Archives Unbound:
Middle Eastern Studies
 
Archives Unbound: Middle Eastern Studies

Frequently studied and often misunderstood, the Middle East features a varied history and culture for indepth study. This collection provides a multidisciplinary archive of materials to explore the region's diplomatic initiatives, military actions, politics, economics, and natural resources.

International Relations

Afghanistan and the U.S., 1945-1963: Records of the U.S. State Department Central Classified Files - Afghanistan’s history, internal political development, foreign relations, and very existence as an independent state have largely been determined by its geographic location at the crossroads of Central, West, and South Asia. Over the centuries, waves of migrating peoples passed through the region—described as a "roundabout of the ancient world," by historian Arnold Toynbee—leaving behind a mosaic of ethnic and linguistic groups. This collection provides an opportunity to peer into the mountains, valleys, villages, and cities that is called Afghanistan.

Evangelism and the Syria-Lebanon Mission: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Missions, 1869-1910 - The collection documents the evangelistic, educational, and medical mission of the BFM in Syria-Lebanon. It provides a unique view into the turbulent political forces that dominated Syria and Lebanon's history during the 19th century and illustrates the difficulty of conducting mission work under the conditions of internecine religious warfare.

Evangelism in Iran: Correspondence of the Board of Foreign Missions, 1847-1911 - The American Presbyterian Church was committed at its inception to the belief that it is a missionary church and that every member is a missionary. The establishment in 1837 of the Presbyterian Church’s Board of Foreign Missions signaled the beginning of a worldwide missionary operation destined to embrace some fifteen countries in four different continents The records offered here provide invaluable information on social conditions in Persia (renamed Iran in 1935) and on efforts to spread the gospel during the nineteenth century. Documenting the church’s educational, evangelical, and medical work, these are records mainly of incoming correspondence from the mission field and outgoing correspondence from the Board headquarters.

Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Trans-Jordan: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1836-1944 - The Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders, 1974-1977, includes material prepared for and by the National Security Adviser and the National Security Council staff. The collection chronicles the practice of diplomacy and presidential decision-making at the highest level. There are more than one thousand memoranda of conversations addressing U.S. foreign policy and national security issues during the latter part of the Nixon administration through the entire Ford administration.

Palestine and Israel: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1945-1959 - This archive traces the vitally important period that saw the end of the British mandate in Palestine. Documents address the role of the Security Council and General Assembly of the United Nations and that of the United States in the creation of the state of Israel. Included here are the Palestine Reference files of Dean Rusk and Robert McClintock, as well as documents from the Mission of the United States in Tel-Aviv.

The British Mandate in Palestine, Arab-Jewish Relations, and the U.S. Consulate at Jerusalem, 1920-1944 - This collection consists of correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Jerusalem. The topics covered by these records include the protection of interests of American citizens, foreign trade, shipping, and immigration. But there is more to these records than traditional consular activities – the Jerusalem post provides a unique look into the British Mandate in Palestine. Consular officials reported on the administration of the Mandate, Jewish immigration, terrorism, and Arab rebellion. There are unique materials on the relationship of Palestinians to other Arab countries, British policies, the Zionist movement in Palestine and abroad, Communist influence in Palestine, reports on Islamic conferences, racial and religious disturbances and riots, the “holy places question,” partition of Palestine and the Arab Entente, Jewish-Arab relations and impact on Palestine, and Jewish and Arab national aspirations.

The French Mandate in The Lebanon, Christian-Muslim Relations, and the U.S. Consulate at Beirut, 1920-1941 - This collection consists of correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Beirut. The topics covered by these records include the protection of interests of American citizens, foreign trade, shipping, and immigration. But there is more to these records than traditional consular activities – the Beirut post provides a unique look into the French Mandate in Syria-Lebanon. Consular officials reported on the administration of the Mandate, its problems, French repression, and Arab rebellion. There are unique materials on the Druse Rebellion of 1925, religious conflicts between Christian, Maronite, and Muslim communities, repression by French military forces, French efforts to settle Bedouin tribes in Syria, nationalist organizations and rebellion, anti-Zionism activities, riots, and civil disturbances in the cities, villages and rural areas, failure of the Franco-Lebanese Treaty of 1936, creation of a new mandate administration in Syria in 1939, the war clouds in Europe, and Palestinian views on Syrian independence.

The Middle East Online: Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917-1970 - Arab-Israeli Relations 1917-1970—offers the widest range of source material from the British Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office, and Cabinet Papers from the 1917 Balfour Declaration through to the Black September war of 1970-1. Here major policy statements are set out in their fullest context, the minor documents and marginalia revealing the workings of colonial administration and, following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, British diplomacy towards Israel and the Arab states. Additional value has been by the expansion from the original 562 National Archives records to over 17,000, thus substantially improving access to over 138,000 pages documenting the politics, administration, wars, and diplomacy of the Palestine Mandate, the Independence of Israel, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Some of the topics covered include the British capture of Jerusalem, the milestones in the Palestine-Zionist tension and their impact on British policy leading to the Partition of 1948, Jewish terror groups, the background to the establishment of the State of Israel as a Jewish national home, the Border Wars of the 1950s, formation of the United Arab Republic, the Cold War in the Middle East and Black September.

The Persian Gulf States and Yemen, 1950-1959 - These documents highlight the structure and activities of the Persian Gulf States and Yemen’s political system, government, judiciary, laws, military, customs, economy, finance, agriculture, natural resources, industry, communications, and media. Because of the broad scope of these records, they both supplement and complement the coverage offered by the State Department’s Foreign Relations of the United States series.

U.S. and Iraqi Relations: U.S. Technical Aid, 1950-1958 - The program of technical cooperation in Iraq, before the Revolution of 1958, was frequently cited as an example of the ideal Point Four program. The overthrow of the established government led naturally to questions concerning the "failure" of American technical assistance in that country.