Middle East Geography

Crossroads to Africa, Asia, and Europe

Cultural Diffusion / Diversity

Strategic Location- Sea Routes, Oil

Straits of Hormuz

Major Regions Northern Tier- Turkey, Iran and the

Anatolian Plateau, Iranian Plateau Arabian Peninsula- Oil, birthplace of

Islam. Fertile Crescent- Mesopotamia,

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers Iraq, Nile Valley- Egypt The Maghreb- North Africa

Middle East Geography

Middle East Geography

Climate- Entire region is mostly desert

Very little water or rain.

Tons of oil.

Middle East Geography

Peoples- Languages- Arabic, Turkish,

Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Greek, and Armenian

Ethnicities- Arab, Turks, Iranians (Persians), and Kurds

Middle East People

People live:

In small farming villages

As Nomads- Bedouins

They have conflicts between over water and grazing land.

Middle East People

Family life important and patriarchal. Father has final say.

Marriages are arranged / Multiple wives / divorce was permitted

Women subordinate to men / “Men are the managers of the affairs of women”

Middle East Geography

Religions- Islam, Christianity, Judaism

Middle East History Highlights

The Code of Hammurabi- 1st law code

The Phoenician Alphabet- basis for English

The Persian Empire- largest and most benevolent

Zoroaster- 1st Single God concept

Middle East History

Moses and the Jews flight from slavery in Egypt to Israel as God commanded…10 Commandments

Romans expel Jews from Palestine in70A.D.

Christianity and Jesus

Islam and Mohammad

Christian Crusades

Middle East History

WW1 Treaty of Versailles stripped Middle East from Ottoman Empire (who sided with Germany) - Britain and France get Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Trans-Jordan, Palestine.

Middle East History

Turkey becomes a republic under Kemal Ataturk

Iran achieves independence under Reza Khan Pahlavi

Middle East History

Iraq gets independence from Britain in 1932

Lebanon and Syria from France in 1943 and 1946 respectively.

Conflict over Palestine intensifies.

Middle East History

Zionist movement calls for establishment of Jewish State in Palestine…Encourage Jews from Europe to emigrate to Palestine

1917 Balfour Agreement- British back Jewish state in Palestine

Arab Nationalists in Palestine feel betrayed by the British

Middle East History

Muslims and Christians far outnumber Jews in Palestine

By 1930 many Jews are moving to Palestine because of Anti-Semitism by Hitler.

After WW2- Thousands of Jews (death camp survivors) left Europe for Palestine.

Middle East History

Palestinian Arabs bitterly oppose this migration by Jews

1947- U.N. partitions Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state- Israel is formed.

1948- Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon attack Israel separately.

Middle East History

Israel wins and seizes ½ the area the U.N. set aside for Arabs in Palestine. 500,000 Arabs forced to leave Palestine

Wars in 1956, 1968, and 1973 all led to territorial gains by Israel including the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, The Golan Heights for Syria, and the West and East Bank plus east Jerusalem from Jordan.

Middle East History

Palestinians form PLO- Palestinian Liberation Organization.

PLO main objective is to create a Palestinian state for Muslims.

Yasser Arafat leads PLO and is moderately successful forcing Israel to turn over some of the west bank and Gaza Strip.

Conflict continues as both Israel and the Palestinian States seek to control Jerusalem and west bank.

Middle East Today

-OPEC- Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations- Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African members.

Sets per barrel export prices on “light sweet crude”

Affect gasoline prices worldwide

U.S. and Great Britain are not members

OPEC has used supply issues as weapons against the West

Middle East Today

Iraq- Operation Desert Storm- 109 nations respond to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. U.N. Resolution. Iraq ejected from Kuwait. Hussein survives.

Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hussein caught/executed. U.S.installs democracy and leaves this past year. 4,000 dead

Afghanistan- Invaded in 2001 in response to 9/11. Taliban is expelled and U.S. continues to try to stabilize the country. Schedule now calls for our exit on 2013.

Middle East Today

Future Issues: Independent Palestinian State Nuclear Iran Stable Iraq and Afghanistan Trigger Happy Israel. The Arab Spring