“I cannot fiddle but I can make a great state from a little city.” -Themistocles (524 BC – 459 BC).

The various nations and geo-cultural territories that make up the Middle East have been denigrated, sometimes rightfully so, as “tribes with flags.” It is a region that has undoubtedly devolved into an archaic patchwork of peoples divided against each other in centuries old blood feuds and modern resource claims. Someone who endeavors to even begin to understand the cultural, religious, and historical features of the many tribes who make up that region would be embarking on a lifelong journey that could scarcely be completed in 100 years. [Read more…]