Introduction

As the main stronghold for 1.3 billion Muslims, the Middle East region is where the civilizations born, such as Mesopotamia, the Persian Empire, Greco-Roman, and the Byzantine Empire. It’s the birthplace of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and alphabets, and the most crucial stopover on China’s Silk Road to Europe. This region boasts a wealth of historical sites, legendary epics, and biblical stories. Since the latter half of the 20th century, it has been the leading global producer and exporter of oil and a focal point for industrial powerhouses such as China, Russia, the UK, the USA, and France. For thousands of years, due to factors such as religion, race, trade, oil economics, and foreign interventions, conflicts in the Middle Eastern countries have persisted, making it a global powder keg that continually influences major countries’ military deployments. Recognizing the importance of the Middle East, UDP has specially introduced the Cambridge Archives – Middle East (official British documents from the 16th to the 20th century) to benefit scholars worldwide.