Where do I start from to learn about the complete history of the middle east?

by jayrosy1
kookingpot

Where do you want to start? When do you want to start? How far do you want to go?

For the history of ancient Mesopotamia, I recommend Roux, Georges. Ancient Iraq: George Roux. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1964.. Good overview, starts early, but restricted to the Mesopotamian region and the empires of Mesopotamia.

For a slightly wider (at least geographically) history of the Ancient Near East, I recommend Mieroop, Marc V. D. A History of the Ancient Near East: Ca. 3000-323 Bc. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007. This will touch on some of the other geographical regions.

This book touches more on the Roman period

Millar, Fergus. The Roman Near East, 31 BC-AD 337. Vol. 6. Harvard University Press, 1993.

And that's about where my expertise ends. I don't have a good book for you if you are looking for more modern history (history of Islam, modern conflicts, Israel-Arab relations, etc), that's outside my area of expertise. But if you want the beginnings and some ancient history, these books are where I started.

WaTTIK

I'm here to suggest for you to read Isaac Asimov's The Near East, very simple narrative and could give you a wider idea on what you wish to focus on.

gent2012

I think a good place to begin is Eugene Rogan's The Arabs: A History. It's not a complete history, notably leaving out the Persians, but it is one of the most comprehensive books on the region. The fact is that it will be hard to find a single book that will offer a complete history of the region. With that being the case, here is a link that offers many different books that you can start checking out to get a complete history of the Modern Middle East. As a quick sidenote, one book that isn't on that list that should be added is Colin Shindler's History of Modern Israel.