On social media, I came across a history lesson titled Basic History for the Uninformed. It was being shared enthusiastically. See? There you have it. The bubble was delighted.

That sets certain expectations, particularly if, like me, you are a history nerd with a more than average interest in the Middle East.

What follows are nineteen points about the history of Palestine. Before Israel there was the British Mandate, before that the Ottoman Empire, and before that the Mamluks, Ayyubids, Crusaders, Byzantines and Romans. Eventually, we travel thousands of years back to the Canaanite city-states.

Nineteen times, the lesson ends with the same observation: not a Palestinian state.

The conclusion is equally straightforward:

“There have been many governments there, but never a Palestine.

“There have been many governments there, but never a Palestine.

It is the sort of claim that social media can effortlessly turn into either ‘the greatest lie in history’ or ‘proof that Palestine never existed’.

Except that the final sentence does not say the same thing as the nineteen points that precede it.

1. Before Israel there was the British Mandate, not a Palestinian state

When David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence on 14 May 1948, an existing Palestinian state did not disappear from the map. The territory was under British rule. The League of Nations document establishing that rule was called the Mandate for Palestine. Palestine existed. An independent Palestinian state did not.

2. Before the British there were the Ottomans, not a Palestinian state

The Ottomans conquered the territory from the Mamluks in 1516–1517 and remained there for roughly four centuries. Their rule ended during the First World War, when the British took control.

There was no Ottoman province of Palestine corresponding to the borders we recognise today; the territory was divided among administrative units that changed over time. Palestine nevertheless remained in use as a geographical designation. Again, a place is not necessarily a state.

3. Before the Ottomans there were the Mamluks of Egypt, not a Palestinian state

The Mamluks ruled the region from Egypt after defeating the Mongols at Ain Jalut in 1260, until the Ottomans defeated them in 1516. Palestine formed part of a much larger empire governed from Cairo. No independent Palestinian state.

Three out of three. It is almost becoming convincing. Almost.

4. Before the Mamluks there were the Ayyubids, not a Palestinian state

Mostly correct, but the neat chronology begins to wobble.

Saladin defeated the Crusaders at Hattin and captured Jerusalem in 1187, bringing much of the territory under Ayyubid rule. The Crusaders, however, did not disappear. They retained and regained coastal territory, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem survived until 1291.

Ayyubids and Crusaders therefore overlapped for more than a century. Still no Palestinian state.

Four out of four for the main claim; fewer points for the timeline.

5. Before the Ayyubids there was the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, not a Palestinian state

Yes, with the same problem.

The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and established the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Saladin took the city in 1187, but the kingdom continued from its coastal strongholds until Acre fell in 1291.

So the Kingdom of Jerusalem did not simply come ‘before’ the Ayyubids. They coexisted. It was not a Palestinian state.

Five out of five. The timeline is beginning to resemble the Tower of Babel.

6. Before the Kingdom of Jerusalem there were the Umayyads and Fatimids, not a Palestinian state

Here the timeline loses several........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)