Download The Ottoman Empire and the Interwar Period

The Ottoman
Empire and
the Interwar
Period
Interactive History Maps
Imperial History Timeline Map
The Rise of Islam (634 CE)
The Arab Empire (634-1258)
• Arabs conquer the Middle East from the Roman
Empire.
• Islam replaces Christianity as the dominant religion.
• Arab Muslims build a huge empire by controlling
Mideast trade
• Christians from Europe now must pay Muslim traders
to buy goods from Asia.
• Europe is a poor continent – Middle East is the
center of learning and civilization.
The Arab Empire (634-1258)
The Silk Road
• All major trade routes go through the Middle
East
• Whoever controls the region charges fees on
everything that travels through.
• Huge amounts of wealth flow into the Middle
East through trade.
• Most valuable items include:
– Silk
– Spices
Ottoman Turks Conquer the
Middle East
The Ottoman Turks are an Islamic
but non-Arabic people living in
what is today Turkey.
Beginning in the 1200’s the
Ottomans started to gain power
and build an empire. Allowed
people to practice their own
religion.
They were fine soldiers and
gained land easily. They had a
more superior military organization
than other empires.
Ottoman Turks
 This empire eventually
united most of the Middle
East and North Africa.
It encompassed much of
what had once been the
Islamic and the Christian
Byzantine Empires.
 Turkish expansion
reached its peak in the
16th century.
The Beginning of the End
• Tensions rise between Muslim Ottomans and Christians in Europe.
Christians don’t want to pay fees on goods brought in from Asia
• European merchants don’t have to pay Ottoman fees if they go around
the Middle East. Major trade routes no longer run through the Middle
East they go around Africa to avoid the Ottoman’s.
• Middle East becomes very poor as European Empires control world trade
routes
• Ottoman Empire shrinks and is bankrupt by 1900 CE
• The Middle East is a poor region that no one cares much about.
End of Ottoman Empire
 The Ottoman Empire lasted until the 20th century, lasting almost 600 years.
 However, the Ottomans did not modernize like the rest of the world.
 They were economically, socially, and militarily falling behind.
 Unlike the previous Muslim Empires they did not value education and
cultural achievement.
 By the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was shrinking.
 Indeed, by time of the beginning of World War I, the Ottoman Empire,
weakened and collapsing through the slow loss of territory, was regarded as
"the sick man of Europe and Asia,” though it still remained a political power
in Europe and the Middle East.
“The Great War”
WWI (1914-1918)
• WWI breaks out in Europe
in 1914
– Russia, Britain, and
France vs. Germany,
Austria, and the
Ottoman Empire
– Why would the
Ottomans choose to
fight on the side of the
Germans?
Reasons for Joining the Central
Powers
• Germany had won early battles in war and believed the
Central Powers would win the war.
• Russia badly wanted Ottoman land and the Ottomans hoped
Germany would stop Russia from taking over their land.
• The Ottomans owe money to British and French money which
held major Ottoman resources
• They also joined the Central Powers to gain needed
technology from the Germans.
Ottoman Empire 1915-1918
• Outgunned
• Undermanned
• Industry couldn’t keep up
• Eventually defeated by British invasions
into modern day Iraq and Russia from the
north
Dissolution of Ottoman Empire
• Germany loses and the Ottoman Empire is dissolved
and partitioned (divided) among the Allied Powers
– The Holy Land is occupied by Britain and France
• Nationalist Groups want independence (those that
were friendly to England were put in charge).
• Turkey gains independence
How did the Ottoman
empire end?
The Europeans destroyed
their strengths.
Ottoman Strength #1:
Control of trade.
Europeans broke this strength by
going around Africa and gaining
control of trade.
Ottoman Strength #2:
Wealth
Discovery of the New World leads to
great wealth for Europe from the gold
and silver found there.
Ottoman Strength #3:
Technology
The technology of Europeans
surpassed the Ottoman superiority
especially in production of guns,
munitions and other products
necessary for war.
Colonial Powers Were Planning to Grab What They Could of a
Collapsing Ottoman Empire.
• The Sykes-Picot agreement was a
secret understanding concluded
in May 1916 during World War I
• It was between Great Britain and
France, with the assent of Russia,
for the dismemberment of the
Ottoman Empire.
• The agreement led to the division
of Turkish-held Syria, Iraq,
Lebanon, and Palestine into
various French and Britishadministered areas.
• The agreement took its name
from its negotiators, Sir Mark
Sykes of Britain and Georges
Picot of France.
Territory remaining in the Ottoman Empire (green) by start of WWI
•
During the Interwar Period [from the end of the First World War
(1914-18) to the beginning of the Second World War (1939 –
1945)], the Paris Peace Conference parceled out former Ottoman
territories to the victorious nations for administration.
•
The territories were called “mandates,” a term that was meant to
signify that the European countries were not establishing colonies,
but instead were assisting these countries in moving toward selfgovernment and independence.
•
The European countries were to administer the mandates under
the guidance of the newly-formed League of Nations.
League of Nations
• The League of Nations, a forerunner of the United Nations
(UN), supervised the governing countries in the administration
of the territories. The League expected the governing countries
to improve living conditions in the territories, and to prepare
the people for self-government.
• Britain received mandates for Mesopotamia (later renamed
Iraq) and Palestine. Palestine was later divided into Palestine
and Transjordan (later renamed Jordan).
• France received Syria, which was later divided into Syria and
Lebanon.
What is a protectorate?
• Protectorate- A relationship between a strong
sovereign nation and a weak nation or area not
recognized as a nation.
• Once the strong nation has established a
protectorate over a weak nation, it can control the
latter's affairs.
• Also: the relation of a strong state toward a weaker
state or territory that it protects and partly controls.
Problems with the division of the
Middle East
• Many Nationalist groups not granted independence
• Boundaries are drawn indiscriminately
*No attention paid to tribal lands*
• Result: Arabs are distrustful of European powers
especially the British. They were promised
independent Arab nations if they revolted against
the Turks. This did not happen!!
TAG Links
• http://www.the-map-ashistory.com/demos/tome02/index.php
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/s
hows/saud/
• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor
y.php?storyId=1244627