With ongoing international dependence on the Gulf region for oil supplies, information about the roots of the bitter rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has become increasingly important and compelling, not only for the specialist, but for everyone with an interest in Middle Eastern studies.

Despite their difficult history, the author argues that intermittent periods of peaceful coexistence show that the apparent discord between these two states is neither inherent nor insurmountable, but rather is due to specific circumstances which this book describes and explains with clarity and in detail.

Dr Henner Fürtig is an Arabist and a historian at the German Institute for Middle Eastern Studies (DOI), Hamburg.