Middle East Chapters 19-20 The Persian Gulf and Interior The Eastern Mediterranean
The Persian Gulf and Interior The Arabian Peninsula lies between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Arabian Peninsula includes the following countries: 1. Saudi Arabia 5. Oman 2. Bahrain 6. Qatar 3. Kuwait 7. Yemen 4. The United Arab Emirates
The Persian Gulf and Interior Iraq and Iran are also on the Persian Gulf. Afghanistan is landlocked and lies to the northeast. This area has continued tectonic activity that brings earthquakes.
Red Sea (Saudi-Arabia in distance )
The Persian Gulf and Interior The region known as Mesopotamia (Greek for “between rivers”) lies mostly in Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. exotic rivers = in humid regions and then flow across dry areas. Hot and dry climates dominate this region..
Mesopotamia
The Persian Gulf and Interior (History and Culture) The world’s first civilizations developed in the area known as the Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent = area of fertile soil. Many of the plants and animals found in the world today were first domesticated here.
The Persian Gulf and Interior (History and Culture) 3000 BC = Sumerians built first cities. 570 to 632 A.D. = The Islamic founder Mohammad lived. – Mohammad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia – about age 40 reported that the angel Gabriel, sent from Allah – told him to preach Allah’s word. Muhammad’s followers became known as Muslims and his writing were collected into the Qur’an (Koran). Muhammad’s established a Muslim community center at Medina
The Persian Gulf and Interior (History and Culture) Mecca is located in Saudi Arabia and this gives the country a special place in the Islamic world. Every Muslim must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least one time in his life. It is Islam’s holiest city.
Mecca
Mecca
Medina
Qur’an (Koran)
The Persian Gulf and Interior (History and Culture) After his death Arab armies spread Islam thought as far west as Morocco and Spain. In the 1200’s the Mongols swept through Southwest Asia to conquer what are now Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. Rulers called the Safavids came into power in Iran in the early 1500’s. The rule of the Safavids is considered a golden age in Persian culture, literature, and architecture. The Safavid dynasty ended in the mid 1700’s
The Persian Gulf and Interior (History and Culture) In the 1500’s the Ottoman Turks conquered much Mesopotamia and the east and west coast of the Arabian Peninsula. They held this area until the early 1900’s, when the British took it over. Iraq and Saudi Arabia emerged as independent countries in 1932. Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen became independent from Britain in the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Ottoman Turk Empire
British Mid-East
The Persian Gulf and Interior (History and Culture) Islam is the identifying culture of this region. Arabic is the dominant language. There are over a million Arabs in southern Iran, but there are also many non-Arabic ethnic groups. For example the Kurds are Muslim but not Arabic. They live in the borderlands of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
The Persian Gulf and Interior (History and Culture) Their desire for self rule is a source of political tension throughout the region. (ISIS) Most of Iran’s people are Persians who speak Farsi. – dominate the important position in the country. The other ethnic groups have little say in what goes on. In Afghanistan the Pashtun make up the largest ethnic group (they are actually a number of tribes that speak the Pashtu language.)
Sunni and Shia Islam has split into two main branches: Sunni and Shi’ism . The difference centers on their choice of leader or imam. The Sunni Muslims choose their imams. The Shia Muslims believe that only a decedent from Mohammad can be an imam.
Sunni and Shia The Shia also rely on imam to interpret the Qur’an and the Sunni use them mainly as prayer leaders. About 90% of Muslims are Sunni and 10% are Shia. Shi’ism is concentrated in Iran, southern Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.
The Persian Gulf and Interior (Economy) Oil and gas production is central to the countries along the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia = 8.25 million barrels of oil a day.
Saudi Oil Production
The Persian Gulf and Interior (The Region Today) Persian Gulf must import food. Because Islam prevent eating pork no pigs are raised in these areas. Nomadic herders known as Bedouins live in the outlying dry lands.
The Persian Gulf and Interior (The Region Today) Most of the larger cities are the nations’ capitals. The regions politics center around three themes: 1) Oil 2) Tradition 3) Islam
The Persian Gulf and Interior (The Region Today) The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) influences oil prices throughout the world by increasing or decreasing production. Saudi Arabia is a key member of OPEC. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter; this gives the country a special place in world affairs.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Super tankers off the coast of Kuwait
Iran Iran’s politics has been unstable in recent years. In 1979 there was a revolution that toppled Iran’s monarchy. The government became a theocracy ran by ayatollahs (religious leaders of high authority among Shia Muslims.) Many leaders view western ideas as a threat to public minority. – many Iranians are seeking more personal freedoms. Iran’s politics are often watched because if they close the Strait of Hormez off their coast it could cut off a large portion of the world’s oil supply.
Shah
Ayatollah
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Iran
Iraq Until 2003, Iraq was ruled by dictator Sadam Hussein, who used the countries oil reserve to build a large military. Under Sadam, Iraq invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. A group of countries led by the US repelled the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1991 to keep stability in the region. This became known as the Persian Gulf War.
Saddam Hussein
Iraq To prevent this from happening again the United Nations ordered Sadam to stop producing weapons of mass destruction. In 2003, after Iraq’s continued resistance to UN inspectors and violations of UN sanctions the United States led an invasion of the country. Instability in the region has led to the rise of militant groups – (ISIS – Islamic State in Iraq and Syria)
Iraq
Afghanistan Afghanistan’s ethnic and political conflicts have long plagued the country. In the 1990’s a group called the Taliban came into power. They are by an extreme version of Sunni Islam and established strict laws for the country. After the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks, US officials focused on the aid the terrorist received from the Taliban government. The US and allied forces attacked terrorist camps and Taliban military targets. The Taliban regime soon collapsed. Afghanistan then experienced new liberties, though instability still hurts the country.
Afghanistan
Eastern Mediterranean Countries Eastern Med. is part of the Middle East and has six countries: – Israel – Jordan – Lebanon – Syria – Turkey – Cyprus
Eastern Mediterranean
Eastern Mediterranean Countries Turkey lies in both Europe and Asia Turkey lies along many faults and experiences devastating earthquakes. Israel, Lebanon and Syria lie in the coastal plain region The Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. This unusual sea lies 1,312 feet below sea level.
Eastern Mediterranean Countries The Dead Sea was once part of the Mediterranean, but today it no longer has an outlet. It is so salty nothing can live in it and anyone can easily float in it. Arid, Semiarid and Mediterranean climates cover this region. Lebanon used to be famous for its many cedar trees but most have been forested over the last 2,000 years.
Dead Sea
Dead Sea
Jordan River
Eastern Mediterranean Countries In about 1,000 BC the Hebrew people set up a kingdom between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Hebrews practice Judaism, which is dominant in Israel. The Romans conquered the Eastern Mediterranean between 200BC and AD 106. Jesus Christ was born at the beginning of the first century in Bethlehem, Israel. His ministry throughout the Jerusalem area changed this region. Christian belief states that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but Jesus Christ gave his life as a sacrifice so that through him all who repent and believe in Him may have eternal life.
Eastern Mediterranean Countries In the first century AD Christianity began to spread throughout this region. By the late 300’s Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire. In the 400’s AD the Roman Empire became divided, the eastern part became known as the Byzantine Empire. The Eastern Orthodox Church also became divided from the Roman Catholic Church at this time.
Judaism
Roman Empire
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