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The bestselling historian discussed his latest title, The Cauldron, with Justin Doherty, pinpointing how empire, religion, ideology and geopolitics have shaped one of the world's most disputed regions

Great to have you back in the Aspects of History hotseat, Sebag. What inspired you to tackle such a complex, knotty challenge as untangling a century of complexity and mayhem in the modern Middle East?

The Cauldron is a history of the entire Middle East – all 19 countries, all sects, all peoples – over the last 125 years. Its mission is to tell the history of how the region of today was created since 1900 and it ends with the American-Israeli attacks on Iran on 28th February 2026 so it is pretty up to date. I wanted to write this book, because, surprisingly, this book did not yet exist.

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The Making of the Modern Middle East – An Interview with Simon Sebag Montefiore

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