The Loom of History [antikvár]

Preface THIS BOOK is an outgrowth of a previous work, The Uses of the Past, illustrating these uses by studies in the history of Asia Minor. In generál, it develops the same "tragic view" of history, stressing the inevitable am-biguities and incongruities in the same spirit of reverenee and of irony, deliberately complicating the major issues in order to deepen and toughen the same humanistic faith. In particular, it develops the historic theme of East and West. This is a much-abused theme, commonly oversimplified by the prejudices of the West; the earnest talk about One World is still clouded by the notion that never the twain shall meet, or always the West must win. Nevertheless it remains a basic theme, of major importance: one that the chronicler cannot escape, nor the philosopher afford to ignore. It provides, I believe, the most illuminating approach to the history of our civilization, and to all conjecture about the progress of the humán spirit. For this purpose Asia Minor is an ideál subject. Throughout history it has been the great bridge between East and West, and repeatedly the battleground. Here, not in mainland Greece, the Greeks first developed their brilliant civilization, and the Greek spirit gave rise to the West. As an ancient land swarming with diverse peoples, Asia Minor stimulated the adventurous Greeks and contributed much to their culture. It continued to attract other peoples from Europe and from the East, notably the Persians. It became the scene of the first great campaign of Alexander the Great, as he set out to overthrow the Persian Empire and to Hellenize the East. Later it became the richest province of the Román Empire, then the heart of the Byzantine Empire, then the heart of the Ottoman Empire. It witnessed the rise of Christianity, and then of Islam. Hittites, Phrygians, Ionians, Assyrians, Lydians, Persians, Armenians, Gauls, Romans, Goths, Arabs, Seljuks, Frankish Crusaders, Ottoman Turks—these and many lesser peoples have settled in it or swept over it, all leaving their mark. Today, as the Turkey of Kemal Ataturk, it is the scene of an experiment as revolutionary as any in history. Resolved to Westernize the country, Ataturk set about making over its entire culture overnight.