history | Al Majalla

Syria's journey from union to state under French rule

First divided into mini-states, France later merged them into a federal union in 1922, which was a spectacular failure. In 1925, it was replaced by the Syrian state with Damascus as the capital.

Sami Moubayed 18 August 2025

An Iraqi fisherman casts his net in the Euphrates River, which passes through the city of Nasiriyah the capital of the Iraqi Dhi Qar Governorate on January 2, 2024.

Asaad Niazi / AFP

Nasiriyah and Iraq’s rural-urban divide

It is no easy task to write about a wound that has yet to heal. In Nasiriyah and the Reed Hut, published by Al-Masar Publishing House, Ahmed Abdul Sattar reopens this wound

Marwan Yassin Al Dulaimi 30 July 2025

Dr. Oswaldo Aranha, President of the UN General Assembly, announces the assembly's official adoption of the plan to partition Palestine into independent Arab and Jewish states.

Getty

This day in history: The UN decrees the partition of Palestine

UN Resolution 181 was never implemented, and instead of getting half of their ancestral homeland, the Palestinians got nothing; 77 years later, the situation remains as bleak as ever.

Sami Moubayed 29 November 2024

An illustration of a tribe of prehistoric 'cavemen' battling ferocious animals.

GraphicaArtis/Getty Images

The real meaning of humanity’s origin story

A new book shows what human prehistory has mistakenly taught us—and misunderstands what it still can

Nikhil Krishnan 09 June 2024

On the anniversary of Rasputin’s death, Faith healer or religious charlatan?

Although it's been 107-years since Rasputin's own death, he remains one of the most captivating and controversial figures of modern times

Sami Moubayed 30 December 2023

Al-Alfy Street in downtown Cairo. (Credit: Salwa Samir)

Al-Alfy: Egypt’s Champs-Elysées

During his reign, Khedive Ismail (r. 1863-1879) had dreamt to make downtown Cairo resemble the European countries that underwent remarkable progress in the field of architecture at that time…

Salwa Samir 14 January 2023

90 Years Old and Still Young

As the 79th Venice International Film Festival begins on Wednesday, August 31st, this Italian event is regaining prominence due to two key factors. The first is that it has consistently (especially…

Mohammed Rouda 02 September 2022

Studio assistants set up for a portrait session at the Deo Gratias studio, Ghana's oldest photography studio still operating in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

Century-Old Family Photo Studio Preserves Ghana's History in Black and White

A generation before the Gold Coast became Ghana, local photographer J.K. Bruce-Vanderpuije opened a small studio in the then-colonial capital Accra, where his family would become the de facto visual…

31 August 2022

ALt 23

The Metaverse Has a Surprisingly Long History

Nattie’s metaverse romance began with anonymous texting. At first “C” would admit only to living in a nearby town. Nattie eventually learned “Clem” was a man with a solitary office job like hers. For…

Tom Boellstorff 27 August 2022

The stage consists of a round wooden platform as a stage surrounded by a small wooden partition with two doors for the dervishes to enter and leave before and after their Mawlawi performance. (Credit: Salwa Samir)

Takiya Al-Mawlawiyah

Takiya Al-Mawlawiyah, in Cairo’s historic neighbourhood of El-Darb El-Ahmar, is the only remaining Takiya with dervish theater. It has a rich history that dates back to the 14th century. Takiya…

Salwa Samir 06 August 2022

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Editor's Pick

Politics

From covert to overt: Netanyahu's Doha strike is telling

11 September 2025

His emerging strategy shows a willingness to gamble on high-profile assassinations, even at the expense of diplomatic blowback, regional stability, and fragile negotiations

Michael Horowitz

A Hezbollah flag is placed in front of the shrine of Shamoun al-Safa, built within a castle in the village of Shamaa in southern Lebanon's Tyre governorate, on January 31, 2025, that was heavily damaged by Israeli bombing.

Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP

Business & Economy

Trump Economic Zone plan raises eyebrows in Lebanon

11 September 2025

Many Lebanese see the project as a demographic one with economic dressings aimed at expelling the country's southern population from their lands

Souraya Chahine

Activists protest near the US Capitol on July 24, 2024, in Washington, DC. Activists staged multiple demonstrations near the Capitol to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington and Israel's war on Gaza.

Alex Wong/ AFP

Politics

Americans are tiring of Israel. Will US policy follow?

01 September 2025

While the US public has long been supportive of Israel, its genocide in Gaza appears to have had a big effect, with most young Americans now outright hostile towards it

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy

Opinion

'The Voice of Hind Rajab' shows cries for justice are only getting louder

07 September 2025

A 24-minute standing ovation at the film premiere was more than a symbolic gesture of justice for Israel's murder of little Hind, but a heartfelt cry of real anguish over the ongoing genocide in Gaza

Samer Abou Hawwach

Al Majalla

Culture & Social Affairs

Fathy Embaby on using history to understand the present

05 September 2025

The Egyptian novelist—one of the Arab world's renowned writers of epic fiction—reveals the details of his craft to Al Majalla as the fourth book in his 'River' series captures a key moment

El-Sayed Hussein

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