The Middle East

Paulina GaworJeremy JonesMichael DeddoAnthony CundariChristopher MoaklerAP Global Period 2

 POLITICAL• First cities emerge, 4000 B.C.E. (Ur, Sumer) Between 3200 and 2350 B.C.E., they evolve into city-states (control

of surrounding region). Governments sponsor building projects and irrigation • Attacks by others led to wall building and military development • Kingships evolve with cooperation of noble families• The Code of Hammurabi was created by a Babylonian King, in 1790 BCE. Code revolves around laws of

retribution.• Hammurabi centralizes bureaucracy & has taxation. • Hittite assault and empire crumbles in 1595 B.C.E.• Assyrians (northern Mesopotamia), about 1300-612, are conquerors, but cannot maintain a stable government• New Babylonian empire, 600-550 B.C.E.: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.E.) Hanging gardens of palace showed

wealth and luxury. • Nobles received political leadership.• The Persian Empire was the successor of the Median Empire and lasted from 550 BC to 330 BC. Cyrus the Great

founds this empire under Achaemenid Dynasty.• The Persian Empire was the largest empire in ancient history. • Upper & Lower Egypt united by the pharaoh around 3150 BCE.• Egypt gets conquered over time by foreigners. ECONOMIC• Bronze (made from copper and tin); used in weapons and later agricultural tools • Iron (about 1000 B.C.E.), cheaper and more widely available; used in weapons and tools Wheel (about 3500

B.C.E.) helps trade; carts can carry more goods further • Shipbuilding: maritime trade increases in all directions; network develops• Phoenicians: Little agriculture; live on trade and communications networks • Overland trade to Mesopotamia; influence on culture • Sea trade most important; get raw materials, trade for manufactured goods• Economic foundations of classical Persia • Agriculture was the economic foundation • Trade from India to Egypt • Standardized coins, good trade routes, markets, banks • Specialization of production in different regions• Africa: Economic specialization and trade • Bronze important but copper and tin rare and expensive • Iron metallurgy develops independently in Sudan • Transportation: sailboats, carts, and donkey caravans • Egypt and Nubia: exotic goods from Nubia (ebony, gold, gems, slaves) and pottery, wine, linen, decorative items

from Egypt

8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.

8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.

8000 B.C.E. – 600 C.E.

600 C.E. – 1450Political: • The early caliphs and the Umayyad dynasty• Upon Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr served as caliph ("deputy")• Became head of the state, chief judge, religious leader, military commander• The Shia sect originally supported Ali and descendents as caliph• Versus the Sunnis ("traditionalists"), the Shias accepted legitimacy of early caliphs• Different beliefs: holy days for leaders, Ali infallible• Ongoing conflict between the two sects• The Umayyad dynasty (661-750 C.E.)• Ruled the dar al-Islam for the interests of Arabian military aristocracy• Levied jizya (head tax) on those who did not convert to Islam• Umayyad declined, due to discontent of conquered and resistance of Shia • The Abbasid dynasty:• Abu al-Abbas, descendant of Muhammad's uncle allied with Shias and non-Arab Muslims• Won battle against Umayyad in 750 after annihilating the clan• The Abbasid dynasty (750-1258 C.E.)• No longer conquering, but the empire still grew• Abbasid administration• Relied heavily on Persian techniques of statecraft• Central authority ruled from the court at Baghdad• Appointed governors to rule provinces• Ulama ("people with religious knowledge") and qadis (judges) ruled locally• Abbasid decline• Struggle for succession led to civil war• Governors built their own power bases• Popular uprisings and peasant rebellions weakened the dynasty• A Persian noble seized control of Baghdad in 945• Later, the Saljuq Turks controlled the imperial family

Economic: • New crops, agricultural

experimentation, and urban growth• Spread of new foods and industrial

crops• Industrial crops became the basis for a

thriving textile industry• Increasing agricultural production

contributed to the rapid growth of cities

• The formation of a hemispheric trading zone

• Trade revived silk roads• Umayyad and Abbasid rulers

maintained roads for military and administration

• Overland trade traveled mostly by camel caravan

• Arab and Persian mariners borrowed the compass from the Chinese

• Borrowed the lateen sail from southeast Asian and Indian mariners

• Borrowed astrolabe from the Hellenistic mariners

• Banks operated on large scale and provided extensive services

• Letters of credit,functioned as bank checks

• The organization of trade• Entrepreneurs often pooled their

resources in group investments

600 C.E. – 1450 Religious: Muhammad ibn Abdullah born to a Mecca merchant family, 570 C.E.Muhammad's spiritual transformation at age fortyThere was only one true god, Allah ("the god")Allah would soon bring judgment on the worldThe archangel Gabriel delivered these revelations to MuhammadThe Quran ("recitation")--holy book of IslamFollowers compiled Muhammad's revelationsWork of poetry and definitive authority on IslamHis teachings offended other believers, especially the ruling elite of MeccaUnder persecution, Muhammad and followers fled to Medina, 622 C.E.Muhammad called himself the "seal of the prophets"--the final prophet of AllahHeld Hebrew scripture and New Testament in high esteemDetermined to spread Allah's wish to all humankindHe and his followers conquered Mecca, 630, and imposed a government dedicated to AllahDestroyed pagan shrines and built mosquesThe Ka'ba was not destroyed; it became site of pilgrimage in 632The Five Pillars of Islam, or obligations taught by MuhammadIslamic law: the sharia, inspired by QuranDetailed guidance on proper behavior in almost every aspect of life

Social: • The Quran enhanced security of women, but enforced male domination.• Adopted veiling of women from Mesopotamia and Persia• Women's rights provided by the Quran were reduced through later interpretations• Ulama, qadis, and missionaries were main agents• Education also promoted Islamic values• Sufis, or Islamic mystics were the most effective missionaries• Encouraged devotion to Allah by passionate singing or dancing• Sufis led ascetic and holy lives, won respect of the people• Encouraged followers to revere Allah in their own ways• Tolerated those who associated Allah with other beliefs• Pilgrims helped to spread Islamic beliefs and values

Interactions: • Islam and the cultural traditions of Persia, India, and Greece• Persian influence on Islam was most notable in literary works• Administrative techniques borrowed from Sasanids • Ideas of kingship: wise, benevolent, absolute• Indian influences: Adopted "Hindi numerals," which Europeans later called "Arabic numerals,“ as well as

algebra and trigonometry• Greek influences: Muslims philosophers especially liked Plato and Aristotle. Ibn Rushd turned to

Aristotle in twelfth century• Ibn Battuta (1304-1369) was a Moroccan Islamic scholar who served as qadi to the sultan of Delhi• He consulted with Muslim rulers and offered advice on Islamic values• Missionary campaigns: Sufi missionaries (Muslim) visited recently conquered or converted lands• Cultural exchanges included science, ideas, art, and music• New technology spread by travelers and facilitated their travel--for example, magnetic compass• New crops introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Muslims: citrus fruits, rice, cotton• Sugarcane originated in southwest Asia and north Africa• Introduced to Europeans during the crusades• Sugarcane plantations spread all over the Mediterranean basin• Plantations operated through slave labor, Muslim captives, and Africans

600 C.E. – 1450

1450-1750Political: • The Ottoman empire (1289-1923) was founded by Osman Bey in 1289, who led Muslim religious

warriors (ghazi) • Ottoman expansion into Byzantine empire: seized city of Bursa, then into the Balkans• Organized ghazi into formidable military machine• Central role of the Janissaries (slave troops)• Effective use of gunpowder in battles and sieges• Mehmed the Conqueror (reigned 1451-1481) captured Constantinople in 1453; it became Istanbul, the

Ottoman capital• Absolute monarchy; centralized state• Suleyman the Magnificent • Suleyman the Magnificent expanded into southwest Asia and central Europe. Suleyman also built a navy

powerful enough to challenge European fleets• The Safavids, Turkish conquerors of Persia and Mesopotamia• Battle of Chaldiran (1514)• Sunni Ottomans persecuted Shiites within Ottoman empire• Qizilbash were crushed by Ottomans at Chadiran • Shah Abbas the Great (1588-1629) revitalized the Safavid empire; modernized military; sought

European alliances against Ottomans• The Mughal empire• Aurangzeb (1659-1707)• Expanded the empire to almost the entire Indian subcontinent• Revoked policies of toleration: Hindus taxed, temples destroyed• His rule troubled by religious tensions and hostility • All three Islamic empires were military creations• Authority of dynasty derived from personal piety and military prowess of rulers• Devotion to Islam encouraged rulers to extend their faith to new lands• Dynastic decline caused by negligent rulers, factions, and government corruption

1450-1750• Ottoman forces behind European armies in strategy, tactics, weaponry, training. Janissary corps became

politically corrupt, undisciplined• Provincial governors gained power, private armies• Extensive territorial losses in nineteenth century• Egypt gained autonomy after Napoleon's failed campaign in 1798• Egyptian general Muhammad Ali built a powerful, modern army• Ali's army threatened Ottomans, made Egypt an autonomous province• Attempt to reform military led to violent Janissary revolt (1807-1808)• Reformer Mahmud II (1808-1839) became sultan after revolt• When Janissaries resisted, Mahmud had them killed; cleared the way for reforms• He built an European-style army, academies, schools, roads, and telegraph• Legal and educational reforms of the Tanzimat ("reorganization") era (1839-1876)• Ruling class sought sweeping restructuring to strengthen state• Broad legal reforms, modeled after Napoleon's civic code• State reform of education (1846), free and compulsory primary education (1869)• Undermined authority of the ulama, enhanced the state authority• Opposition to Tanzimat reforms:• Religious conservatives critical of attack on Islamic law and tradition• Legal equality for minorities resented by some, even a few minority leaders• Young Ottomans wanted more reform: freedom, autonomy, decentralization• High-level bureaucrats wanted more power, checks on the sultan's power• The Young Turk era• Cycles of reform and repression• 1876, coup staged by bureaucrats who demanded a constitutional government• New sultan Abd al-Hamid II (1876-1909) proved an autocrat: suspended constitution, dissolved parliament,

and punished liberals• Reformed army and administration: became source of the new opposition• The Young Turks, after 1889, an active body of opposition• Called for universal suffrage, equality, freedom, secularization, women's rights• Forced Abd al-Hamid to restore constitution, dethroned him (1909)• Nationalistic: favored Turkish dominance within empire, led to Arab resistance• The empire survived only because of distrust among European powers

1450-1750

 Economic:• Food crops the basis of all three empires major crops: wheat and rice• Imports of coffee and tobacco very popular• Population growth in the three empires less dramatic than in China or Europe• Significant population growth in India from more intense agriculture• Less dramatic growth in Safavid and Ottoman realms• Long-distance trade important to all three empires• Economic difficulties began in seventeenth century• Less trade through empire as Europeans shifted to the Atlantic Ocean basin• Exported raw materials, imported European manufactured goods• Heavily depended on foreign loans, half of the revenues paid to loan interest• Economic difficulties began in seventeenth century• Less trade through empire as Europeans shifted to the Atlantic Ocean basin• Exported raw materials, imported European manufactured goods• Heavily depended on foreign loans, half of the revenues paid to loan interest• Foreigners began to administer the debts of the Ottoman state by 1882• The "capitulations": European domination of Ottoman economy• Extraterritoriality: Europeans exempt from Ottoman law within the empire• Could operate tax-free, levy their own duties in Ottoman ports• Deprived empire of desperately needed income

Religious:

• Religious diversity created challenges to the rule of the empires• Akbar tolerated Sikhism, a new faith combining elements of Hinduism and Islam• Advocated syncretic "divine faith," emphasizing loyalty to emperor• Religious minorities generally tolerated in Islamic states

1450-1750

• Interactions:• Ottoman and Safavid empires

shared segments of the east-west trade routes

• Safavids offered silk, carpets, and ceramics to European trading companies

• The Mughal empire less attentive to foreign or maritime trading

• Mughals permitted stations for English, French, and Dutch trading companies

• In Ottoman empire, conquered peoples protected, granted religious and civil autonomy in their own communities

• In India, the Muslim rulers closely cooperated with Hindu majority

• Art: • All emperors sponsored arts and

public works: mosques, palaces, schools, hospitals, etc.

• The Suleymaniye blended Islamic and Byzantine architectural elements

• Fatehpur Sikri, Mughal capital, created by Akbar

• Combined Islamic style with Indian elements

• The Taj Mahal, exquisite example of Mughal architecture

Political:• Ottoman Empire dissolves after WWI in 1923• Turkey becomes independent country in 1923 led by Atta Turk who created a republic• Eastern Question Solved after Ottoman Empire dissolves.• Middle Eastern states made UN mandates•  England sends Jews to Palestine after WWII to create a Jewish state. (Israel)•  Arab states surrounding Israel attempt to retake the territory that was taken from them.• Dictators come to power, such as Sadam Hussein (Iraq)  and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran)

Economic:• At beginning of time period economy is bad because Europe doesn’t need to trade through the Middle East.• Suez Canal facilitates quicker trade between Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.• Modern Economy is primarily based on oil, as they have over half the world’s oil reserves.

Religious:• Islam is divided into sects such as Sunni’s and Shia’s• In Iraq, there was genocide against the Shia’s by Sadam Hussein and his government.

Social:• Sunni’s are the dominant sect of Islam, 9 out of every 10 Muslim’s are Sunni• Israelis are hated by most of Middle East

Interactions:• Ottomans are defeated in WWI which eventually leads to their demise.• 1967 – 6 day war, Israel captures Gaza Strip and West Bank• 1973- Egypt and Syria invade during Yom Kippur, are beaten in 20 days.• 1980-1988- Iran Iraq War, sparks Shia insurgency on border.•  1992- peace treaty is signed between Israelis and Arabs.

1914-Present