In 25 B.C., a Roman military expedition set out from Egypt to control all of Arabia, especially the lucrative spice-trading states of Arabia Felix, in what is now Yemen. It is worth recalling a long-ago episode between a foreign imperial power and the dominant state in the Arabian Peninsula, as documented by the Greek geographer Strabo writing in the first century B.C. There are echoes of this distant past in Biden's rift with Mohammed bin Salman. Throughout the long history of the Middle East, the volatility of such relationships has been enough to tip the scales between total imperial conquest or retreat. Going back to the Roman East, imperial powers have had expectations of their local clients that proved to be mistaken. But they may not be the best frame in which to appreciate these furies.Ī deeper tale here has lived in our region for millennia and is rearing its head now in the most dramatic fashion: imperial overreach. elections in November, Arab worries about Iran, and the roles of Russia and China in the Middle East. With that much history in mind, the immediate issues here are no doubt important, evolving according to many factors beyond oil prices: Ukraine, the upcoming U.S. I've chronicled the modern Middle East and its links with the United States for the past 54 years, including two decades during which I also wrote books on archaeology and the Roman Empire in the region. A much longer time frame and wider context may be necessary to fully analyze this situation and accurately capture what it is all about. warnings not to go ahead with the oil production cut, I can't help but think of the lessons of history. soldiers in the neighboring United Arab Emirates, another OPEC+ member Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, had a friendly meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week).Īs reports emerge of Saudi officials apparently ignoring U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia (and the 2,000 U.S.
#A TALE IN THE DESERT AVATAR SERIES#
Many see this as a personal humiliation for President Joe Biden, with Riyadh siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine-even after Biden fist-bumped with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a meeting in Jeddah, in a complete reversal of his campaign promise to make the Saudis "the pariah that they are." American officials are now considering a series of retaliatory measures, including stopping arms sales and even withdrawing all 3,000 U.S.
What should we make of the spat between the United States and Saudi Arabia, following last week's announcement of a sharp cut in oil production by the Russian- and Saudi-headed cartel OPEC+? Shocked analysts and officials in the United States and Europe called the Saudi move a betrayal and a hostile act against the Western allies mired in the Ukraine war.
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