Aim: So… The Middle East
Do Now: How does this image reflect the history of the Middle
East? The current problems?
Early Middle Eastern
Civilizations
8000 B.C.E.-600 B.C.E.
Why and how in the Middle East?
● The major river systems (Tigris and Euphrates in
mesopotamia and the Nile in Egypt)
 Supplied a surplus of food (fish + successful
crops)
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Allowed people to work on other things => social hierarchy,
specialization
Encouraged people to stay in one place
Provided means of transportation
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trade
o
spread of ideas and technology
o
economic development
Peoples of the Middle East
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Egypt
o Egypt first united by Pharaoh Narmer(A.K.A Menes) in 3100 BCE
o Old kingdom (2575-2134 BCE) pyramids of giza and great sphinx were built,
ended with civil war
o Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 BCE) ended with invasion be hyksos armed with
chariots and compound bows
o New Kingdom (1532-1070 BCE) expanded territory, collapsed due to internal
disorder and invasion
Mesopotamian peoples
● Sumerians(3500-2350 BCE) => writing system
● First empire created by Sargon of Akkad (2200 BCE)
● Babylonians (1900-1600 BCE) => known for Hammurabi’s code
● Hittites (1300-1200 BCE) =>introduced chariots and iron
● Assyrians (911-612 BCE) =>warlike and cruel towards conquered
peoples
Social Class
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King/ Pharaoh at the top (believed to have a connection with the gods)
Wealthy (lesser nobles, priests, warriors, merchants)
Farmers/ Artisans
Slaves (people who could not pay debts, POWs)
Women
o
o
o
o
Food production required hard labor usually performed by men => women
stayed in the house
Food surplus => more kids => women had to bear and take care of them
In Mesopotamia, Men could take multiple wives (often done if first wife did not
bear children)
However, women could own property, maintain dowry and even engage in
trade, some were things like bakers
 Royal egyptian women had behind the scene influence in politics
 Female pharaoh hatshepsut (1479–1458 BCE)
Religion
● Mesopotamia
o Polytheistic
o King was a representative of the gods
o The governments built structures such as ziggurats to appease them
o bleak afterlife
● Egypt
o polytheistic
o pharaoh believed to be a god sent to earth to maintain ma’at (order of
the universe)
o believed that body had to be prepared for afterlife
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pyramids
book of dead
mummification
Technology and Science
● Mesopotamia
o
o
o
o
o
o
Sumerians writing system,
cuneiform, in 3300 BCE
 written on clay tablets
 Gave rise to Epic of
Gilgamesh
base 60 number system
developed wheel
Skilled in metallurgy, made
bronze
Hittites who came to power in
1300 BCE, were first to make
the systematic use of iron
weapons
skilled astronomers
● Egypt
o Hieroglyphics
 written on papyrus
o Skilled engineers
o Learned much about the
human body through
mummification
o Skilled astronomers => 365
day calendar
o Hyksos brought chariots and
compound bows
Building Empires
600 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.
Persian Empire
- Persians - 550 -331 BCE - present day Iran, one of the largest empires in world history
- The first dynasty, the Achaemenid was founded by Cyrus, who overthrew the Median king
- By the time of Darius the great, a follower of the Zoroastrian religion, the empire stretched
from Turkey and Libya to India. (More than 2 million square miles)
- Under Darius the Royal Road was created, that worked to link the empire.
- Had both a postal service and single currency
Provincial government, with each region ruled by government officials called Satraps.
- Key features: patriarchy, religious toleration, rigid divide of society between warriors, priests,
and peasants
Parthian
- Achaemenid persians fell to Alexander the Great’s forces in 331 BCE
- 247 BCE, Parthian dynasty arose after rebelling against the the empire of
Alexander the Great.
- Parthian Persia: elements of Hellenistic and Persian culture,
-grew wealthy from Silk Road trade.
- Specific goods: Chinese eagerness for horses, Parthians traded Chinese silk
to Greeks.
Sassanid
Succeeding them was the Sassanid Empire 224-651 Ce
- Shahs grew rich on the Silk Road and from commerce generated by Arab traders.
- Practiced Zoroastrianism- Shah’s fundamentally saw themselves as members of a religious
community, schools and law courts were religious.
- Unlike previous rulers they were less tolerant of other religions
- Society revolved around a powerful aristocracy, however unlike in Europe the Sassanid Empire
consistently held internal control.
- Occasional conflict with Romans/Byzantines
-Fell to Islamic military expansion in 651 Ce.
Multinational Institutions
● Religion
○ The two major ones were Zoroastrianism and Christianity
○ Christian Byzantine Empire and Zoroastrian Persian -intolerance
towards each other
○ Zoroastrianism grew in influence during the Sassanid Empire
○ Forms of Christianity and Zoroastrian spread by travellers on the Silk
Road
● Trade Routes
○ Mediterranean Sea
○ Indian Ocean Maritime Network - Arab and Persian traders
dominated the Western portion
○ Silk Road
○ Goods: Silk, Horses
○ Technologies: Stirrups (gave riders greater stability), ships with
triangular lateen sails (allowed travelers to cover long distances at sea)
Origins and Spread of Islam,
the Crusades, and the Rise of
the Ottoman Empire
600 CE - 1450 CE
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Origins of Islam
Began in the Arabian Peninsula with Muhammad (570 – 632 CE)
Monotheistic religion, similar to Judaism and Christianity
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There is one God, Allah
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Muhammad is the great prophet; messenger for Allah
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Migration to Medina (622 CE) – start of the Islamic calendar
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Due to differing opinions on line of succession after Muhammad’s death, Muslims split into
Sunnis and Shi’ites
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Shi’ites: Believed that the Caliph should be a descendant of Muhammad
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Believed Ali, Muhammad’s first Cousin, was the Prophet’s rightful heir
Sunnis: Believed the Caliph should be chosen by leaders; did not believe the Caliph had to
be blood-related
Five Pillars & More Islam
● Five Pillars of Islam
○ Shahadah – Declaration of Faith
○ Salah – Prayer
○ Zakat – Charity
○ Sawm – Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan
○ Hajj – Pilgrimage to Mecca
● Quran: Muslim Holy Book
● Sharia Law: Islamic Code of Law
● Accept Moses and Jesus as prophets; Jews and Christians considered
Spread of Islam and Islam in Spain
● Islam (634 – 711 CE) spread via military conquests
- Jihad: Holy War
● Under the Umayyad Dynasty, the Islamic Empire grew and expanded as
far as northern Africa into Spain
● The Moors, an Islamic nomadic people from North Africa, invaded Spain
in 711. They moved north, threatening France but were stopped by Charles
Martel in 732
● Spanish cities, Toledo, Granada and Seville were greatly influenced by
Moorish culture – music, art, and architecture (Alhambra)
● Moors were driven out of Spain in 1492 by Queen Isabella and King
Ferdinand
Islamic Empire
Crusades (1095 – 1204)
● Pope Urban II called for Christians to stop fighting themselves and fight
Muslims for the Holy Land
● Christians captured Jerusalem was in 1099; but the Muslims regained
control in 1187 under Saladin
● 4 crusades during this period
● Violent period which caused intolerance between Christians and Muslims
for centuries
● Resulted in failed mission but led to trade, exchange of ideas and and a rediscovery of ancient history
Ottoman Turks (1300 - 1450 CE)
● 13th century – the former Islamic Empire was taken over by the Mongols.
Yet, there was a thriving of Islamic culture and achievements in literature,
art, mathematics and astronomy.
● 1300 - the Muslim Ottoman Empire, founded by Osman in Eastern Turkey,
unified the region and challenged the Byzantine rule.
● 14th century – Ottoman Empire grew
○ Went on to conquer Constantinople in 1453, marking the end of the
Byzantine Empire (renamed Istanbul)
● Comprised of vast lands in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus
and eastern Europe.
● Religiously Tolerant: Christians and Jews were allowed to practice
religions
○ Millet System
Global Interactions
1450 C.E. - 1750 C.E.
Height of the Ottoman Empire (1510-1580)
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Suleiman the Magnificent
o Expanded the empire deep into Eastern Europe
o Oversaw the golden age in artistic, literary, and architectural development
By the 1520s, the Ottoman Empire was the most powerful and best-organized state in either Europe or
the Islamic world
Janissaries-Christian prisoners of war induced to serve as military slaves
Devshirme-Children from Christian villages were recruited to be educated to become janissaries
Development of guns and cannons greatly improved the strength of the military; as a result the empire
becomes a “gunpowder empire”
Relatively independent of Western influence
Two examples of military technology: the yataghan and zischagge
All Good Things Must Come to an End (1585-1700)
● As the size of the Janissaries corps grew larger, the role of the Turkish
cavalry diminished
● The government needed money to pay the Janissaries so it taxed its people
● Then displaced cavalrymen, peasants, and students rebelled
● Sultan slowly lost power and the Janissaries slowly gained power
● From land grants to tax farming
● European influence slowly started to take over Ottoman trade
● Tulip Period (1718-1730)
o
o
The Istanbul elite experimented with European clothing and furniture styles and books
It’s called the Tulip Period because there was a craze for tulips
● Patrona Halil Rebellion- After Sultan Ahmed III abdicated, the leader of
the revolt, Patrona Halil held power for a short time
● Showed the world that the Ottoman Empire was declining
Safavid Empire
● In 1502, 16-year old Ismail proclaimed himself shah of Iran and declared
that his realm would be devoted to Shi’ite Islam
● Persian Culture
o
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Persian emerged as the second language of Islam
Iranian scholars and writers read Persian
● Hidden Imam: a descendant of Ali who disappeared in the ninth century
o
Doctrine states that all temporal rulers are stand-ins for the Hidden Imam
● Shi’ism also affected psychological life
o
o
Preachers recited woeful tales to weeping believers
Elaborate street processions
● Women were seldom seen in public
● Style of dress: complete coverage of arms, legs, and hair for both sexes
● Isfahan became the capital in 1598
Collapse of the Safavid Empire
Silk was the mainstay of the empire’s foreign trade
The manufacturing sector was neither large nor productive
Women and girls did most of the work
Paying troops became more difficult
Shah realized that his military needed to adopt firearms to hold off the
Ottomans and Uzbeks
● Warriors weren’t willing to trade in their bow and arrows
● Inflation caused by spread cheap silver
● Mismanagement of the silk monopoly
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Industrialization and
Global Integration
1750 C.E. - 1900 C.E.
1750 CE - 1900 CE
The Ottoman Empire had passed its peak and was composed of most of the
Middle East along with Northern Africa and Southeast Europe during this
time.
The great empire was on the verge of
decline as it wasn’t able to hold onto
its distant territories in Northern
Africa and Arabia.
-The Saud Family took control of many Arabian
tribes as they spread Wahhabism or Islamic
Fundamentalism
-Napoleon invades Egypt and is forced out by
1801 which allows Mohommed Ali to come to
power in Egypt
Egypt
-Muhammed Ali tries to build up the Egyptian economy and military so that Egypt can be less
dependent from the Ottoman Sultan.
-Imported European advisers and technicians to help build cotton mills, shipyards, weapons
factories, and other industries in an attempt to industrialize.
-Ali imposes high tariffs to encourage domestic industrialization and forces peasantry to grow wheat
and cotton, which were a major Egyptian export at this time that they used to fund their
industrialization
-Britain was threatened by Egypt's growing economy and they did not want a powerful country in
the way of the Suez Canal, which was the closest route from Europe to Asia. When Egypt when to
war with the Ottoman Empire in 1839, Britain forced Ali to get rid of import duties for free trade.
-Egyptian goods could not compete with cheaper British goods so they became dependent on Britain
as they began importing manufactured goods and exporting raw cotton.
Ottoman Empire tries to reform
-Sultan Selim III’s modernization plan included standard taxation, European-style military, and
reinstitution of control over provincial governors. Janissaries in Serbia hold an uprising against
these reforms that is eventually crushed. It leads to Serbia breaking away from the ottoman
empire and opposition force Selim to abandon reforms by 1806.
-Mahmud II gains support of Janissaries and Ulama but faces the problem of opposition in Greece
so he gets help from Egyptian army. Mahmud also reorganized military and financial institutions
by dissolving janissaries and taking away power from Ulama.
-Ottoman troops loyalty falls apart and Egyptian army takes control of Istanbul so Europe gets
involved to free the Ottomans.
-Modernization continues with Abdul Mejid, who creates the Tanzimat, which guaranteed political
rights for men and opened Western military training schools. French becomes popular.
-Crimean War (1853-1856) was fought between Russia and the Ottoman Empire over territorial and
religious disputes. Clash between modern and traditional weaponry/warfare. Ottomans survive
only with British and French aid. Brings up “Eastern Question” and the Ottoman Empire as the
“sick man of Europe.”
Ottoman Decline
-Ottoman Empire had serious economic problems including: declining agricultural venues, large
debts to foreign nations, widespread corruption, and inflation as imports widely exceed export.
-Solution is proposed by Elites to be sticking to European models so an Imperial bank was created,
gold coins were minted tied to the pound, and factories opened in urban areas.
-1860-1880 marked a large migration of people into urban areas, including Europeans who had
extraterritoriality meaning they were safe from Ottoman law.
-Young Turks or Ottomans come to power in 1860’s and 1870’s with goal of Westernization to make
extraterritoriality seem obsolete. Create a constitutional monarchy and reform under tanzimat
and spread idea of turkification.
-European nations had an incredible influence in the ottoman empire by 1900. Their loans and aid
allowed them to control tax collection, mining, railroads, and some industry. They also claimed to
be protectors of religious minorities.
-Ottomans’ attempt to Westernize fails and by 1900 they are largely influenced and dependent on
the west. This allows nationalism to rise in the distant parts of their empire, which ultimately
allows them to break away in the case of Egypt and the European nations in the north.
Modernization on Religion and the Role of
Women
-At first, there was a lot of religious persecution, especially of the Orthodox Christians in the
European part of the empire.
-Westernization took away the tax on non-muslims and gave legal protections to muslims,
christians, and jews alike
-The power of the Ulama was significantly decreased and religion became less apparent in education
by the end of this period.
-Reform was oriented towards men and women continued to have little political participation and
educative opportunities
-New industrial jobs were not open to women and secularization caused property to be transferred
from islamic to state law, where women had no standing.
-Ultimately, secularization occurred in the Ottoman Empire but the roles of women was not
changed from its traditional standing.
Accelerating Global
Change and Realignments
1900 C.E. -present
Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
-The Ottoman Empire, although once one of the most powerful and largest empires in the world, fell
behind economically, technologically, and militarily by the late 19th century
-The Young Turks were a group who advocated centralized ruling and plotted to overthrow the
sultan of the Empire and establish a constitution in the early 1900s
-The Young Turks signed a secret alliance with Germany in 1914 and expelled the Armenians during
the war
-Britain promised the Arabs independence of present-day Syria, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and the
Arabian Peninsula to lead an Arab revolt against the Turks (Hussein-McMahon Correspondence)
-Britain also signed the Sykes-Picot agreement with France in May 1916, which divided up the
Ottoman Empire into British and French controlled areas
-In 1922, a fierce general called Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk” came to power in Turkey, and rapidly
modernized and westernized the country
Arising leaders and nations
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Iran
○ Reza Khan gets rid of the Qajar Dynasty and takes control of Iran in 1921, effectively
starting the Pahlavi Dynasty
○ The U.S. CIA helped Reza Khan’s son, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, retain his throne in 1953
in the face of a coup
○ Mohammed Mossadeq became the Prime Minister of Iran in 1951, only to be overthrown
by a CIA coup in 1953 known as Operation TP AJAX
○ Shah Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in the Iranian evolution of 1979, where Ayatollah
Khomeini returned from exile and came to power as the fundamentalist leader of the
Islamic Republic of Iran
○ Ayatollah Khomeini was succeeded by Ali Khameini after his death on June 4, 1989
Saudi Arabia
○ Saudi Arabia became the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under Abd al-Aziz ibn Sa’ud in 1932
○ Saudi Arabia boycotted oil to Western nations in 1973 in retaliation of supporting Israel
during the Yom Kippur War
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Egypt
○ The Muslim Brotherhood was formed by Hasan al-Banna in Egypt as an Islamic Revivalist
Movement based on Islamic Fundamentalism in 1928
○ Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt overthrew the monarchy and came to power in 1952
○ Anwar Sadat became the President of Egypt following Nasser’s death in 1970
○ However, he was assassinated on October 6, 1981 by fundamentalist army officers
Israel
○ In the Balfour Declaration of 1917, Zionists were supported by the British in the establishment of
a Jewish state in Palestine
○ On May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion announced the creation of independent Israel, but the newly
born country was attacked by Arab countries the day after
○ Arab-Israeli conflicts over British-controlled Palestine
■ War of Independence (1948), The Suez War (1956), The Six Day War (1967), and The Yom
Kippur War (1973)
○ At the Camp David Accords of 1978, Egypt and Israel signed an agreement that established
peaceful relations. In the agreement, Egypt recognized Israel as a state while Israel returned the
Sinai Peninsula to Egypt
Iraq
○ Saddam Hussein became the president of Iraq in 1979
○ On September 22, 1980, Iraq invaded Iran due to border skirmishes and rights to the Shatt alArab waterway
○ A cease-fire ended the Iran-Iraq war in 1988
○ In 2003, U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Technology
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Focus was shifted towards weapons of mass destruction
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Countries are now looking to develop nuclear weapons or to import them
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Chemical weapons were also of interest
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Advanced oil drilling technology
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Ever since oil was discovered in this area, foreign powers who receive their oil from the Middle
East have worked towards developing more efficient drilling equipment
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Horizontal drilling technique
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New drills that can change direction underground
Women in the Middle East
● Women Today
o More traditionalist countries still restrict women, some are more strict
than others
 Example: Countries such as Iran still require women to wear a
veil covering their hair
o Modernized countries give women more rights, freedom and
opportunity
 Today, women in these countries have social statuses almost
equivalent to that of Western women
 However, certain areas are still dominated by men
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ex: The majority of Turkey’s government consists of males
Bibliography
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Bulliet, Richard W. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Print.
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"Global Connections: The Middle East" PBS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/timeline/text/index.html>.
●
McCannon, John. Barron's AP World History. Hauppauge, NY: Barrons Educational Series, 2012. Print.
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"MIDDLE EAST 1750-1914." Hinzman's AP World History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
<http://www.hinzmansapworldhistory.com/middle-east-1750-1914.html>.
●
"Muhammad". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica
Inc., 2014. Web. 13 May. 2014.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/396226/Muhammad/251799/Muhammad-and-theQuran>.
●
"Ottoman Empire (1301-1922)." BBC News. BBC, 4 Sept. 2009. Web. 10 May 2014.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/ottomanempire_1.shtml>.