The British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore does not shy away from audacious projects, whether it is chronicling a biography for the city of Jerusalem or tell us the history of the world in two expansive volumes. He has a unique talent for entering history and facing the people and events within it at close range. From power struggles and secret lovers to eccentric rulers and scandalous stories, Sebag Montefiore provides a fresh and vivid perspective on history and its giants.
Now Sebag Montefiore is back with yet another ambitious book. The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East, spans the history of the entire Middle East over the last hundred years, from the Ottoman Empire to the terrorist attack on October 7th, 2023, with Israel’s response. The complex and turbulent region has an equally complex and turbulent history, in which European and American imperialism has contributed to the course of history.
Is it possible to tell the story of such a disputed region in an objective way? And what can Sebag Montefiore’s thorough account of history tell us about where we are headed?
Simon Sebag Montefiore also has personal connections to the region through his ancestors, who were Sephardic Jews. An award-winning and critically acclaimed writer, he is known for titles such as The Young Stalin, The Romanovs 1613-1918, and Jerusalem: The Biography.
At the House of Literature, he is joined by his Norwegian colleague, historian and writer Marte Heian-Engdal for a conversation about the making of the modern Middle East, from the Ottoman Empire to October 7th, 2023.
The conversation will be in English.
The event is supported by NORAD.
