September 1:In the midst of a conflict between Palestinian guerrillas and the Jordan-
ian army, Jordan’s King Hussein narrowly escapes assassination in Amman. In sub-
sequent weeks, guerrillas from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine will
hijack five commercial jets and fly three of them (including some 300 hostages) into
the desert of Jordan.
September 16:Amid fighting between Jordanian forces and Palestinian guerrillas, King
Hussein declares martial law. A week later, Jordan defeats a Syrian army unit that
had crossed the border in support of the Palestinians.
September 27:Arab leaders sign an agreement in Cairo ending the crisis in Jordan that
becomes known as Black September. All the remaining hostages from the hijacked
airplanes will be released within the next three days.
September 28:Egyptian president Nasser dies of a heart attack after mediating the cri-
sis in Jordan. He is succeeded by Vice President Anwar al-Sadat.
November 13:Syrian air force Lt. Gen. Hafiz al-Asad seizes power in a bloodless coup,
ousting a rival faction of the Baath Party.
1971
February 4:Egyptian president Sadat offers a peace agreement with Israel, if Israel
returns all Arab lands captured in the June 1967 War.
March 12:The Turkish military issues a memorandum demanding immediate action
by the civilian government to deal with the country’s political crises. In response,
the government resigns, and the military takes over.
March 13:Prime Minister Hafiz al-Assad is named president of Syria.
April 17:Egypt, Libya, and Syria agree to form the Federation of Arab Republics, a
successor to the failed United Arab Republic. The merger will be approved in
plebiscites in September and Egypt’s Sadat chosen in October as the first president.
December 1:Britain completes its military withdrawal from the Persian Gulf.
December 2:Six of the Persian Gulf emirates form the United Arab Emirates. A sev-
enth will join later.
1972
March 15:King Hussein announces a plan to convert Jordan and the West Bank into
a federation of two autonomous regions. Israel and most of Jordan’s Arab neigh-
bors denounce the plan, effectively killing it.
July 18:Egyptian president Sadat orders all 15,000 Soviet military “advisors” to leave
the country, ending Egypt’s heavy reliance on the Soviet Union for military
support.
September 5:Arab guerrillas from an organization called Black September seize Israeli
athletes at the Olympics in Munich, West Germany. Eleven Israelis and five Arabs
will die in the crisis. Israel will retaliate by bombing Palestinian guerrilla bases in
Lebanon and Syria.
September 13:The Soviet Union and Syria agree to extensive military cooperation,
making Syria Moscow’s chief Arab ally in the region.
1973
April 12:In a speech to the Labor Party, Israeli prime minister Golda Meir says that
Palestinians looking for a state of their own could find it in Jordan.
664 CHRONOLOGY OF THE MIDDLE EAST, 1914–2007