Location: Southwest Asia At the Crossroads of 3 Continents Much of the region is desert Ex. Sahara (Hot & Lacks Water) •Greatest population around coast & rivers •Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea,Persian Gulf •Nile River, Tigris-Euphrates Provides half the worlds oil (OPEC) Switch from hunting and gathering to farming and permanent settlement Civilizations grew near sources of water Ex. Early River Valley Civilizations Located around Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia “Land between 2 rivers” Phoenicians, Sumerians,Egyptians, Babylonians,Persians, Hebrews Law: Hammurabi’s Code Writing Systems: Cuneiform (Sumerians) • Hieroglyphics (Egyptians) • Phonetics (Phoenicians) Architecture: • Pyramids-Egypt • Ziggurat-Sumerians • Hanging Gardens- Babylon The Wheel, Calendar, etc. • Egyptians- Polytheistic Judaism Christianity Eastern Orthodox Islam War in Afghanistan Civil War in Lebanon Iran Iraq War Persian Gulf War Arab-Israeli Conflict Brutal Civil War between Muslims & Christians Palestinian refugees & PLO leaders settle in Lebanon Muslims gain majority over Christians Israel & Syria both enter conflict Uneasy truce in 1992 Belief that Muslims should strictly follow Islamic law & resist Western influences Ex. Iranian Revolution, Afghanistan Modernization vs. Traditionalism Pro-Western Shah overthrown Ayatollah Khomeini establishes a religious state based on Islamic law Ex. limited woman rights Seizes U.S. Embassy/Hostage Crisis Muslim rebels overthrow Soviet puppet government Taliban set up extremist Islamic State Men cannot cut beards, Women must be covered,cannot attend school Taliban ousted by U.S. forces following 9/11 Border dispute explodes into full scale war •Ayatollah Khomeini vs. Saddam Hussein •Ravages both nations economies Iraq demands financial aid from Kuwait Cause of the Persian Gulf War 1990 Iraq invades & annexes Kuwait Operation Desert Shield US led coalition defends Saudi Arabia from Iraq Operation desert Storm Coalition destroys Iraqi forces & liberates Kuwait UN levies sanctions against Iraq Jewish sovereignty in Palestine goes back 3000 years until they were driven out in 135 A.D. Diaspora-dispersal of Jews from Palestine Arab Sovereignty dates th back to the 7 century Both groups stake claim to the region Zionism- movement to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine(1890’s) Balfour Declarationstatement that British made supporting a Jewish homeland in Palestine (WWI) Nazi persecution of the Jews sparks movement to Israel(WWII) 1947- UN partitions Palestine into a Palestinian & Jewish state Palestinians rejected partition •1948 David Ben Gurion announced creation of the state of Israel Arabs react by waging war in 1956,1967, 1973 Defeated each time 1948- War for Independence 1956- Suez Crisis 1967- Six Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1978 Camp David AccordsBrokered by President Carter Peace Treaty between Israel (Menachem Begin) & Egypt (Anwar Sadat) Israel returns Sinai Peninsula Sadat is eventually assassinated The Oslo Accords Portions of the West Bank & Gaza were to be governed by a Palestinian authority led by Yasir Arafat Attempts at peace today have been hindered by terrorist attacks Palestinian Liberation Organization Led by Yasir Arafat 1970’s & 1980’s PLO militants began a terror campaign against Israel Intifada- Militant uprising inside Israel Terror attacks, boycotts, demonstrations continue today •Militant group such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Jihad,& Al Qaeda commit acts of terrorism among Israel and its supporters Kemal Ataturk (1923) Father of the Turks •Modernizes/Westernizes Turkey •Democracy •Secularization-Legal System based on European rather than Islamic Law 1967: Six Day War- Israel occupied Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the West Bank 1973: Egypt attacked Israel’s occupation of troops in the Sinai Peninsula, Syria attacked in Golan Heights 1978: Camp David Accords-Israel’s Begin, Egyptian’s Sadat and U.S.’s Carter Egypt recognized Israel 1993: Israel and PLO self government for West Bank Palestinians