Arabic Studies Databases

Al Madina is one of the oldest newspapers published in Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1937 in Jeddah, Al Madina is best known for covering national politics from a pro-government perspective, while providing more critical coverage of non-political news, including on topics like education and health. The Al Madina digital archive is a valuable resource for scholars of history, politics, and Middle East and North African Studies.

Al-Ba’ath was founded in 1948 as an organ of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party. Functioning initially as an opposition newspaper to the Nasserist government, Al-Ba’ath became the government organ of Syria following the Ba’athist coup in 1963. Al-Ba’ath propagates the viewpoint of the Ba’ath Party through opinion columns and news coverage, while also including coverage of popular culture—including sports and music. Al-Ba’ath is perhaps best known for its coverage of the 1966 split between the Syrian and Iraq-based branches of the original Ba’ath Party, the rise to power of the Assad family (starting in 1970), as well as the 1980 Iran-Iraq war (in which Syria supported Iran).