late 17th century
Omanis expand naval power, found E African coastal empire
c. 1720
birth of Muhammad b. Abd al-Wahhab, puritan reformer
1722
first Arabic printing press in Constantinople
18th century
renewed diaspora of Arabs around Indian Ocean rim
S Arabian oceanic emigrants lead commerce, religion, politics
mid-18th century
Persian encroachment in E Arabia
rise of Wahhabi puritan movement, C Arabia
Wahhabi alliance with Muhammad b. Sa’ud
late 18th century
British navy protects merchantmen in Gulf from Arab raids
1783
Bedouin raiders conquer Bahrain
1798
Wahhabis defeat an Ottoman army sent to subdue them
French under Napoleon invade Egypt, defeat Mamluks
French introduce Arabic printing to Egypt
1800
French in Cairo print the first, short-lived Arabic newspaper
1801
Ottoman-British forces expel French from Egypt
1802
Wahhabis devastate Shi’i sites in S Iraq
1805–12
Wahhabis occupy Mecca
1812
Muhammad Ali Pasha exterminates Mamluk remnants in Egypt
1813–18
Muhammad Ali defeats Wahhabis in Arabian Peninsula
19th century
Muhammad Ali re-orientates Egypt intellectually towards Europe
Arabic replaces Turkish as official language in Egypt
printing begins to spread slowly through the Arabic world
the ‘Awakening’: a renewal of Arab identity
reinvigoration, among intellectuals, of written high Arabic
idea of an Arab ‘nation’, part-inspired by European nationalisms
1822
government press founded in Cairo
1826
a group of young Egyptians is sent to study in Paris
1828
the first enduring government newspaper is established in Cairo
1830
French begin takeover of Algeria
1835
Cairo ‘House of Tongues’ founded to translate European books
1839
British take Aden
mid-19th century
Ottomans re-occupy parts of Yemen
the steam railway introduced to Egypt
first Arabic newspapers outside Egypt
1860s
Cairo gets a Parisian-style street-plan and an opera house
1869
opening of the Suez Canal
1870s on
British-ruled Aden flourishes with increased sea traffic
Ottomans impose strict censorship on burgeoning Arabic press
1876
Egypt bankrupt: European powers impose financial control
1881
revolt of Egyptian army officers under Ahmad Urabi
1881 on
N Algeria brought under metropolitan French administration
French suppress use of high Arabic, especially in Algeria
1882
British enter Egypt at Ottoman behest, assume administration
1883
French take Tunisia
1890s on
Levantine Arabs migrate to Europe, W Africa, the Americas
Yemenis found first Arab communities in Britain
Germans woo Ottomans to gain presence in Arab lands
1908
Hijaz Railway (Damascus–Medina) completed
revolution of the nationalist ‘Young Turks’
Turkish enforced as sole official language of Arab lands
1912
French protectorate over much of Morocco
Spanish protectorates in N and SW Morocco
1916
British recognize Sharif Husayn as King of the Hijaz
Sharif Husayn promotes himself to ‘King of the Arabs’
Husayn’s British-backed ‘Arab Revolt’ against Ottomans
France and Britain agree to divide Ottoman-ruled Arab lands
1917
Balfour Declaration, promoting Jewish settlement in Palestine
1918 on
the victorious powers divide the Ottoman empire
1920
French mandate over Syria, including Lebanon
British mandate over Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq
Faysal b. Husayn made king of Syria
1920s
anti-British uprising in Iraq
foreign Jewish immigration to Palestine increases
oil discoveries begin in the Gulf region
1921
Faysal expelled from Syria by French
Faysal made king of Iraq by British
Abd Allah b. Husayn made king of Transjordan by British
Wahhabi tribesmen raid and massacre Yemeni pilgrims
1921–6
Moroccan Berbers fight French and Spanish colonialists
1922
League of Nations grants provisional Arab independence
the independence is subject to British and French mandates
1923
Egypt a constitutional monarchy with political pluralism
1924
Ottoman ex-sultan stripped of title ‘caliph’
Sharif Husayn makes unsuccessful claim on caliphal title
Abd al-Aziz Ibn Sa’ud invades Hijaz, deposes Husayn
1925–7
Druze and wider Syrian rebellion against French
1926
Taha Husayn questions authenticity of pre-Islamic poetry
Wahhabis attack Egyptian pilgrim procession at Mecca
1928
post-Ottoman Turkey drops Arabic script, adopts Latin
1929–30
Ibn Sa’ud suppresses extremist Wahhabi ‘Ikhwan’
1930
British grant formal independence to Iraq
1930s
British try to pacify Aden hinterland
1932
Ibn Sa’ud names his Arabian realm ‘Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’
1934
Italians establish colony of Libya
1936 on
British in Palestine in conflict with Palestinians, then with Zionists
Ibn Sa’ud moots Arab unity with himself at head
Abd Allah (Transjordan) moots Arab unity with himself at head
Iraqis moot Arab unity with themselves at head
1938
commercial quantities of oil found at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
early 1940s
Ba’th (‘Resurrection’) Party founded, Syria
1945
Arab League founded at Egyptian instigation
French have withdrawn from Syria and Lebanon
British forces leave Egypt but stay in Suez Canal Zone
1946
King David Hotel, Jerusalem, bombed by extremist Zionists
1948
war between Zionists and Arab neighbours
the war sets 750,000 Palestinian refugees in motion
1952
anti-British riots in Cairo
revolution of Free Officers in Egypt topples British-backed king
1953
King Abd al-Aziz Ibn Sa’ud dies
1954
Nasser assumes presidency of Egypt
failed assassination attempt on Nasser by Muslim Brotherhood
war of liberation begins in Algeria
1955
Saudis expelled from al-Buraymi (Oman–Abu Dhabi border)
1956
Nasser nationalizes Suez Canal
Britain, France and Israel confront Egypt in Canal Zone
USSR and USA force Britain, France and Israel to withdraw
French grant independence to Tunisia and Morocco
1956 on
cheap transistor radios bec
ome widely available
Arab leaders begin to espouse radio broadcasting
Egypt the political and cultural centre of the Arabic world
1958
Egypt and Syria form the United Arab Republic (UAR)
Yemen joins the UAR to form the United Arab States (UAS)
Jordan and Iraq briefly form their own union
Nasser-inspired revolution in Iraq overthrows the monarchy
1959
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) founded
1961
the UAR and UAS dissolve
1962
French rule ends in Algeria
Nasser-inspired revolution in Yemen overthrows the monarchy
1962 on
civil war in Yemen
in the war, Egypt backs republicans, Saudi Arabia monarchists
1967
pre-emptive attack by Israel on Arab neighbours
Israel seizes Sinai, Golan, Gaza, E Jerusalem, W Bank
Britain withdraws from Aden and dependencies
1969
S Yemen leadership espouse far-left Socialist politics
1970
Nasser dies
war in Jordan between government and Palestinian population
Hafiz al-Asad seizes power in Syria
1970s
border conflicts between N and S Yemen
insurgency in Dhofar province of Oman
1973
simultaneous attack by Egypt and Syria on Israel
Arab oil exporters cut production: oil price rises
USA and USSR intervene, Arab–Israel war ends in stalemate
by 1974
oil price has risen by more than 500% in two years
mid-1970s
influx of workers into now oil-rich Arabian Peninsula
1975 on
civil war in Lebanon
1977
Egyptian President al-Sadat goes to Israel for direct talks
1979
‘Islamic Revolution’ overthrows monarchy in Iran
Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel
militant islamists occupy Meccan mosque, are bloodily ejected
USSR invades Afghanistan
1979–90
Egypt ostracized from Arab League
1979
Islamist movements gain prominence
1980–8
Iraq invades Iran, Iran–Iraq War
1981
islamist militants assassinate al-Sadat in Cairo
1982
Hafiz al-Asad crushes islamist revolt in Hamah
Israel invades Lebanon
1983 on
Arab fighters join anti-USSR resistance in Afghanistan
1980s
the modern Marib Dam is built
1985
Islamic reformer Mahmud Muhammad Taha executed in Sudan
1986
brief but bloody civil war in S Yemen
1987–93
first Palestinian intifadah against Israeli occupiers
1990
N and S Yemen unify
Iraq invades and occupies Kuwait
1991
Saddam Husayn expelled from Kuwait by US-led coalition
islamists win elections in Algeria but are prevented from ruling
Algerian civil war begins
1990s on
word-processing simplifies Arabic printing and typing
satellite television becomes widespread
1993
Oslo Accords between Palestine and Israel
1994
former S Yemen attempts to secede: ‘War of Unity’
1994 on
Moroccan–Algerian frontier closed
1995
Israeli prime minister Rabin assassinated by Zionist extremist
2000–5
second Palestinian intifadah against Israeli occupiers
2001
attacks on USA inspired by Saudi extremist Usamah Bin Ladin
2003
US-led invasion of Iraq
2007–8
Israeli campaign against Gaza militants
early 21st century
new social media lay ground for popular movements
2011
demonstrations in Tunisia topple its authoritarian president
popular movements against dictatorships (the ‘Arab Spring’)
Bahrain, with Saudi help, crushes Shi’i opposition
start of Syrian civil war
S Sudan becomes an independent state
Arab regimes espouse social media as a tool of control
post-‘Spring’ unrest increases migration to Europe and beyond
2012
Muslim Brotherhood win elections in Egypt
2013
Egyptian military coup ends Muslim Brotherhood rule
2014
Israeli campaign against Gaza militants
‘Islamic State’ takes over areas of Iraq and Syria
Huthi rebels and ex-president Salih take over western Yemen
2015 on
civil war in Yemen
2017
Gulf states impose embargo on their fellow state, Qatar
most territory regained from ‘Islamic State’
Yemeni ex-president Salih killed by Huthi former allies
2018
Israel demotes Arabic from status of official language
Syrian regime appears to survive civil war with military help from Russia and Iran
Saudi regime implements limited social reform but silences dissent ever more rigorously
Arabs Page 70