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The Middle East
The Cradle of Civilization
The Ancient Middle East
1. Cradle of Civilization
• M.E. is region where world’s oldest
civilizations are found
• 3 continents (Africa, Europe, Asia) meet in
the Middle East
– Encouraged development
– Led to spread of culture, ideas
– Travel led to trade
2. Birthplace of monotheism
• Monotheism- belief in one god
– The 3 big monotheistic religions began in the
Middle East
• Judaism
• Islam
• Christianity
Quick Write
• How might religion and cultural
differences lead to conflict in the Middle
Eastern region? What might be some
conflicts that stem from cultural diffusion
(the spreading or mixture of various
cultures)?
3. Ancient Mesopotamia
• World’s 1st civilization
• Means “Between 2 rivers”
• The Tigris
• The Euphrates
• Why would civilizations be located near
rivers?
Mesopotamia
4. Mesopotamia
• The kingdom of Sumer developed in
Mesopotamia between 4500 and 4000BC
• Sumerians created:
– City-states: independent cities w/ own rulers
– Agriculture: first to utilize irrigation
– Cuneiform: one of the first forms of writing
Cuneiform
5. Hammurabi
• Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) was King of
Babylon
• Invaded and took over Sumer
• Created Hammurabi’s Code of Laws
– World’s first written code of laws
– Followed the concept of ‘an eye for an eye’
6. Religion
• In ancient times, most practiced
polytheism
• Exception: Israelites
– Monotheistic
– Origin of Judaism
– First form of monotheism
7. Origins of Judaism
• Known as Israelites (ancestors of Jews)
• Holy Book: the Torah
– Old Testament of the Bible
• Lived in Babylon (Mesopotamia) until their
•
ejection
Spread to other areas, including Egypt
– Known as the DIASPORA: the scattering of Jews
– Viewed Judah (now Israel) as their ancestral home
8. Abraham
• Known as the ‘father of the Jews’
• Founded Judaism, the first to believe there
was only 1 god
• Story goes-
– God promised Abraham’s descendents the
land of Judah (Israel) in exchange for him
spreading the religion
9. Diaspora and its results
• Jews in Egypt made slaves by the Pharaohs
• Led to freedom by Moses, who took them back
•
•
to Judah (Israel), known as the ‘EXODUS’
Problem: Others (Arabs) had moved into Judah
while the Jews were in Egypt
MASSIVE conflict over who has HISTORICAL
CLAIM to the land: still goes on today (Israel vs.
Palestine)
10. Origins of Christianity
• Jewish baby born in Jerusalem (Jesus)
sparked the beginnings of Christianity
• Local government viewed him as a
troublemaker
– He and his disciples spread the ideas of
monotheism
– Tried, convicted, and crucified
11. Christianity
• Followers believed Jesus was the Messiah
(son of God), a leader promised to them
in the Torah
• Followers formed Christianity after Jesus’
death
• His life and lessons became the New
Testament of the Bible
12.Origins of Islam
• Based on the
•
teachings of
Muhammad, the
‘father of Islam’
Revelations received
by Muhammad from
Allah (god) make up
the Islamic Holy
Book, the Qur’an
Five Pillars of Islam
13. Muhammad’s life
• 570 AD born in Mecca in
•
Arabia
Taught Islamic teachings
for 12 years
– Leaders of Mecca drove
Muhammad out
– Settled in Medina
– By Muhammad’s death at
62, Islam was dominant
religion in Arabia
14. Sunni/Shi’a- Division of Islam
Sunni
Believed Muslim
leadership (caliphate)
should be elected by
Muslims
Shi’a
Believed Muslim
leadership (caliphate)
should be a direct
descendent of
Muhammad
15. How each views Jesus
• Jews: Jesus is an ordinary Jewish man
• Christians: the Messiah, or savior, God’s
son by Mary
• Muslims: a prophet, sent by Allah, but not
a divine figure
16. Holy cities
• Jerusalem: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
• Mecca: Islam, Muhammad’s birthplace
• Medina: Islam, where Muhammad was forced to
live
17. Crossroad of the Known World
• Middle East was highly desirable since it
connected 3 continents
• Power constantly changed hands
• 1291- Ottoman Empire was born
– Capital city: Constantinople (now Istanbul,
Turkey)
– Mix of Muslims & Christians
– Lasted until WWI (early 1900’s)
18. Result of WWI
• Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1922 after
they lost WWI
• Lost all land
• Americans and Europeans PARTITIONED
the land (divided it up) into mandates
(region managed by others)
19. Results of Partitioning
• Muslims in Middle East were forced under
either French or British control
• When partitioning, Europeans paid no
attention to who lived where
– Redrawing the map led to
• Communities being split apart
• Communities that had been enemies for centuries
were forced together
• Led to cultural and political disaster
Discussion Question
• What factors do you think the British and
French were considering when partitioning
the fallen Ottoman Empire? What were the
consequences for the people who lived
there?
Present Day Middle East
20. Aftermath of WWI
• WWI: Sparked by the assassination of Archduke
•
•
Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary
War lasted 4 years, 30 countries involved
Countries took sides
21. Conflict: Israel vs. Palestine
• Jews had been exiled
•
•
from Israel (Diaspora)
No place to call their
homeland
In other countries,
Jews’ rights were
constantly violated
22. Zionist Movement
• After centuries of abuse,
Jews around the world
established the ZIONIST
movement in the 1800s
– Go back to Israel, their
ancestral homeland
– Holiest city (Jerusalem)
– Control their own country
(Israel)
23. Problem….
• While the Jews were exiled, Arabs had moved in
•
and formed a nation called Palestine
Jews began moving back, despite the
Palestinians being there…Palestinians welcomed
them
24. The Holocaust
• Millions of Jews
•
•
killed
International
community
‘horrified’ after
WWII ended
Jews immigrated
to Palestine in
droves
25. Palestine’s unusual predicament
• Now Jews were supported by much of the
world in their quest to return to Israel and
make it their own sovereign nation
• Had been Palestine for 1,000s of years
• Palestinians pushed back
Discussion Question
• What should England do (they controlled
the territory after WWI, so it was their
decision, ultimately)? Should it become a
Jewish state in order to ensure that
nothing like the Holocaust could happen
again OR should the Arab Palestinians
continue their rule over the region as long
as they protected the rights of the Jews
living there?
26. The United Nations
• G.B. handed the problem off to the U.N.
• U.N. divided up Palestine in 1948:
– 56% would become a sovereign Jewish
country
– Rest of the land belonged to Palestine
– Jerusalem (which both sides wanted) would
be under control of U.N.
27. 1948- a bloody year
• Palestine never agreed to U.N.’s terms
• The moment British troops left, Palestine
(with Arab-country allies) attacked;lost
• 700,000-800,000 Palestinians forced to
leave
• Arab countries united to get rid of Israel
• Several wars over the next 30 years
Palestinian Territories shrink
28. PLO
• Palestinian Liberation
Organization
– Formed to re-take Palestine
– Conceded that Jews would not
leave for good
– Shifted focus to creating a
Palestinian state (country) in
West Bank and Gaza Strip
29. Result of conflict
• Thousands of people displaced
– Forced to become refugees
• Increased hostilities in Middle East
• Rise in power of terrorist groups (taking
advantage of government instability)
• Still fighting to this day
30. Differing ethnic groups
• Ethnic group- people
•
united in a shared culture
Three largest groups in
M.E.:
– Arabs: Islam (speak Arabic)
– Kurds: Sunni Muslims
(speak Kurdish)
– Persians: Shi’a Muslim
(speak Farsi)
Green= Arabic speaking countries
31. Governing the Middle East
• Almost all are unitary (except Israel and Turkey)
• As we’ve learned, several forms fall under this
•
category
We’ll compare 3: Israel, Saudi Arabia, & Iran
32. State of Israel
• Parliamentary Democracy
• Head of State: President, elected by legislature (Knesset)
– Mostly a figurehead
• Head of Government: Prime Minister, appointed by
President
– Actually in charge of executive branch: works along with Knesset
to make decisions
– Literacy rate: 97%
33. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Monarchy
• Head of State and
•
Government: KING
No citizen
participation
• Literacy rate: 76%
34. Islamic Republic of Iran
• Head of State: Ayatollah (the supreme religious
leader)- lifetime appointment, elected by
assembly of experts
– Appoints all government officials
• Head of Government: President
– Actually enforces the Constitution
– Government based on religion (Islam)
– Literacy rate: 85%
35. OPEC=OIL
• A confederation of countries with one
interest in mind: OIL
• Organization of Petroleum (oil) Exporting
Countries
• 4 countries in M.E.: Iran, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait
• Decide how much to produce, who to sell
to, how much to sell for
36. U.S. get involved in Middle East
• Persian Gulf War
– President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein (a brutal
dictator) invades Kuwait to control their oil
supply
– Border nations afraid they’re next
– U.S. comes to Kuwait’s aid and pushes
Saddam back
• ‘lightning’ attack: it takes only 4 days to defeat
Iraq
Persian Gulf War
37. September 11th, 2001
• Al Qaeda, a militant and extremist Islamic
terrorist group attacks U.S.
– 2 passenger planes fly directly into the World Trade
Center in NYC
– 1 plane flies into Pentagon
– 1 plane crashes in Pennsylvania field
– Why would Al Qaeda, who rejected the idea of U.S.
dominance in the world, target these two buildings?
(HINT: think symbolically)
38. U.S. invades Afghanistan
• Extremely unstable country
• Controlled mostly by the Taliban, extremist
Islamic group
• Al Qaeda, another terrorist group, attacks
U.S. on September 11th, 2001:
mastermind was Osama bin Laden, based
in Afghanistan
39. U.S. invades Iraq
• Begins when Saddam Hussein (dictator of
Iraq) refuses U.S. ultimatum- 2002
– Bush believed Hussein was hiding Al Qaeda
members and weapons of mass destruction
• Gave Hussein 48 hours to leave Iraq
– He didn’t
– U.S. began bombing Iraq
40. Hussein’s reign ends
• Hussein was captured
•
•
•
in 2003
Tried and executed
for crimes against
humanity (torture,
murder, genocide)
Found guilty
Executed in 2006
(hanged)