CC Revisited... Eugene Rogan – What do the 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ mean for the Middle East today?

CONFLICTED

Message Heard

History, Religion & Spirituality

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Another revisited Conflicted Community episode for you this week, as we gear up for a new season of Conflicted. This time we bring you the FULL episode of Thomas' conversation with Eugene Rogan, who back in 2024 told us about his latest book, 'The Damascus Events'. Enjoy... -- The 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ saw Syrian Christians murdered by their Sunni Muslim neighbours in a brutal genocidal moment that reshaped the late Ottoman Empire. It’s an example of how previously harmonious communities can descend into brutal violence in a very short time span. But in the Ottoman Empire’s response to the violence, it’s also an example of how hostile communities can be brought back from the brink. To learn more about this fascinating historical episode and its resonances today, Conflicted welcomes Eugene Rogan to our community! Eugene is a Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History and a Fellow of St. Anthony’s College at the University of Oxford. His recent book, ‘The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World’ is available now at all good bookshops and is very much recommended for the Conflicted Community as a must read to learn more about the late Ottoman Empire. Thomas and Eugene discuss his incredible book, how late Ottoman reforms and war in Lebanon caused the crisis, how Ottoman leaders brought the communities back together after the terror, and what we can learn from this episode when looking at the conflicts occuring in the Middle East today. Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, dearest listeners, welcome back to another episode for the conflicted community.
0:07.3	Thomas Small here, without Aiman for the first time on this feed.
0:11.7	The mysterious Aiman Dean is off, who knows where, giving his expert intelligence to God knows whom.
0:18.0	He'll be back with us next time.
0:19.9	So no Aiman, but I am not alone. I am extremely
0:24.4	glad and indeed honored to be joined today by a hugely eminent historian, professor of modern
0:32.0	Middle Eastern history and a fellow of St. Anthony's College at the University of Oxford, Eugene Rogan is here to talk about his special area of expertise, the late Ottoman Empire.
0:43.9	Eugene is a true scholar of the Middle East, someone I have admired for a long time.
0:48.6	Eugene, welcome to the show.
0:50.7	Thomas, after that kind of introduction, I feel very welcome indeed.
0:53.9	Well, you are very welcome,
0:55.8	Eugene. Your latest book has just come out entitled The Damascus Events, the 1860 Massacre, and the
1:03.2	destruction of the old Ottoman world, expertly narrating, I might say, a tragic but fascinating
1:10.0	and indeed illuminating episode,
1:12.4	which in many ways continues to reverberate today informing the culture and politics of the Levant.
1:19.7	I cannot wait to discuss your book with you, Eugene, and the history behind it all.
1:23.9	Let's jump right in.
1:33.3	Thank you. all. Let's jump right in. Eugene, I was so pleased to learn that, like me, you're a Southern California boy.
1:39.3	How did a kid go from the Hollywood studio saturated city of Burbank to becoming professor, no less,
1:48.4	at Oxford University?
1:49.9	And for non-British listeners in the UK, they don't just hand out professorships to any Johnny come lately.
1:55.4	You have to work for it.
	...

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