Nir Arielli

Historian Professor Nir Arielli tells the story of the Dead Sea and the civilisations that have lived on its shores from the end of the last Ice Age to today and makes a case for efforts to save it for the future.

Arielli says the Dead Sea is a place of contradictions, from the hot springs famed for their healing properties to the waters of the lake itself that are poisonous to most lifeforms. He shows how civilisations, including Jews, Arabs, Greeks, Nabateans, Romans, Crusaders and Mamluks, built cities and fortresses around the shores of the lake. Arielli says the lake has been a source of religious, military, scientific and economic importance but is now threatened by environmental degradation and conflict.

Arielli is associate professor of international history at the University of Leeds and his previous books include From Byron to bin Laden: A History of Foreign War Volunteers and Fascist Italy and the Middle East.