The ACRPS convened the fourth annual conference on historical studies. “The Arabs from Marj Dabiq to Sykes- Picot (1516-1916): Transformations in Structures of Power and Society from Sultanates to Nation States” was held in Beirut from April 21-22, 2017. Attended by prominent Arab historians and researchers the conference dealt with the following eight themes: 1) Ottomans and local history 2) reform and the tanzimat 3) the Caliphate and the Sykes-Picot 4) Western penetration and its mechanisms 5) the relationship between independence, Westernization, and Ottomanization 6) the Ottoman sultanate and the Arab community 7) outcomes following the Ottomans and 8) political and cultural relations.