Middle East (pd 4)

Natan Zamansky, Dorothy Yuen, Jeffrey He, Oliver Zhang, Justin Choi,

Edmond Loi

The Fertile Crescent•The Fertile Crescent consists of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, and the Nile River in Egypt.•Known as the “cradle of civilization” because Fertile Crescent contains world’s oldest records of settlements and civilization.

Mesopotamia• Mesopotamia gave rise to several important civilizations

1. Sumerians2. Akkadians3. Babylonians4. Assyrians

• Settlement began as early as 8000 B.C.E and large-scale agriculture was being practiced by 5000 B.C.E

• First true civilizations appeared between 3500 B.C.E and 2350 B.C.E by the Sumerians

• Agriculture was sustained by the silt of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers

• Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning “land between 2 rivers”

Sumerians•Sumerians built cities around ziggurats, which were giant stepped pyramids used for religious purposes•Cuneiform is oldest full-fledged writing system discovered•One of the most famous examples of Sumerian literature is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was an epic poem about King Gilgamesh and his search for immortality. •Sumerians used 60 as a base number system, which explains why we use 360o

in a circle and 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in an hour.

Akkadians• Lasted from approx. 2700 BCE to 2154 BCE• First king to build up Akkadian empire was Sargon

the Great, and is often considered the first empire in history

• By 2100 BCE, the empire was falling apart due to drought.• One of the earliest people to

keep astronomical records, earliest date from 2500 BCE.

Babylonians• Babylonia was the southern neighbor of Assyria, with whom

they had uneasy relationship• King Hammurabi of Babylonia presented Hammurabi’s Code, a

set of detailed laws and consequences that was advanced for its time

• King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled Neo-Babylon, built the Hanging Gardens, one of the 7 wonders of the world.

• Nebuchadnezzar also built the Ishtar Gate, an elaborate and heavily decorated entrance to Babylon.

• Sacked the city of Jerusalem and deposed King Jehoiakim of the Jews, instead replacing him with King Zedekiah. (597 BCE)

• Enslaved the homeless Jews and brought them to Babylon

Assyrians• Known for being the most war-mongering

of all the states in Mesopotamia• Leveled Babylon in 1200 BCE, but worried

about sacking a city that was built in Marduk’s name, they rebuilt the city

• Around 600 BCE, last Assyrian king started the Library at Nineveh to house Mesopotamian literature

• Over 30,000 clay tablets have been discovered

• In 612 BCE Assyrian Empire began declining when Nineveh was besieged and destroyed by a coalition of Medes, Scythians, and Chaldeans.

• One of the first Mesopotamian civilizations to use iron weapons, thus contributing to their efficiency at war

Remains of Older Forms of ReligionContinuities from 8000 BCE – 600 BCE

• Shamanism (spirits), animism, ancestor veneration

• The Hebrews’ faith took a more solid form, i.e. Judaism (codified texts by 400s BCE)– Some Hebrews chose to return to Jerusalem

(during Persian Empire) and some remained Jewish diaspora

The Persian Empire• 550-331 BCE• Three dynasties:– Achaemenid founded by Cyrus who overthrew Median

monarch 550 BCE• Conquer Lydians, Neo-Babylonians, Egyptians, etc• Darius I, or Darius the Great (522-486 BCE) expanded empire

to 2 million acres (see map)• Two capitals: Susa (administrative) and Persepolis (inspired

by Mesopotamia)• Postal system, tributary system, military garrisons, network

of roads (Royal Road), single currency, provincial government (apprx. 20 regions) governed by satraps

• Patriarchal, rigidly stratified, religious tolerance• Zoroastrianism official religion Ahura mazda had given

Darius mandate to rule

The Persian Empire (continued)

• Achaemenid Persians fell after wars with Greek neighbors (500-400 BCE)

• By 331 BCE, empire falls to Alexander the Great– Parthian dynasty founded as a rebellion to Alexander

the Great• Grew wealthy from silk road and Arab traders• Powerful enemies of Roman Empire as it spread East

• Sassanid dynasty takes place of Parthian dynasty– Also an enemy to Rome and Byzantine Empire

• Fell as a result of military expansion of Islam, and overextending (like Roman Empire, Han China)

Trading and Exchange (Middle East and Persian Empire)

• Mediterranean Sea– North Africa, Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Spain

• Indian Ocean maritime network– East Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia (China/Japan)

• Roads– Silk Road (East Mediterranean, passing Parthian Persians, to

China)– Royal Road (Built by Darius the Great, from East

Mediterranean to Persepolis)• Camels became an integral part of trading

– Stirrups, yokes, collars, pack saddles, etc.• Cultivation of Rice, building aqueducts, qanats (for

agriculture, originated in Persia)• Disease (bubonic plague) 500 - 600CE

Extent of Achaemenid Empire with Royal Road and the three principle cities: Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis

600 CE – 1450 CE: Spread of Islam

• -Spread throughout the Middle East through conquest (Islam was originally considered both a political and religious entity)

• Spread by trade to Africa (some remained Christian like Ethiopia)- Arab slave trade: Exported glass, metalwork, pottery;

imported slaves, salt, ivory, animal skins (Muslims were especially good at creating steel)

- Trade benefited by camel saddles – old saddles, were militarily inefficient (you were behind the hump). A new saddle was made so that you’d be on top of the hump- making it easier to use weapons and dominate trade routes.

- Lots of trade with Mali and Timbuktu. Timbuktu had lots of salt and was a stopping point for trade. Timbuktu became a center of Islamic scholarship.

- Desert nomads called Berbers used camels to trade with sub-Saharan Africa.• Had also spread to Spain. -Spanish Muslim Textile-----------------

Muslim Caliphates• Caliph – religious leaders who ruled Muslim terroritory• After Mohammad’s death, three caliphs ruled (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman).

After their deaths, there was a split between Sunni followers and Shiite followers.

• The difference was that the Shitte wanted descendants of Mohammad to rule.

• The Umayyad caliphate ruled after the split. Arabic became the official Muslim language and they taxed non-Islamic people.

• After rebellions, the Abbasid Caliphate took over. They ruled from Baghdad and was considered the golden age of classical Islamic culture.

• Originally, there was lots of unity. Overextension, different ethnicities, Sunni-Shiite split, and rivaling caliphates (e.g. the Shiite Fatimid caliphate in Egypt), the fall of Baghdad to Seljuk Turks (but kept a Muslim figurehead), and the Mongols who captured Baghdad and killed the Abbasid caliph led to its fall.

The Turks & The Crusades• Turks had been brought to the Middle East because of their skill as cavalry

soldiers. (These became Mamluks who were located in Egypt)• Seljuk Turks conquered went west to conquer in the 11th century. They

conquered Baghdad, much of Asia Mino, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine. • They also crippled the Byzantine Empire, causing Christians to begin the

Crusades.• At the beginning, no one was able to organize an effective resistance until

around the 13th century.• Saladin was a Kurdish General who fought successfully against the Third

Crusade and regained Jerusalem.• The Mongols emerged as a greater threat afterwards. They destroyed the

Abbasid Caliphate at Baghdad and took lots of territory, with the Mamluks eventually blocking their advance. However, the Middle East was still decentralized.

Ottomans• Ottomans had been the vassals of the Seljuks.• They eventually gained an independent state (founder:

sultan Osman I) and eventually took over much of the Middle East (incl. Mamluk Egypt, Seljuk territory, and Mongol territory)

- conquered remainder of the Byzantine Empire (incl. Constantinople by using gunpowder artillery)

- conquered parts of southeastern Europe and attacked the Balkans.

Islamic Culture

• As mentioned before, the Abbasid Caliphate was considered the golden age of Islamic culture.

– They widely used Arabic numerals, algebra, trignomentry

– Skilled at astronomy and medicine• Had knowledge of chemistry and metalworking (e.g.

Ottoman’s skill with gunpowder weaponry and cannons)• Art tended to be (but not always) very geometric because of

restrictions in the Qur’an against idolatry.• Ibn Battuta was an Islamic explorer who chronicled his

journeys in his journal Travels.

Ottoman in the 15th century

• Constantinople captured by Mehmet II in 1453

• Name changed to Istanbul (you may have heard a song about it) meaning "city of Islam"

• Around this time, Judaism and Christianity started growing in the middle east. (The Ottoman's tolerance had fostered their growth.)

• The Ottoman empire became a "gunpowder" empire-- one known for its military conquests

The Safavids

• In persia, another gunpowder empire.

• Formed by Shi'a Muslims from the Ottoman empire after Mehmet's successor, Selim, took power--

• Which they did because Selim started a regime of Islamic nationalism, taking the title of Caliph of Islam.

• It was built on framework Timur had laid out in the early 15th centure.

• Timur? Caliph? Someone get Puccini on the phone.

The Safavids in Iran

• The Safavids were tolerant of ethnic background, but generally required citizens to be Shi'a Muslims.

• Shah Esma'il did some conquering, but ended up in a spat with the Portuguese at the beginning of the 16th century.

• Sultan Selim (of the Ottoman) waged war on the Safavids and Shi'as in 1512.

• The Safavid empire ultimately ended in 1722 with Shah Sultan Hossein, a pawn to the local religious leaders.

The Ottomans expand again

• Taking advantage of the sudden lack of Safavid, the Ottoman empire took Persia, and almost got as far as Russia--with whom she split the Iranian spoils.

• To be perfectly fair, the Safavid empire was still technically there, but disintegrating fairly rapidly.

Map of the Middle East in 1750

Map of the Middle East in 1900

Decline of the Ottoman Empire• The janissaries, strong military leaders, and the ulma,

Muslim religious scholars , opposed to industrialization and modernization of the empire.

• They would go as far as to assassinating Sultan Selim III who carried out reforms.

• Sultan Abdul Mejid launched a reform program known as the Tanzimat. He secularized the state by declaring that Muslim laws of Shari’a only applied to family matters. Therefore the ulma lost power.

• Eventually a nationalistic and modern group, the Young Turks, controlled the government starting in the beginning of the 1900s.

The Eastern Question• Throughout the 19th century, nationalism sprouted in many

parts of the Ottoman Empire. Areas such as Serbia, Greece, and Egypt revolted and gained independence. Russia also annexed some Ottoman land in the Balkan area.

• As the empire is failing, the Eastern Question asks, “Should the empire continue to exist? What will happen to its territory?”

• European countries such as France and Britain wanted to take over Ottoman lands.

• Despite this, they helped the Ottomans against Greece and Egypt to prevent the rebels from getting too much power.

Egypt• In 1798, Napoleon took over Egypt in the Napoleonic Wars.• Egypt gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in

1805 after a rebellion led by Muhammad Ali. He tried to get more land but France and Britain defeated him.

• Egypt rapidly modernized and industrialized, becoming one of the biggest exporters of cotton.

• The Suez Canal was built to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea which ultimately led to the Indian Ocean.

• Britain bought ownership of the canal which they used as an excuse to control the government too. Britain earned a lot with their high tolls.

Persia

• By the late 1700s, the Persian empire was falling just like the Ottomans.

• Russia, who was more westernized and modernized, defeated the Persians in war and took lands such as Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.

• Russia also took other lands in Central Asia for pride and for resources such as cotton.

• The Qajar Dynasty took power. Under their reign, Britain and Russia divided the empire into a southern and northern half with each having their sphere of influence in it respectively.

1900-Present Day• In 1901 Riyadh was captured by Abdul Aziz bin

Abdul Rahman ibn Faisal Al Saud (Ibn Saud for short). This area would later be known as Saudi Arabia.

• This started a 30 year campaign led by Ibn Saud in attempt to unify the Arabian Peninsula.

WW1• After WW1 breaks out, the Ottoman empire was sided with the

Germans. Britain desperately looked for assistance, and formed a treaty with the Saud Dynasty for peace.

• The Ottoman empire started the Armenian genocide, killing 1.5 million Christian individuals, just because of the minority.

• Britain, France and Russia form the Hussein-McMahon Correspondence with the Arabs which promises independence to what is today Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq if these Arabs joined the Allies.

• Britain and France Secretly planned to split up the middle east after the war.

• To create even more confusion, Britain promised a Jewish home/mandate in Palestine after the War.

• After the war, in April 1920 the last two agreements were negotiated, causing disruption in Palestine, as well as all around the peninsula. Britain gained Iraq and Palestine, France got Syria and Lebanon.

• The Jewish home was created on July 1922 by the League of Nations.

Road to Independence• Egypt was granted limited independence in 1922, but was still watched over by

Britain.• Afghanistan declared independence in 1919 after a one-month war.• Oil was first discovered in Iraq in 1923, and first discovered in Saudi Arabia in

1938.• In October 1923, the Republic of Turkey was established.• In 1927, The Ikhwan, a group of Muslims who practice Wahhabism, a very

conservative type of Islam turned against Ibn Saud.• The Muslim Brotherhood was founded by Hasan al-Banna in 1928, starting a

revival of traditional Islamic ideas. This Brotherhood was banned, and found much conflict in Egypt.

• The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is officially founded on 1932.• Iraq gained an independent monarchy in 1932 when Britain stopped the

mandate. However, Britain remains as a strong influence.• Lebanon gains independence in 1944 from France.

(post)-WWII/Cold War• The Oil in the Middle East was essential to both sides of WWII. It became

a battlefield for the most important resource in the 20th century.• The state of Israel was created on May 1948 after years of fighting

between the Jews and the Arabs. Palestine was split into two equal halves. This was met with a lot of conflict and wars from neighboring Arab nations.

• Prime Minister Mossadeq of Iran nationalized the oil industry. He was praised in the Middle east, but became a threat to Britain. The British convinced the United States that Mossadeq must be removed, and they plan a coup against him in 1953.

• This coup succeeded, and a new Shah replaced Mossadeq.• Israel and Arab states start the Six-Day war in 1967, eventually leading to

the loss of the Arabs, and the resignation of Nasser in Egypt.• A later Anwar al-Sadat was then Assassinated in 1981 by Islamists.

1980s-Present

• Al-Qaeda was formed in 1989 by Osama bin Laden.

• Since the formation of Al-Qaeda, many attacks occurred not only in the United States, but countries worldwide.

• There is civil war going on in Syria between the Syrians and the Lebanese.

• Today, the Arabia is still a big oil industry.

Bibliography

• http://www.iranchamber.com/history/safavids/safavids.php• http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his112/Notes/Gunpowder.html• http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/ottomanempire_

1.shtml• http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/ottoman/turkish.html• http://www.sephardicstudies.org/ottoemp.html• McCannon, John. "Chapter 23 The Middle East." Barron's AP World

History. 4th ed. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's, 2010. 257-62. Print. • "The Gulf/2000 Project - SIPA - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY." The Gulf/2000

Project - SIPA - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. Columbia University, n.d. Web. 12 May 2013.

• “Global Connections: The Middle East.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 14 May 2013.

• Ashley, Sean P. “Cold War Politics in the Middle East” Einternational Relations RSS, 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 14 May 2013