When you visit Naqsh-e Rostam, 12 km from Persepolis in Iran, you remain astonished looking at the impressive sculptures in the rocks. Among these the unique scene of a Roman Eastern imperator, Valeriano, humiliated in chains in front of Sapur I Sasanid king of Persia (Partia) around 240 AD. It’s quite a shocking instant, which improves your consolidated Westerner point of you on Rome power. From many years I wrote about the imperial traditions and ambitions of Iran, completely under evaluated by USA. A nation occupied only by Arabs in 633 AD and remained untouched by the colonial approach of Mongols, UK, France, Russia, USA through centuries of independence as a kingdom of Persia and with a culture very strong, which overcame Islam influence, like Greece with Rome. The Arabic elites were studying and speaking Farsi and local way of living remained very different from Saudi Arabia one at least in Teheran, confirmed also by Shiites splitting from Sunnis as religious orientation. Speaking with people they consider themselves much better than Turkish, at European or USA level: the youth is brilliant and international oriented and hundreds start up operates in Silicon Valley. The other heritage in Middle East is from Ottoman Empire, which substituted Eastern Roman Empire quite along the same borders in Africa and Central Europe, possessing by the way the Palestinian area, third sacred relic of Islam religion. Ottoman Empire was very tolerant about religions and ethnic minorities, so the scarce and nomadic populations of Middle East were moving free in the territory without any concept of nations, like it has been before with Roman government, except for rebels Jews. The real conflict was strategic between pressure from Persia to arrive to Mediterranean Sea and Turkish interest in controlling commerce of the area with Europe.
The nations we see on the maps today were artificial creation of UK and France diplomacy after the disappearing of Ottoman Empire at the end of first WW. From Crusades times European wanted also be present in the area for religious purposes and commercial interest, particularly the Italian Marine republics of Genoa and Venice. The winners of the first WW tried to expand their colonial interest, France in Siria and Lebanon, UK in Palestine, Iraq and Arabia. The Sionist movement developed in Vienna at those times, about 1% of Jewish people, has been seen as a useful manpower by UK government. But also from Northern Europe many Cristian were going to live in these saint territories for establishing community of farmers. The main flows of Jews were from Central Europe and Russia. After second WW, the immigration was growing and so started the conflict with local Arab population for the ownership of land, supported by actions of active Jewish terrorist group like Stern band of Begin and Ben Gurion. The creation of Israel state has been rooted along the continuum trend of Europe presence in the area and substituted the Colonial powers, obtaining also in this way the USA approval, motivated by energy control interest.
So looking at Middle East facts, which seem always the same from 75 years, we must be conscious that the interest in the game are imperial from many actors USA, Iran and Turkey, most recently also Russia and China and these deep millennial roots act probably strongerly than Jews- Islam religious conflicts, and national local objectives of Israel or Syria or Saudi Arabia. Persian Empire and Ottoman one want to return to decisional world tables and be considered first class powers. USA tries to preserve hegemony through Israel as through Ukraina, but the game regulations are slowly changing.
