October 6, 1973 – October 25, 1973
Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack on Israel to regain Sinai and the Golan; the war ends in a ceasefire and paves the way for later negotiations.
Arab oil producers impose an embargo on countries supporting Israel, causing world oil prices to soar.
A multi-sided civil war devastates Lebanon for fifteen years, with intervention by Syria, Israel and other foreign forces.
Mass protests topple Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; Ayatollah Khomeini returns and Iran becomes an Islamic Republic.
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign US-brokered accords, leading to the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty.
Israel fights Egypt, Jordan and Syria, capturing the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Golan Heights.
Saddam Hussein's Iraq invades Iran, beginning an eight-year war of attrition that kills hundreds of thousands.