The Damascus Seat of Power - by Sami Moubayed (Paperback)

About the Book

"Recent scholarship on Syria has been overwhelmed by analysis of the civil war. This book addresses the modern history neglected by academics over the last ten years. Written by renowned Syrian historian, Sami Moubayed, it covers the late Ottoman era to the years of the Syrian-Egyptian Union (1958-1961) and its immediate aftermath, known as the Succession Era. The book present readers with a Syria that is very different from the Syria of today. The chapters depict a country driven by a need to experiment with different forms of government, ranging from monarchism in 1918-1920, federalism in the 1920s, republicanism after 1932, and autocracy from 1949. The book also includes controversial historical episodes, most of which have not been written about in English before: political murder, the history of the Syrian presidency, French colonialism, federalism, secularism, authoritarianism, higher education, monarchism, and the start of Syria's socialist economy in 1961. In showing a Syria that is rich politically, economically, culturally and socially, the author argues that this Syria could serve as a blueprint for the Syria of tomorrow. The book relies heavily on British archives and first-hand interviews with figures who were active between the 1930's and 1950's. It draws together the key English and Arabic works by the author - currently available only in hard-to-reach journals - with additional new chapters to establish this book as a comprehensive historical account of the period"--

Book Synopsis

While recent scholarship has focused on wartime Syria, this book is dedicated to heads of state in the immediate post-Ottoman era until the end of the French Mandate in 1946.

Here, renowned Syrian historian, Sami Moubayed, examines Syria's first eleven heads of state who led the country between 1918 and 1946. With a chapter dedicated to each leader, Moubayed sheds light on the political culture of the time and traces the trajectory of how Syria was governed through colonialism, monarchism and federalism and republicanism. The study draws on numerous archives, political memoirs and first-hand interviews with key figures who were active between the 1930's and 1950's, providing a rich picture of Syrian political culture during this forgotten period.

Review Quotes

"Sami Moubayed, Syria's illustrious historian, has written yet another original book tracing the evolution of its politics from the turn of the twentieth century till the mid-1960s. This book is an indispensable read, setting the stage for the emergence of the Baath Party and its subsequent monopoly of power." --Hilal Khashan, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

About the Author

Sami Moubayed is a Syrian historian chairman of The Damascus History Foundation. He was previously a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and is presently a Mohammad Ali Fellow at Durham University. He has written extensively on the modern history of Syria, including The Makers of Modern Syria (2018), Under the Black Flag (2015), and Syria and the USA (2012).