MIDDLE EAST HISTORY

1600 TO

PRESENT

THE MIDDLE EAST

The map of the Middle East, as we know it today, was shaped by the events of the first world war. Prior to that time, the Ottoman Empire controlled much of the area.

1600The two primary rulers in the region were the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. The Ottoman Empire began in the 1300s in what is now Turkey. Between 1516 and 1517, the Ottomans conquered the Arab provinces. The Safavid Empire, based in what is today Iran, lasted from 1501-1722.

1800

In the 1700s and 1800s, the once-powerful Ottoman Empire started to lose power. Great Britain, France, and Russia were on the hunt for new territories to conquer and began to interfere in the affairs and territories of the Ottoman Empire and Egypt.

1920In 1919, the British and French implemented the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement and divided the Arab world into nation-states. The League of Nations recognized these borders and allotted "mandates" to the French and British to govern these states until it was determined that they were ready for independence.

2002

These are the current internationally recognized boundaries in the Middle East. Disputed boundaries are indicated with a dotted line.

VOCABULARY

• The Ottoman Empire- Created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia, one of the most powerful states in the world in the 15th and 16th centuries.

• The Crusades – Religious wars by the Christian states in Europe designed to capture the Holy Land from the Muslims.

• Natural Resources – Some can be found in nature, and used by people

VOCABULARY

• Sykes-Picot Agreement – The Asia- Minor agreement where the Ottoman Empire was divided among the French ,British and Russians

• Imperialism- The policy or practice by which a country gains power or control over another country

• Nation – States- A political unit consisting of an autonomous state by people sharing a common culture

• Conflict- Strong disagreement between people and groups

THE PEOPLE

• Most of the people in the region are Muslim Arabs.• Africans • Armenians• Copts• Greeks• Iranians• Jews• Kurds• Turks

THE LANGUAGES OF THE MIDDLE EAST

• The primary language spoken is Arabic. • Persian (Farsi) is spoken in Iran• In Turkey, the people speak Turkish• In Israel most people speak Hebrew

OIL PRODUCTION

• Oil was first discovered in the Middle East in 1908

• The first country was Persia (IRAN)• In 1938, oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia• The other present day major oil producing

countries in the Middle East are: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab emirates

Middle East Project11/14/2013

• If you were going to create a country anywhere in the world,– How would you decide what territory to include? – What would you want to include in your country?– What would you want to exclude?– What are arguments for and against having only one

ethnicity or one religion in the country?– How would you decide what natural resources you would

need, such as water, or commodities like oil and natural gas?– Is access to land or sea trading routes important?– Do you need/want geographic barriers to aid in defense?– What type of government would you establish?

CONFLICT

• Conflict has been a major issue in the Middle East for centuries.

• Wars have been fought over land, resources, and religion.

• Israelis and Palestine Arabs believe they have the rights to the lands of the Gaza strip and the West Bank