Bell Ringer

• Who founded the nation of Turkey?

• What was the mandate system?

• Name a country that is on the Arabian Peninsula.

CH 22: North Africa & Middle East

The Ottoman Empire

• The Ottoman Empire had existed for 6 centuries

• Competition with the neighboring Persian Empire caused tension in the region

• The Sultan was a head of the government

• Non-Muslim people, such as Christians and Jews who were in the minority, were organized into millets

• Millets allowed these groups to govern themselves while still remaining loyal to the Empire

• As the Ottoman empire declined the sultans became less influential– New silver from North America devalued Turkish

supplies– The Empire had strayed away from many Islamic

laws– They had attempted expansion into Europe, but

were weakened by multiple losses• European powers started to wage wars on the

Ottomans, and by the late 1800s the Empire was all but gone

• In 1909 a nationalist group called the Young Turks overthrew the Sultan and replaced him with his brother.

• The Young Turks modernized & Westernized the country, which drew them into the losing side of World War I

Turkey is Born

• After losing WWI the Ottoman Empire was divided up, and a separate nation of Armenia was formed for the Armenian people

• A General, Mustafa Kermal (Ataturk), helped organize a national movement

• In 1920 this national movement would declare itself the government, and call the nation Turkey

• Ataturk would control Turkey’s government until his death in 1938

Persia becomes Iran• In the 1800s Persia had become subject to spheres of influence• Popular opposition to European influence caused Shiite clerics

to support protests• These demonstrations resulted in the creation of a national

legislature• When the Shah opposed these changes, a Civil War started• An army officer, Reza Shah would take control of Persia’s

government, rename it Iran, and control the country until 1979

The Mandate System• With the Ottoman Empire like to

not survive WWI, the British and French signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916) to divide great Syria between them– The British promised the leader of

Mecca an independent Arab state in exchange for their help against the Ottoman Empire (this state would never happen)

• Greater Syria was divided into Mandates– British: Iraq & Trans-Jordan– French: Syria, Lebanon, & Palestine

French Mandates• The French gave Muslim Arab

leaders opportunities to self-govern

• The French organized their mandates into several governing districts based on cultural and religious differences

• Syria and Lebanon would go on to gain independence from the French after World War II.

• The last French troops would leave in 1946

British Mandates• Trans Jordon

– The British appointed a local leader of Trans Jordon

– The British allowed Trans Jordon to prepare for independence as of 1923

– Would gain independence in 1949• Iraq

– The native population rebelled and the British crushed the rebellion

– The British installed a king until 1933. King Faisal accepted the position, but only after the people approved of him in a plebiscite

– Faisal’s dead caused a power struggle in Iraq, and the army gained control of the country until 1941

– When some Iraqi called for an alliance with the Germans, the British invaded and placed a pro-British government in charge

Zionism• Though the British and French

agreed that the area of Palestine should be government by the international community, the British took control of the region due to its proximity to the Suez Canal

• A Zionist movement, call for a Jewish state, grew and by 1933 20% of the world’s Jews lived in Palestine

• While the British supported the Jewish people, Arabs in the region generally opposed the development of a Jewish state and British who supported it.

Arabian Peninsula

• The Arabian Peninsula never became a mandate like other parts of the Middle East

• Saudi Arabia was founded by Ibn Saud, and Saudi Arabia was the only Middle Eastern country truly independent during World War I & II

• 1902 Ibn Saud captured Riyadh, the traditional capital of the region, and by 1918 he controlled most of the peninsula

• The British opposed Ibn’s control and put rivals in control of Trans Jordon and Iraq.

• 1924 Ibn seized Mecca & Medina (Islamic Holy cities), and then negotiated his national boarders with Trans Jordon and Iraq

• By 1927 Britain recognized Ibn Saud as the King of the peninsula.

• In 1932 Ibn united the territories and formed Saudi Arabia

• Originally revenue from the Muslim hajj provided the kingdom with its wealth, but since 1970 has profited from sale of oil– The ONLY country in the world named after

the Family that founded it

Persian Gulf Emirates• Though Saudi Arabia controls much of the

Arabian Peninsula, it does not control it all– United Arab Emeriat (UAE), Bahrain, Oman,

Kuwait• All of these regions were controlled by 10

tribal families.• The British, eager to secure trading routes

and rights, acknowledged the right of each family to rule inside their boarders

• In return the British would protect these kingdoms– These clearly defined borders were useful

when large amounts of oil were found in these countires

Yemen• Originally the British controlled one port in

Yemen, but eventually took over the whole country.

• The region was divided into North & South Yemen

• The region was important for its proximity to trade routes close to the Suez Canal

France & the Barbary States

• The Barbary States were the North African coastline located on the Mediterranean Sea– Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli

• The Berbers were the native people, who were Islamic

• The area was known for pirates, but had been controlled by the French since 1830 (though it was a period of unrest)

• The Barbary coast was in a constant state of rebellion

• Eventually the French quelled all the rebellions and helped to rebuild the countries by developing their finances, mining, communication, and agriculture systems

• However, by the 1930s Algeria and Tunis were calling for independence

• Many nations of the Barbary coast were taken over during World War II by the Axis powers, but would return to French control after

Italian Colonialism

• Italy, historically, tried to have influence in Northern Africa

• 1911 Italy invaded Tripoli to protect their business interests there

• As they gained more control in the surrounding region, the Italians would combine the territory into a colony called Libya.

• This state would be controlled by the British and French after World War II, and given its independence in 1951

British In Egypt• 1859: The Ottoman Empire gave

the French permission to dig a canal across the Suez Peninsula in Egypt, and Egypt owned part of the Canal– The British were very interested in

the canal as it made the voyage to India MUCH shorter

• 1875: When Egypt fell into debt they sold their shares in the Canal, Britain bought the majority interest in the Canal

• 1881: 80% of the ships passing through the Suez Canal were British

• 1882: The British invaded Egypt to stabilize the region during a rebellion & protect the Suez Canal temporarily (they left in 1953)

• The British put their own governor in power of Egypt, who did fix their finances, and developed their agriculture and railroads

• The Egyptians started calling for independence in the early 1900s, but the British claimed the area as a protectorate when World War I broke out

• Nothing changed until after World War II when Egypt gained independence in 1953