, as the works by Abdulaziz al-Fahad, Alexei Vassiliev, Pascal Ménoret,
andMadawial-Rasheeddemonstrate.7Anotherapproachhasbeentochooseaparticularforma-
tiveperiodinacountry’shistory,asJosephKostinerhasdone.8Inthemeantime,changesinSaudi
society, politics, and socioeconomic development have been explored by Tim Niblock, Michel
Nehme, and Mordechai Abir.9 Saudi Arabia continues to grapple with the succession process.
The glacial pace of change in the kingdom quickened a little when ʿAbdullah finally became
king on the death of Fahd in 2005. But the aging line of sons of King ʿAbd al-ʿAziz will not
last much longer and there still is no established mechanism to moving beyond another gener-
ation,as Joseph Kéchichian relates.10
Oman’sleadershipproblemistheoppositeofSaudiArabia—therearenotmanychoices.The
reignoftheenigmaticandreclusiveSaʿidb.Taymurhasdrawnincreasingattentioninrecentyears
4
1 withstudiesbyUziRabi,FrancisOwtram,andAbdullahal-Wuhaibi.11Thetransitiontoamod-
0
r 2 ernizingrégimeunderSultanQabushasbeenanalyzedbyCalvinAllenandLynnRigsbee,aswell
be as myself.12
m
e ThesmallerGulfStateshavebeenthesubjectofrelativelylessattention.Theenduringexper-
c
De imentoftheUAE,contrarytomanyexpectationsatitsinception,hashadtocopewiththeneces-
9 sity of balancing the interests and quirks of seven different but simultaneous rulers, as Andrea
2
1
5
7:
1
at 7 Alexei Vassiliev, The History of Saudi Arabia (London: Saqi Books, 2000; originally published in
n] 1998 as The History of Saudi Arabia, 1745–1994); Madawi al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia, 2nd
so edn(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2002;2010);AbdulazizH.al-Fahad,“TheImamahvs.the
er Iqal:Hadari-BedouinConflictandtheFormationoftheSaudiState”,inCounter-Narratives:History,Con-
et
P temporary Society, and Politics in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Robert Vitalis and Madawi al-Rasheed
E. (New York: Palgrave, 2004), pp. 35–76; and Pascal Ménoret, L’énigme Saoudienne: Les Saoudiens et le
J. monde,1744–2003(Paris:ÉditionsdelaDécouverte,2003;trans.andpublishedasTheSaudiEnigma:A
Dr History(London:ZedBooks,2005).
[ 8 JosephKostiner, TheMaking ofSaudi Arabia,1916–1936:FromChieftaincy toMonarchicalState
by (NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1993);idem,“TransformingDualities:TribeandStateFormationin
d SaudiArabia”,inTribesandStateFormationintheMiddleEast,editedbyPhillipS.KhouryandJoseph
e
ad Kostiner(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1990),pp.226–51.
nlo 9MordechaiAbir,SaudiArabia:Government,SocietyandtheGulfCrises(London:Routledge,1993);
w Michel G. Nehme, “Saudi Arabia 1950–80: Between Nationalism and Religion”, Middle Eastern Studies
Do 30.4 (1994), pp. 931–43; idem, “Political Development in Saudi Arabia: Empty Reforms from Above”,
InternationalSociology10.2(1995),pp.155–71;TimNiblock,SaudiArabia:Power,LegitimacyandSur-
vival(London:Routledge,2006).
10JosephA.Kéchichian,SuccessioninSaudiArabia(NewYork:Palgrave,2001).
11AbdullahM.F.al-Wuhaibi,“OmanUnderSultansTaimurandSaʿid,1913–1970”,PhDthesis(Uni-
versity ofCambridge,1995);FrancisOwtram,AModernHistoryofOman:FormationoftheStateSince
1920 (London: I.B. Tauris, 2004); idem, “L’Oman et l’Occident: la formation de l’État omanais depuis
1920”,inL’Omancontemporain:État,territoire,identité,editedbyMarcLavergneandBrigitteDumortier
(Paris:ÉditionsKarthala,2002),pp.55–73;UziRabi,TheEmergenceofStatesinaTribalSociety:Oman
underSaidbinTaymur,1932–1970(Eastbourne,EastSussex,UK:SussexAcademicPress,2006).Rabialso
examines the “alternative” and older form of government in Oman through its last imam in “The Ibadhi
Imamate of Muhammad bin ʿAbdallah al-Khalili (1920–54): The Last Chapter of a Lost and Forgotten
Legacy”,MiddleEasternStudies44.2(2008),pp.169–88.
12CalvinH.AllenandW.LynnRigsbee,II,OmanUnderQaboos:FromCouptoConstitution,1970–
1996(London:FrankCass,2000);J.E.Peterson,TheEmergenceofPost-TraditionalOman(Durham,UK:
InstituteofMiddleEasternandIslamicStudies,UniversityofDurham,2004);idem,“Oman:Threeanda
HalfDecadesofChangeandDevelopment”,MiddleEastPolicy6.2(2004),pp.125–37.Anotherworkis
MiriamJoyce,TheSultanateofOman:ATwentiethCenturyHistory(Westport,CT:Praeger,1995).
The ArabianPeninsula in Modern Times 249
RughandHenrikVanDerMeulenshow.13Kuwait’sexperiencehasalsobeenuniqueinanother
direction,beginning with the consolidation of power in the hands of the al-Sabahand Kuwait’s
willingness to contemplate political participation,along with being the leader in the Gulf in the
learningexperienceofdevelopment.ThesethemesareexploredinKamalOsmanSalih’sarticles,
AbdullahAlhajeri’sthesis,B.J.Slot’sbooks,andthestudiesbyJacquelineIsmaelandMaryAnn
Tétreault. Kuwait was also the first country in the Peninsula to create the outlines of a welfare
state, as Sulayman Khalaf and Hassan Hammoud detail.14 The broad scope of Qatari
history, including the emergence of the ruling Al Thani in the mid-nineteenth century, is the
subject of the works of Habibur Rahman and Allen Fromherz.15 Pithy but comprehensive por-
traits of all five countries are to be found in Rosemarie Said Zahlan’s The Making of the
Modern Gulf.16
Priorto1990,authorstendedtoconcentrateononeortheotherYemen.Since1990,Yemen
has achieved a long ambition for unification, marred by the expulsion of Yemeni workers from
SaudiArabiaandthelossofnearlyallaidin1990–1991.Itsufferedthroughacivilwarprovoked
4
1 bytheSouth’sattempttosecedein1994,andanunresolvedstateofhostilitiesinthefarnorthin
0
r 2 the 2000s. The following decade brought more destabilization with the emergence of the Huthi
e
b forcesinthenorth,agitationforautonomyifnotindependenceinthesouth,heightenedactivities
m
e byal-QaʿidahintheArabianPeninsula,andpopularproteststhateventuallybroughtdownlong-
c
De time president ʿAli ʿAbdullah Salih. The country continues to face almost unsurmountable pro-
9 blems of poverty, alienation, Islamist extremism, corruption, and a growing lack of water. Paul
2
1 Dresch’ssurveyofYemenihistorybringsthestoryofYemenuptodatethroughthepost-unifica-
5
7: tionera,thussupplementingandextendingearliercountrystudies.HisbookcomplementsSheila
1
at Carapico’s study of civil society in both separate and unifiedYemen.17
]
n
o
s
r
e
Pet 13HendrikVanDerMeulen,“TheRoleofTribalandKinshipTiesinthePoliticsoftheUnitedArab
E. Emirates”, PhD dissertation (Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1997); and
J. AndreaB.Rugh,ThePoliticalCultureofLeadershipintheUnitedArabEmirates(NewYork:PalgraveMac-
Dr Millan,2007).
[ 14 Sulayman Khalaf and Hassan Hammoud, “The Emergence of the Oil Welfare State: The Case of
by Kuwait”,DialecticalAnthropology12.3(1987),pp.343–57;KamalOsmanSalih,“Kuwait:PoliticalCon-
d sequencesofModernization,1750–1986”,MiddleEasternStudies27.1(1991),pp.46–66;idem,“The1938
e
ad KuwaitLegislativeCouncil”,MiddleEasternStudies28.1(1992),pp.66–100;BenJ.Slot,TheOriginsof
nlo Kuwait(Leiden:E.J.Brill,1991);idem,“Kuwait:TheGrowthofaHistoricIdentity”,inKuwait:TheGrowth
w ofaHistoricIdentity,editedbySlot(London:ArabianPublishing,2003),pp.5–29;JacquelineS.Ismael,
o
D Kuwait: Dependency andClassin a Rentier State (Gainesville: University Press ofFlorida, 1993); Mary
AnnTétreault,StoriesofDemocracy:PoliticsandSocietyinContemporaryKuwait(NewYork:Columbia
UniversityPress,2000);AbdullahAlhajeri,“CitizenshipandPoliticalParticipationintheStateofKuwait:
TheCaseoftheNationalAssembly(1963–1996)”,PhDthesis(DurhamUniversity,2004).
15HabiburRahman,TheEmergenceofQatar:TheTurbulentYears,1627–1916(London:KeganPaul,
2005);AllenJ.Fromherz,Qatar:AModernHistory(Washington,DC:GeorgetownUniversityPress,2012).
16RosemarieSaidZahlan,TheMakingoftheModernGulfStates:Kuwait,Bahrain,Qatar,theUnited
ArabEmiratesandOman(London:UnwinHyman,1989;rev.edn:Reading:IthacaPress,1998).
17SheilaCarapico,CivilSocietyinYemen:ThePoliticalEconomyofActivisminModernArabia(Cam-
bridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1998);PaulDresch,AHistory ofModernYemen(Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press, 2000). Relevant although sharply different articles include Robert D. Burrowes,
“Prelude to Unification: The Yemen Arab Republic, 1962–1990”, International Journal of Middle East
Studies 23.4 (1991), pp. 483–506; Nahida Coussonnet, “Les assises du pouvoir zaydite au XIIIe siècle”,
Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Mediterranée 67 (1993), pp. 24–37; and Jacque Couland, “Genèse
etétapesdel’unitéyéménite:troisdécenniespourconclure”,RevueduMondeMusulmanetdelaMediter-
ranée67(1993),pp.79–93.ThereisalsothestudyoftheNationalLiberationFrontinSouthYemenbya
Russianscholarofthearea,VitalyV.Naumkin,RedWolvesofYemen:TheStruggleforIndependence(Cam-
bridge,UK:OleanderPress,2004).
250 J.E. Peterson
One approach in country studies has been to use specific rulers as prisms through which to
filter political developments. Saudi Arabia has been a particularly popular choice for this — as
in the works by Sarah Yizraeli, Uwe Pfullmann, Joseph Kéchichian, and Alexei Vassiliev18 —
but the undeniable personal impact of individual rulers on the course of modern history has
also been examined for other countries, particularly Kuwait as discussed by Salwa Alghanem
andB.J.Slot.19TheanthropologistGabrielevomBruckhastakenaslightlydifferentviewinelu-
cidatingtheroleofYemen’ssadat,thecountry’spre-revolutionrulingclasscomprisedofdescen-
dants of the Prophet Muhammad.20
Mostworkbyscholarsfromtheregiononcountry-studytopicshasyettobepublished.Afew
exceptionsareHusseinGhubash’srevisedFrenchdoctoralthesisonOman,therevisedthesisby
AqilKazimonthe UAE, andSulaiman al-Farsi’srevised thesisonOman .Severalother theses
doneinBritainremainunpublishedanddifficulttoaccess.TheseincludetwoonOman,Saidal-
Hashimy’s thesis on the Ibadi Imamate in Oman and Abdulmalik al-Hinai’s study of state for-
mation in Oman.21
4
1
0
2
r
e
mb 2.2 Sub-country studies
e
ec The broad country-wide emphasis only explains part of what has happened and why in these
D
9 countries. Narrower or more focused studies on smaller geographic units have also been a
1 2 feature of the recent literature. Much of this has been devoted to Saudi Arabia. But Saudi
7:5 Arabia is a recent invention and its component parts have their own distinct pasts. The most
1 prominent of them is of course Najd, the homeland of the Al Saʿud as well as the location of
at
] their capital at Riyadh. But Najd itself is divided into distinct components. So while Uwaidah
n
o
s
r
e
Pet 18SarahYizraeli,TheRemakingofSaudiArabia:TheStruggleBetweenKingSaʿudandCrownPrince
E. Faysal,1953–1962(TelAviv:TelAvivUniversity,MosheDayanCenter forMiddleEasternandAfrican
J. Studies, 1997); idem, Politics and Society in Saudi Arabia: The Crucial Years of Development, 1960–
Dr 1982(NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,2012);UwePfullmann,IbnSaud:KönigzwischenTradition
[ undFortschritt(Berlin:EditionOst,1999);idem,“ThronfolgeinSaudi-Arabien:VomAnfangderwahha-
by bitischenBewegungbis1953;DermatrilinearerBackgroundimʿAbdal-ʿAziz-ZweigderAlSaʿud-Dynas-
d tie”, Archiv Oriental 63.3 (1995), pp. 162–79; Joseph Kéchichian, Succession in Saudi Arabia; Alexei
e
ad Vassiliev,KingFaisalofSaudiArabia:Personality,FaithandTimes(London:SaqiBooks,2012).
nlo 19 Salwa Alghanem, The Reign of Mubarak al-Sabah, Sheikh of Kuwait, 1896–1915 (London: I.B.
w Tauris,1998);B.J.Slot,MubarakAl-Sabah:FounderofModernKuwait,1896–1915(London:ArabianPub-
Do lishing, 2005). In this regard, Uzi Rabi, “Oil Politics and Tribal Rulers in Eastern Arabia: The Reign of
Shakhbut (1928–1966)”, British JournalofMiddleEasternStudies33.1 (2006),pp.37–50,contributes a
short study of Saʿid b. Taymur’s contemporary, Shaykh Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi, an example of being
perhapstherightmanintherightplacebutatthewrongtime.
20 Gabriele vom Bruck, Islam, Memory, and Morality in Yemen: Ruling Families in Transition
(NewYork:PalgraveMacmillan,2005).
21SaidbinMuhammedbinSaidal-Hashimy,“ImamSalimb.RashidandtheImamateRevivalinOman
1331/1913—1338/1920”,PhDthesis(UniversityofLeeds,1994);HusseinGhubash,Oman:unedémocra-
tieislamiquemillénaire,latraditiondel’Imâma,l’histoirepolitiquemoderne(1500–1970)(Paris:Maison-
neuveetLarose,1998;translatedintoArabicasʿUman:al-dimuqratiyahal-Islamiyah,taqalidal-imamahfi
al-tarikhal-siyasial-hadith(1500–1970)[Beirut:Daral-Jadid,1997];andtranslatedintoEnglishasOman:
TheIslamicDemocraticTradition[London:Routledge,2006]);AqilKazim,TheUnitedArabEmirates,A.
D.600tothePresent:ASocio-DiscursiveFormationintheArabianGulf(Dubai:GulfBookCentre,2000);
SulaimanH.al-Farsi,DemocracyandYouthintheMiddleEast:Islam,TribalismandtheRentierStatein
Oman (London: I.B. Tauris, 2013); Abdulmalik Abdullah al-Hinai, “State Formation in Oman, 1861–
1970”, PhD thesis (London School of Economics, 2000); idem, “Aspects des antagonismes sociaux en
Oman: marchands contre paysans (1861–1960)”, in L’Oman contemporain: État, territoire, identité,
editedbyMarcLavergneandBrigitteDumortier(Paris:ÉditionsKarthala,2002),pp.43–54.
The ArabianPeninsula in Modern Times 251
al-Juhanyexploresthepre-AlSaʿudpast,Madawial-RasheedandMichaelBaranilluminatethe
roleoftheAlRashidofHaʾilinnorthernNajd,whoacenturyagobrieflysupplantedtheAlSaʿud
asrulersofallNajdandSebastianMaisellooksatʿUnayzah,oneofthemostimportantcentersof
al-Qasimregion.22 The history of Riyadh has been laid out byWilliam Facey.23
OntheothersideofthePeninsula,al-Hijazhasanevenmorestoriedpast,inpartbecausethe
holiestsitesofIslamaretobefoundthereinMakkahandal-Madinah.Theearlytwentiethcentury
followingthedemiseoftheOttomanEmpire,sawthestruggleforcontrolofal-Hijazbetweenthe
Hawashim(orHashimis,thefamilythathadexercisedresponsibilityfortheholycitiesovercen-
turies)andtheAlSaʿud(theevangelizingexpansionistsfromNajd)infavorofthelatter.Thiscon-
flicthasbeendissectedinrecentdecadesbyJoshuaTeitelbauminhisbooksandarticles,aswell
as in the articles of William Ochsenwald, Joseph Kostiner, and Suleiman Mousa. In addition,
HijazischolarMaiYamanihasexaminedthepersistentlureofHijazinationalism.Atthesouthern
tip of the kingdom lies ʿAsir, incorporated into Saudi Arabia in the early half of the twentieth
century but previously anindependent Idrisistate, as AnneBangshows.24
4
1 Oman has also received attention from Paolo Costa and myself because its capital, Muscat,
0
r 2 was until 1970 one of the best preserved capitals in the world.25 The history of its regions has
e
b
m
e
c
De 22Madawial-Rasheed,PoliticsinanArabianOasis:TheRashidiTribalDynasty(London:I.B.Tauris,
9 1991); idem, “Durable and Non-Durable Dynasties: The Rashidis and Saʿudis in Central Arabia”, British
1 2 JournalofMiddleEasternStudies19.2(1992),pp.144–58(reprintedas“Dynastiesdurableetnondurables:
5 leAlRachîdetlesSaʿûdenArabiecentrale”,Maghreb-Machrek147[1995],pp.13–25);idem,“TheRashidi
17: Dynasty:PoliticalCentralization AmongtheShammarofNorthArabia”,editedbyR.L.Bidwell,G.Rex
at Smith,andJ.R.Smart,NewArabianStudies2(1994),pp.140–52;idem,“TribalConfederationsandEmi-
n] ratesinCentralArabia”,inTribesandPower:NationalismandEthnicityintheMiddleEast,editedbyFaleh
so Abdul-JabarandHoshamDawod(London:Saqi,2003),pp.214–33;MichaelBaran,“TheRashidiAmirate
er ofHayl:TheRise,DevelopmentandDeclineofaPre-ModernArabianPrincipality,1835–1921”,PhDdis-
et
P sertation(UniversityofMichigan,1992);UwaidahM.al-Juhany,NajdBeforetheSalafiReformMovement:
E. Social,Political,andReligiousConditionsDuringtheThreeCenturiesPrecedingtheRiseoftheSaudiState
J. (Reading,UK:IthacaPress,inassociationwiththeKingAbdulAzizFoundationforResearchandArchives,
Dr 2002);SebastianMaisel,“TheTransformationofʿUnayza:Whereisthe‘ParisofNajd’Today?”,Arabian
[ Humanities2(2013),online.
by 23WilliamFacey,Riyadh:TheOldCityFromItsOriginsUntilthe1950s(London:Immel,1992).Facey
d is also co-author, along with Gillian Grant, of Kuwait by the First Photographers (London: I.B. Tauris,
e
ad 1998).
nlo 24 Suleiman Mousa, “Sharif Husayn andDevelopments Leading to the Arab Revolt”, edited by R.B.
w Serjeant,R.L.Bidwell,andG.RexSmith,NewArabianStudies1(1993),pp.36–53;JosephKostiner,“Pro-
Do logueofHashemiteDownfallandSaudiAscendancy:ANewLookattheKhurmaDispute,1917–1919”,in
TheHashemitesintheModernArabWorld:AFestschriftinHonouroftheLateProfessorUrielDann,edited
byAsherSusserandAryehShmuelevitz(London:FrankCass,1994),pp.47–64;AnneK.Bang,TheIdrisi
StateinʿAsir,1906–1934:Politics,Religion,andPersonalPrestige(Bergen,Norway:BergenStudiesonthe
MiddleEastandAfrica,1996);JoshuaTeitelbaum,TheRiseandFalloftheHashemiteKingdomofArabia
(London:C.Hurst,fortheTelAvivUniversityMosheDayanCenter,2001);idem,“‘TakingBack’theCali-
phate:SharifHusaynibnʿAli,MustafaKemal,andtheOttomanCaliphate”,DieWeltdesIslams40.3(2000),
pp.412–24;idem,“PilgrimagePolitics:TheHajjandSaudi-HashemiteRivalry,1916–1925”,inTheHashe-
mitesintheModernArabWorld:AFestschriftinHonouroftheLateProfessorUrielDann,editedbyAsher
SusserandAryehShmuelevitz(London:FrankCass,1994),pp.65–84;idem,“SharifHusaynibnʿAliand
theHashemiteVisionofthePost-OttomanOrder:FromChieftaincytoSuzerainty”,MiddleEasternStudies
34.1(1998),pp.103–22;MaiYamani,CradleofIslam:TheHijazandtheQuestforanArabianIdentity
(London: I.B. Tauris, 2004); William Ochsenwald, “Islam and Loyalty in the Saudi Hijaz, 1926–1939”,
DieWeltdesIslams47.1(2007),pp.7–32.
25PaoloM.Costa,“HistoricalInterpretationoftheTerritoryofMuscat”,inOmanStudies:Papersonthe
ArchaeologyandHistoryofOman,editedbyPaoloM.CostaandMaurizioTosi,SerieOrientaleRoma63
(Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1989), pp. 97–117; J.E. Peterson, Historical
Muscat:AnIllustratedGuideandGazetteer(Leiden:Brill,2007).
252 J.E. Peterson
been largely unexplored, although the survey of Qalhat under the Kings of Hormuz by
Mohammed Redha Bhacker and Bernadette Bhacker can be mentioned. This is not true of
Yemen where Shelagh Weir has studied the tribes of a far northern part of the country while
Paul Dresch also examines tribal documents in a differentarea. Two articles lookat other areas
— E.J. Keall the faded town of Zabid in the Tihamah and H. Matsumoto a region farther
inland. To the southwest, Linda Boxberger expands on works about the Hadramawt and the far
eastern reaches of Yemen.26 The troubled history of South Yemen and its unification with the
north has received attention as well through the works of Noel Brehony and Stephen Day
while Serge Elie examines the history of Socotra Island off southern Yemen. In the Gulf,
Christopher Davidson has explored the explosive growth of Dubai and the emergence of Abu
Dhabi.27
2.3 Biographies and autobiographies
4
1 Worksofthisgenreabound,addingtotherichnessofunderstandingandpresentingdifferentas
0
2 wellasmorepersonalpointsofview.ThemajorityofthiscategoryoftheliteratureinvolvesWes-
r
be ternerswhohavelivedandworkedintheregionbutthereisahealthysub-genreofstudiesoflocal
m
personalities.Notsurprisingly,giventhecrucialroleofpersonalleadershipinthesestates,many
e
c
e biographicalworksdealwithrulers.Theadditionsarewelcomebecauseofthepaucityofmaterial
D
9 exceptonKingʿAbdal-ʿAzizofSaudiArabia.Itisnotsurprisingthatsomuchhasbeenwrittenon
1 2 King ʿAbd al-ʿAziz, his life,his creation of the Third SaudiState, and hisrelationswith foreign
5
7: powers,givenhispivotalroleinmodernhistory.Thenumbersofbooks,articles,andotherstudies
1
at onhimvirtuallymushroomedinthe1960sand1970s.Oneneedstobeeitherfoolhardyorextre-
] melyinsightfultobaseworkwithintheconfinesofthatsubjecttoday.Thereislittleoriginalthat
n
so canyetbewrittenandthequalityofwritingrangesfromincisivetohagiographic.28Anotherfor-
r
ete mativefigureinSaudiArabia’shistory,Muhammadb.ʿAbdal-Wahhab,thefounderoftheschool
P of thought that Westerners often refer to as Wahhabism, continues to receive attention as well
E.
J. from EstherPeskesandbythepublication after manyyears ofthe seminal doctoral dissertation
r by George Rentz.
D
[ Longtime Saudi Arabian minister, writer, and poet Ghazi Algosaibi is one of the few Gulf
y
b politicians to publish an autobiography. A more recent but equally imposing figure in Saudi
d
e history, King Faysal, is the subject of biographies by Joseph Kéchichian and Alexei Vassiliev,
d
oa while David Ottaway has produced a study of Saudi Arabia’s long-time ambassador to the
nl
w
o
D
26 Noel Brehony, Yemen Divided: The Story of a Failed State in South Arabia (London: I.B. Tauris,
2011); Stephen W. Day, Regionalism and Rebellion in Yemen: A Troubled National Union (Cambridge:
CambridgeUniversityPress,2012);SergeD.Elie,“State-CommunityRelationsinYemen:Soqotra’sHis-
toricalFormationasaSub-NationalPolity”,HistoryandAnthropology20(2009),pp.363–93.
27E.J.Keall,“DrasticChangesin16thCenturyZabid”,ProceedingsoftheSeminarforArabianStudies
21(1991),pp.79–96;H.Matsumoto,“TheHistoryofʿUzlahandMikhlafinNorthYemen”,Proceedingsof
theSeminarforArabianStudies24(1994),pp.175–82;LindaBoxberger,OntheEdgeofEmpire:Hadh-
ramawt,Emigration,andtheIndianOcean,1880s–1930s(Albany,NY:StateUniversityofNewYorkPress,
2002); Mohammed Redha Bhacker and Bernadette Bhacker, “Qalhat in Arabian History: Context and
Chronicles”,JournalofOmanStudies13(2004),pp.11–56;PaulDresch,TheRulesofBarat:TribalDocu-
mentsfromYemen(Sanaa:CentreFrançaisd’ArchéologieetdeSciencesSocialesandDeutchesArchäolo-
gischesInstitut,2006);ShelaghWeir,ATribalOrder:PoliticsandLawintheMountainsofYemen(Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2007); Christopher Davidson, Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success (London:
Hurst;NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,2008);idem,AbuDhabi:OilandBeyond(London:Hurst,
2009).
28OnerecentworkisSaʿidA.al-Harthi,KingAbdulAziz:AnInternationalPerspective(Riyadh:Al-
QimamMultimedia,2004).
The ArabianPeninsula in Modern Times 253
USA, Prince Bandar b. Sultan.29 From a different point of view, Mamoun Fandy has produced
pen portraits of prominent Saudi dissident leaders and Steve Coll chronicles the history of the
BinLadinfamily,farmorecomplexthancaricaturedinthepopularimageofUsamahb.Ladin.30
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Robert Jarman has written on Amir Sabah of Kuwait and Andrew
Wheatcroft on Amir Salman of Bahrain, both twentieth-century rulers.31 A rare autobiography
hasbeenpennedbyEasaSalehal-Gurg,aprominentDubaibusinessmanandformerUAEambas-
sadortotheUK.ThestudyofestablishedmerchantfamiliesintheGulfhasbeenenhancedbya
“biography”ofBahrain’sbestknownfamilybyfamilymemberKhalidM.KanooandbyJames
Onley’sarticlesonanearlierPerso-Bahrainifamily.32In1947,ImamYahyatookaradicalstepfor
Yemen and sent a small group of young men out of the country for education. These “Famous
Forty” and the several hundred other Yemenis educated abroad until 1959 are the focus of
Robert Burrowes’ article. Another rare autobiography has been published by Mohsin Alaini, a
prime mover behind the fledgling Yemen Arab Republic as frequent prime minister and
foreign minister, and translated into English. In counterpoint, a voice from Aden and the
4
1 founderofSouthYemen’sCommunistParty,ʿAbdullahBaDhib,isdiscussedbyA.K.al-Ilbi.33
0
r 2 WesternersinvolvedwithArabiahaveproducedfarmoreautobiographiesandhavebeenthe
e
b subject of both casual and serious biographers. The substantial genre of travel writing, which
m
e revealed so many details of the lives of authors, has been largely superseded by guidebooks as
c
De mass tourism has entered the region.34 Britain has had the most substantial and enduring
9
2
1
5
17: 29EstherPeskes,Muhammadb.ʿAbdalwahhab(1703–92)inWiderstreit:UntersuchungenzurReckon-
at struktionderFruhgeschichtederWahabiya(Stuttgart:FranzSteinerVerlag,1993);GhaziA.Algosaibi,Yes,
n] (Saudi) Minister! A Life in Administration (London: London Centre of Arab Studies, 1999); George
so S. Rentz, The Birth of the Islamic Reform Movement in Saudi Arabia: Muhammad b. ʿAbd alWahhab
r
e (1703/41792)andtheBeginningsofUnitarianEmpireinArabia(editedwithanintroductionbyWilliam
Pet Facey; London: Arabian Publishing, 2004); Joseph A. Kéchichian, Faysal: Saudi Arabia’s King for All
E. Seasons(Gainesville:UniversityPressofFlorida,2008);AlexeiVassiliev,KingFaisalofSaudiArabia:Per-
J. sonality,FaithandTimes;DavidB.Ottaway,TheKing’sMessenger:PrinceBandarbinSultanandAmer-
Dr ica’sTangledRelationshipwithSaudiArabia(NewYork:Walker,2008).
[ 30MamounFandy,SaudiArabiaandthePoliticsofDissent(NewYork:StMartin’sPress;Basingstoke,
y
b UK: Macmillan, 1999); Steve Coll, The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century
d (NewYork:Penguin,2008).
e
ad 31AndrewWheatcroft,TheLifeandTimesofShaikhSalmanbinHamadAl-Khalifa:RulerofBahrain
nlo 1942–1961 (London: Kegan Paul, 1994); Robert L. Jarman, Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah, Amir of Kuwait,
w 1965–1977:APoliticalBiography(London:LondonCentreofArabStudies,2002).
Do 32EasaSalehal-Gurg,TheWellsofMemory:AnAutobiography(London:JohnMurray,1998);Khalid
M. Kanoo, The House of Kanoo: A Century of an Arabian Business (London: I.B. Tauris, 1998); James
Onley,“TransnationalMerchantsintheNineteenthCenturyGulf:TheCaseoftheSafarFamily”,inTrans-
nationalConnectionsandtheArabGulf,editedbyMadawial-Rasheed(London:RoutledgeCurzon,2005),
pp.59–89;idem,“TransnationalMerchantFamiliesintheNineteenthandTwentiethCenturyGulf”,inThe
GulfFamily:KinshipPoliciesandModernity,editedbyAlanoudAlsharekh(London:Saqi,2007),pp.37–
56.
33A.K.al-Ilbi,“L’apportdeAbdAllahBadhib(1931–1976)àl’analysedelaformationsocio-economi-
queduYemen”,CahiersduGREMAMO10(1991),pp.171–8;RobertD.Burrowes,“TheFamousFortyand
TheirCompanions:NorthYemen’sFirst-GenerationModernistsandEducationalEmigrants”,MiddleEast
Journal 59.1 (2005), pp. 81–97; Mohsin A. Alaini, 50 Years in Shifting Sands: Personal Experience in
theBuildingofaModernStateinYemen(trans.Hassanal-Haifi;Beirut:DarAn-Nahar,2004).
34 Fortunately,thateffectivedemiseofexploratorytravel writinghasnotputanendtowritingabout
travelers:MichaelWolfe(ed.),OneThousandRoadstoMecca:TenCenturiesofTravelersWritingAbout
the Muslim Pilgrimage (New York: Grove, 1997); Terence Clark, “The British in Oman Since 1645”, in
UnfoldingtheOrient:TravellersinEgyptandtheNearEast,editedbyPaulandJanetStarkey(Reading:
Ithaca Press, 2002); Hilal al-Hajri, European Travel-Writing on Oman: Orientalism Reappraised (Bern:
Peter Lang, 2006);idem, “British Travellers in Oman from 1627to 1970”,in ModernOman: Studies on