LibGuides: Primary Sources: Middle East

Middle East

Aden: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1880-1906 This link opens in a new window Documents relating to Aden, a key strategic port on the route from the Mediterranean to India via the Suez Canal, captured by the British in 1839. The documents in this collection are sourced from the Central Files of the General Records of the U.S. Department of State.
Afghanistan and the U.S., 1945-1963: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files This link opens in a new window A collection of U.S. State Department Central Classified Files relating to Afghanistan. It contains a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats, including political and military reports, interviews and meeting minutes with government officials, studies and statistics, government documents and legal proceedings. Topics covered include human rights, trade, culture, religion, foreign relations, crime, religion, education, and more.
Afghanistan in 1919: The Third Anglo-Afghan War This link opens in a new window A collection of confidential correspondence, memoranda, orders, reports and other materials, providing a broad spectrum of information on military policy and administration, including the organisation, operations and equipment of the army during the third Anglo-Afghan War (May - August 1919).
British Campaign in Mesopotamia, 1914-1918 This link opens in a new window Telegrams, correspondence, minutes, memoranda and confidential prints relating to the Mesopotamian military campaign, 1914-1918.
British Mandate in Palestine, Arab-Jewish Relations, and the U.S. Consulate at Jerusalem, 1925-1941 This link opens in a new window Correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Jerusalem. Topics covered include reports on the administration of the British Mandate in Palestine, Jewish immigration, terrorism, and Arab rebellion. There are unique materials on the relationship of Palestinians to other Arab countries, racial and religious disturbances and riots, the holy places question, and more.
Collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Partition of the Middle East, 1879-1919 This link opens in a new window Drawn from the personal papers of Mark Sykes (1879-1919), a politician and diplomatic advisor famous for his role in the partition of the Middle East. The papers focus on Sykes’ experience in military intelligence and diplomacy in the Middle East, both before and during the First World War. Also includes his notebooks, detailing his travels in the Middle East.
Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969 This link opens in a new window The series originated out of a need to preserve the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. Covering countries of the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan.
Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, Africa and the Middle East, 1960-1969 This link opens in a new window Contains U.S. State Department Central Files, which provide American diplomatic reporting on political, military, social, and economic developments. Resources include reports, interviews, minutes of meetings with foreign government officials, letters, instructions, cables sent and received, as well as reports and translations from foreign journals and newspapers. Countries covered are: Biafra/Nigeria; Congo; Egypt; Ghana; South Africa; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Lebanon; Palestine; Saudi Arabia; the Persian Gulf States (Aden, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat & Oman, Qatar, Trucial States); and Yemen.
Creation of Israel: British Foreign Office Correspondence on Palestine and Transjordan, 1940-1948 This link opens in a new window Contains the British Foreign Office political correspondence files on Palestine and Transjordan. Records focus on events in Palestine, Britain's policy toward Palestine, and how the situation in Palestine affected relations with other nations. The files also survey the contours of Arab politics in the wider Middle East from a British perspective. A large section of material also covers the United Nations deliberations on the Palestine question.
Democracy in Turkey, 1950-1959: Records of the U.S. State Department Classified Files This link opens in a new window U.S. government files from the American Embassy in Turkey, relating to the political, economic and social development of Turkey during a period of democratisation in the 1950s. Included in the collection are reports, studies, statistics, meeting minutes, legal documents, letters, and official government papers.
Egypt: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1853-1962 This link opens in a new window Documents from the U.S. government relating to Egypt, covering the years before the opening of the Suez Canal through to the era of British domination, Arab nationalism, and independence.
Foreign Office Files for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, 1947-1980 This link opens in a new window This collection of files from the Foreign Office (later the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and Dominions Office focuses on the political and social history of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
French Mandate in The Lebanon, Christian-Muslim Relations, and the U.S. Consulate at Beirut, 1920-1941 This link opens in a new window Consists of correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Beirut. Covering 1919-1935, topics covered include the protection of interests of American citizens, foreign trade, shipping, and immigration. Also provides a U.S. perspective on all aspects of the French Mandate in Syria-Lebanon.
George H. W. Bush and Foreign Affairs: The Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid This link opens in a new window U.S. Presidential documents on the planning and organization of the October 1991 Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid. Documents include correspondence, memoranda, cables, diplomatic dispatches, reports, studies, maps, and printed material from 1981 to 1993. Subjects covered include the Persian Gulf War; Operation Desert Shield; Oil; public opinion; Intifada; U.N. Security Council Resolutions; Land for Peace concept; Palestinians; and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Iran (Persia): Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1883-1959 This link opens in a new window Documents from the U.S. Department of State on Iran.
Iraq: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1888-1944 This link opens in a new window U.S. Department of State documents on Iraq, from Ottoman rule through British colonial occupation and independence.
Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Trans-Jordan: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1836-1944 This link opens in a new window U.S. perspectives on Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Trans-Jordan, from Ottoman rule to the era of British and French mandates following the First World War. The archive is sourced from the Central Files of the General Records of the Department of State.
Middle East and North Africa: Global Perspectives, 1958-1994 This link opens in a new window Translated journals, newspapers, scientific reports, radio and television broadcasts from 19 countries in North Africa and the Middle East covering cultural, economic and political developments within the regions
Middle East Online Series I: Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917-1970, The This link opens in a new window Original source material from the British Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office and Cabinet Papers from the 1917 Balfour Declaration through to the Black September war of 1970-1.
Middle East Online series II: Iraq, 1914-1974, The This link opens in a new window Original source material from the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office and Cabinet Papers from the Anglo-Indian landing in Basra in 1914 through the British Mandate in Iraq of 1920-32 to the rise of Saddam Hussein in 1974.
Palestine and Israel: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1945-1959 This link opens in a new window Documents from the U.S. National Archives covering the end of the British mandate in Palestine and the role of the U.S. in the creation of the state of Israel. Includes the Palestine Reference files of Dean Rusk and Robert McClintock, as well as documents from the Mission of the United States in Tel-Aviv. Documents include correspondence, inquiries, memoranda, situation reports and studies, special reports, and telegrams.
Palestine Statehood Committee Records, 1939-1949 This link opens in a new window correspondence, memoranda, reports, publications, advertisements, and clippings related to five  Palestine Statehood committees active in the United States from 1939 to 1949
Persian Gulf States and Yemen, 1950-1959 This link opens in a new window Sourced from the U.S. National Archives, this includes documents from U.S. diplomats covering the structure and activities of the Persian Gulf States' and Yemen's political system, government, judiciary, laws, military, customs, economy, finance, agriculture, natural resources, industry, communications, and media. All contents are in English.
Records of the Kurds : territory, revolt and nationalism, 1831-1979. British documentary sources This link opens in a new window A selection of documents tracing the early insurgencies of the Kurdish people spanning 1831 to 1979.
Records of the Persian Gulf War This link opens in a new window This collection contains materials related to the diplomatic and military response by the United States (as part of a multi-national force) to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Materials cover 1990-1991.
Reports of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry Palestine, 1944-1946 This link opens in a new window The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry (AACI) was created to study the situation of Jewish survivors in Europe and the problems connected with their resettlement in Palestine. Records include AACI reference files, evidence submitted to the committee, transcripts of hearings, AACI reports, and papers of the Anglo-American Cabinet Committee.
Saudi Arabia: Records of the U.S. Department of State, 1930-1959 This link opens in a new window The first part of this archive, 1930-1944, covers a key period in the formation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the second part, 1955-1959, illustrates the day-to-day workings of the state, including details on internal political and national defence affairs; economic, financial, industrial, and social issues.
Saudi Arabia: secret intelligence records, 1926-1939 This link opens in a new window This 8-volume collection is one of the most important collections to have been compiled by Archive Editions because it consists of internal political telegrams which were never intended for international, or even external, examination. These telegrams provide a rare glimpse into the system of administration and the style of leadership of Sultan (King) Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman ibn Saud, ruler of Nejd–Hedjaz/Saudi Arabia from 1925–1953.