I am so grateful to have found your work on Substack. Your view of the bendable nature of history is correct, based on my own study, but you have stated it so well. Bravo.
Your formulation at the beginning of paragraph two – that history should often be understood as a set of sociological tools, employed by the powerful to shape our collective understanding of the past and present – is well put. Despite (or perhaps because of) having studied history extensively myself, I often struggle to express this concept in a pithy way to my friends and family.
I appreciate you highlighting this book on your Substack, because I’ve been keen to learn more about Turkey’s history and contemporary geopolitical role since the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War in February. (I’m too young to have followed the Syrian Civil War from the beginning, but obviously Turkey’s presence has been felt there, too.) If one pays attention, they’ll notice that Erdogan has played a very significant role as a mediator in the conflict, having brokered the much-needed grain export deal recently and, a few months back, contributed to the safe surrender of the Ukrainian units holed up in the Azovstal compound in Mariupol. He’s able to do this, nearest as I can tell, because: 1) Turkey is a major regional power in the Black Sea and Middle East; and 2) under Erdogan at least, the country occupies a sort of neutral middle-ground between the West and Russia. Orlando Figes’ book on the Crimean War (which I highly recommend) also made clear to me that Russian foreign policy has to reckon with Turkey’s regional objectives to a much greater extent than most casual Western observers probably realize. As obsessed as Putin is with Imperial Russian history, he likely respects Turkish power more than one might expect, too. All this is just to say that Westerners would probably do well to brush up on their Turkish history, not least because Erdogan clearly reveres their Ottoman past and has ambitions to strengthen Turkey’s influence over global affairs.
That is a great point, I saw during that period that Turkish foreign policy was very much informed by a sense that Aleppo was a historic territory of their empire. I don't expect that this tendency will disappear entirely.
I am so grateful to have found your work on Substack. Your view of the bendable nature of history is correct, based on my own study, but you have stated it so well. Bravo.
Thank you very much that is very kind. Hope to keep publishing more and getting your feedback.
Your formulation at the beginning of paragraph two – that history should often be understood as a set of sociological tools, employed by the powerful to shape our collective understanding of the past and present – is well put. Despite (or perhaps because of) having studied history extensively myself, I often struggle to express this concept in a pithy way to my friends and family.
I appreciate you highlighting this book on your Substack, because I’ve been keen to learn more about Turkey’s history and contemporary geopolitical role since the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War in February. (I’m too young to have followed the Syrian Civil War from the beginning, but obviously Turkey’s presence has been felt there, too.) If one pays attention, they’ll notice that Erdogan has played a very significant role as a mediator in the conflict, having brokered the much-needed grain export deal recently and, a few months back, contributed to the safe surrender of the Ukrainian units holed up in the Azovstal compound in Mariupol. He’s able to do this, nearest as I can tell, because: 1) Turkey is a major regional power in the Black Sea and Middle East; and 2) under Erdogan at least, the country occupies a sort of neutral middle-ground between the West and Russia. Orlando Figes’ book on the Crimean War (which I highly recommend) also made clear to me that Russian foreign policy has to reckon with Turkey’s regional objectives to a much greater extent than most casual Western observers probably realize. As obsessed as Putin is with Imperial Russian history, he likely respects Turkish power more than one might expect, too. All this is just to say that Westerners would probably do well to brush up on their Turkish history, not least because Erdogan clearly reveres their Ottoman past and has ambitions to strengthen Turkey’s influence over global affairs.
That is a great point, I saw during that period that Turkish foreign policy was very much informed by a sense that Aleppo was a historic territory of their empire. I don't expect that this tendency will disappear entirely.