Empire and States in the Middle East and Southwest Asia (saylor.org)

This course will introduce you to the history of the Middle East and Southwest Asia from the pre-Islamic period to the end of World War I. You will learn about the major political, economic, and social changes that took place. The course will be structured chronologically. Most units will include representative primary-source documents that illustrate important overarching political, economic, and social themes, such as the formation of ancient empires in the second and first millennia BCE, the political and social influence of Islam on the region in the first millennium CE, the growth and expansion of Muslim states in the second millennium CE, and the impact of European imperialism on the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. By the end of the course, you will understand how the Middle East and Southwest Asia developed politically, economically, and socially prior to World War One and recognize the critical role that the region played in the broader development of European and Asian societies.