Philip Hitti, a famous American scientist, professor at Princeton University, dedicated his book to the history of the Middle East. For many centuries, this vast part of the planet was inhabited by a variety of peoples: Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Jews, Turks, Persians, Arabs. Over the course of five millennia, this territory developed dynamically and represented a source of material and spiritual culture from which the inhabitants of Europe drew knowledge and skills. The art of domesticating animals, smelting metals, making ceramics, the solar calendar, the alphabet - all this and much more was given to Europe by the Middle East. Exploring the life of the Middle East, the author touched upon the most important issues related to territorial conquests, the development of science, culture, economics, the emergence and spread of three great world religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam.