Forty years is a common measure of time in Middle Eastern history and fable, and for almost exactly that period - from th eBritish capture of Baghdad and Jerusalem in 1917 until the Suez crisis of 1956 - Great Britain was the paramount power in most of the Middle East. This book is about the establishment of that power, the uses to which it was put, and the reasons for its decline after 1945.

British Arabists in the third millennium -- British Arabism in 1900 -- Prelude to war: Enter Lawrence of Arabia ... and oil -- World War I: The Arab Bureau and other trendsetters -- Britain's moment in the Middle East -- 1939-1945: Fortunes of war -- 1945-1960: Britain looks East -- again -- 1960-1975: From Hayter to OPEC -- 1975-1990: Arabic on the world stage -- The 1990s: Arabists go to war -- again -- British university Arabism at the Millennium -- Envoi: Reflections of an Arabist. Introduction -- Accident and design in war: 1914-18 -- Together at the peace: 1919-22 -- The years of good management: 1922-45 -- The role of oil in British government policy -- The spectrum of Middle East resistance -- The decline of British nerve -- The years of impotence: 1945-54 -- The fragmentation of power: 1955-6 -- Aftermath and gleanings -- Family tree of Britains Hashimites -- References -- Bibliographical notes -- Index.