Situated at the crossroads of three continents, the Middle East has confounded the ambition of conquerors and peacemakers alike.Christianity, Judaism and Islam all had their genesis in the region but with them came not just civilization and religion, but also some of the great struggles of history. Shifting Sands: A Pocket Essential History of the Middle East makes sense of the shifting sands of Middle Eastern History, beginning with the early cultures of the area and moving on to the Roman and Persian Empires; the growth of Christianity; the rise of Islam; the invasions from the east; Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes; the Ottoman Turks and the rise of radicalism in the modern world symbolized by the Islamic State. This updated and expanded new edition describes the turmoil of recent years including the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas and the bloody and brutal Gaza War that followed.