the middle east i.historical a. ancient civilizations in mesopotamia (between tigris and euphrates...
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The Middle EastI. Historical
A. Ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia (between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers- modern Iraq)
1. Sumerians 4000 – 3000 BC
a. cuneiform- wedge shaped writing
b. ziggurats- pyramid shaped
brick temples
c. built city-statesd. developed irrigation systems
Cuneiform
ziggurat
ziggurat
Sumerian mosaic
2. Assyrians- first to develop iron
weapons
3. Babylonians
a. Hammurabi’s Code
b. Nebuchadnezzar’s Hanging
Gardens of Babylon
Code of Hammurabi
• If a man puts out the eye of a patrician, his eye shall be put out.
• If a man knocks the teeth out of another man, his own teeth will be knocked out.
• If anyone strikes the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.
• If a freeborn man strikes the body of another freeborn man of equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina.
• If the slave of a freed man strikes the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.
• If anyone commits a robbery and is caught, he shall be put to death.
Hanging Gardens of
Babylon
4. Persians (modern Iran)- conquered much
of Middle East under Darius the Great
Darius the
Great
5. Phoenicians
a. traded purple dye along the
Mediterranean
b. spread alphabet around the
region
B. Religion1. Judaism- First monotheistic religion.
Established in Israel around 3000 BC
2. Christianity-founded by Jesus in
Jerusalem
Jewish writings- the
Torah
Jerusalem
3. Islam- means submission to Allah
a. developed among Bedouin nomads in Arabia, early 600’s AD
b. Mohammed- prophet of Allah
c. rapid spread across N. Africa
The Great Mosque in Mecca
C. Colonialism
1. Ottoman Turks control area from Middle Ages until 1918
2. European powers in control until after WWII
II. Physical GeographyA. Mostly arid plains and plateaus
B. Some uninhabitable deserts- The Rub al Khali
C. Climates
1. arid year round
2. decent rainfall along coast
D. Water
1. Major rivers- Tigris and Euphrates
2. Oasis- desert waterhole
E. Oil!!
1. OPEC- Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries
2. Saudi Arabia- Leading producer
OPEC
Palm Island in Dubai