The Tyranny of Narrative: History, Heritage, and Hatred in the Modern Middle East

Narrative is the heart of heritage interpretation, and modern Middle Eastern narratives of national histories tell distinct and conflicting tales. This paper highlights some major genres of archaeological and historical storytelling and analyzes the symbolic messages they convey. A closer look at the juxtaposition of competing story forms reveals a complex intertwining, in which one nation or ethnic group’s “period of desolation” is simultaneous with their rivals’ “Golden Age.”