Bedford Public Library

The Berlin-Baghdad express, the Ottoman Empire and Germany's bid for world power, Sean McMeekin

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. 413-[426]) and index

illustrationsplatesmaps

index present

non fiction

The Berlin-Baghdad express

bibliography

555658561

Sean McMeekin

the Ottoman Empire and Germany's bid for world power

The Berlin-Baghdad Express tells the fascinating story of how Germany exploited Ottoman pan-Islamism in order to destroy the British Empire, then the largest Islamic power in the world. Meanwhile the Young Turks harnessed themselves to German military might to avenge Turkey?s hereditary enemy, Russia. Told from the perspective of the key decision-makers on the Turco-German side, many of the most consequential events of World War I?Turkey?s entry into the war, Gallipoli, the Armenian massacres, the Arab revolt, and the Russian Revolution?are illuminated as never before. Drawing on a wealth of new sources, McMeekin forces us to re-examine Western interference in the Middle East and its lamentable results. It is an epic tragicomedy of unintended consequences, as Turkish nationalists give Russia the war it desperately wants, jihad begets an Islamic insurrection in Mecca, German sabotage plots upend the Tsar delivering Turkey from Russia?s yoke, and German Zionism midwifes the Balfour Declaration. All along, the story is interwoven with the drama surrounding German efforts to complete the Berlin to Baghdad railway, the weapon designed to win the war and assure German hegemony over the Middle East

Prologue: The view from Haydarpasha -- The kaiser, the baron and the dragoman -- Berlin to Baghdad -- Young Turks and old caliphs -- A gift from Mars : German holy war fever -- The war for the porte -- The first global jihad : death to infidels everywhere! (unless they be Germans, Austrians, Hungarians, Americans or - possibly - Italians) -- Parting the Red Sea -- An Austrian in Arabia -- Showdown at the Suez Canal -- Gallipoli : from disaster to triumph -- The blood of the Prophet -- The Shia stratagem -- To the gates of India -- Trouble on the Baghdad Railway -- The reluctant Mahdi -- Iranian implosion -- Betrayal in Mecca -- The holy war devours its children -- Consolation prize? : the race for Baku -- Epilogue: The strange death of German Zionism and the Nazi-Muslim connection

Ottoman Empire and Germany's bid for world power