History of the Middle East brought major protests, uprisings, and revolutions to several Middle Eastern countries, followed by prolonged civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. In 2014, a terrorist group and self-proclaimed caliphate calling itself the Islamic State made rapid territorial gains in western Iraq and eastern Syria, prompting international military intervention. At its peak, the group controlled an area containing an estimated 2.8 to 8 million people, 98% of which was lost by December 2017. By country: General: Works cited History of the Middle East Home to the Cradle of Civilization, the Middle East (usually interchangeable with the Near East) has seen
The Hamsters they started getting bookings from venues further afield. During 1988–1990 they released a limited run of four cassette releases of their music until they released their first CD in 1990, titled "Electric HamsterLand" as a parody of the Hendrix "Electric LadyLand" album. There was also a limited run of vinyl LPs of the album. The Hamsters were called Britain's leading interpreters of the music of Jimi Hendrix and ZZ Top. and so were called a blues rock band, although they were not a tribute band "they take the music and push it a little further in the direction originally intended".