Jean-Pierre Filiu's The Middle East: A political history from 395 to the present offers a sweeping re-examination of the region's evolution. Its central premise is to provide a "secular history" that counters the dominant "sacred narratives," whether religious, colonial, or nationalist. This approach is not merely an alternative account but a necessary intellectual intervention. By challenging these frameworks, Filiu actively dismantles the ideological justifications that perpetuate conflict analysis based on immutable religious or cultural divides, arguing instead against the fatalistic view of the Middle East as a region "inevitably doomed to war."

The book is aimed at educated readers seeking a structured, nuanced understanding of the Middle East's political trajectory, free from deterministic frameworks. It addresses foundational questions, such as why this history begins in 395 and how power has historically shifted between the core poles of Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. Crucially, Filiu's secular method is the very tool used to strip away the "sacred" justifications (colonial, nationalist) that have historically legitimized the "persistent denial of the right to self-determination"—the central driver of modern crises. These are the fundamental questions addressed by Jean-Pierre Filiu, an established authority whose previous acclaimed works, including Apocalypse in Islam and Gaza, a history, lend significant weight to this ambitious project.