Michael Provence teaches Middle East history at the Department of History, University of California, San Diego. He is the author of The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism (2005).

• 1. Introduction; 2. Ottoman modernity in the long nineteenth century: training state servants and making citizens; 3. The theory and practice of colonialism in the post-Ottoman Middle East; 4. Losing the war and fighting the settlement: the post-Ottoman Middle East takes shape, 1918–22; 5. League of Nations hopes and disappointments: the return of armed struggle in the post-Ottoman era, 1923–7; 6. Colonial constitutions and treaties: post-Ottoman militarism, 1927–36; 7. The final days of the last Ottoman generation, 1936–8; 8. Epilogue and conclusion.

'A brilliant new history that captures the Ottoman foundations of the modern Middle East in the decades between the First and Second World Wars. The hopes and disappointments of the interwar years shaped the Arab world down to the present day. Engagingly written, Michael Provence brings this era to life for readers today.' Eugene Rogan, University of Oxford