HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST ASIA (MIDDLE EAST)
STUDY NOTES
 SS7H2- The student will analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East) leading to the 21 st century.
a) Explain how European partitioning in the Middle East after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire led to regional
conflict.
1) The Ottoman Empire controlled much of the area known as the Middle East from the 1300’s until the end of WWI.
2) The capital of the Ottoman Empire during the 1500’s was Istanbul.
3) Toward the end of WWI the Ottoman Empire had shrunk in size because it tried to rule too large an area and
European countries had became stronger
4) The Ottoman Empire joined forces with Central Powers during WWI, against European Countries and United States
5) The Central Powers lost the war and the Ottoman Empire was broken into smaller countries by European politicians.
6) When the smaller countries were made there was no consideration for the concept of nationalism, as a result, there
was a lot of conflict
 SS7H2- The student will analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East) leading to the 21 st century.
b) Explain the historical reason for the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948; include the Jewish
religious connections to the land, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and Zionism in Europe.
1) One of the areas carved from the Ottoman Empire at the end of WWI was Palestine.
2) Much of what is written in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Qu’ran took place in this region.
3) In result to these writings the Palestine is considered to be the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
4) There are many religious sites in Palestine sacred to all three religions. The most important of these is Jerusalem.
5) Before WWII this are was divided into two sections. Transjordan was on the eastern side of the Jordan River and the
area to the west was known as Palestine.
6) The British were given the job of ruling Palestine until a permanent government could be established.
7) Most of the people living there before WWII were Palestinian Arabs.
8) Some settlers wanted to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine because they believed that this land had been
promised to them by God according to the stories in the Old Testament. These people were called Zionist. They
were called this because they felt the world’s Jews deserved to return to a homeland in Zion or those parts of
Palestine where the Jewish people have lived in Biblical times.
9) Why did the Zionists and the Palestinian Arabs have conflict? Because Palestinian Arabs were upset about the
Zionist getting the land. They felt cheated by the United Nations
10) During WWII, the Jews people were persecuted by the Nazi government (German).
11) What is Anti- Semitism? Hatred for Jews
12) Over six million Jews were killed in Germany concentration camps and many thousands fled Europe to avoid death.
This terrible period in history is known as the Holocaust.
13) The Jewish groups wanted to set up a homeland for the Jewish people in the region of the Middle East known as
Palestine.
14) The newly formed United Nations also believed something should be done for the Jewish people because of the
suffering they had endured.
15) In what year was it voted to create a homeland for the Jews? 1948
16) The Jews who were living there were happy and declared the creation of State of Israel.
17) The Palestinian Arabs who were living there felt they had been cheated out of their land. They and many other Arab
countries refused to recognize the State of Israel.
18) In1948 war broke out between Israel and Palestinian Arabs.
19) In the end the Israel won and took over more land than they had originally planned.
 SS7H2- The student will analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East) leading to the 21 st century.
c) Describe how land and religion are reasons for continuing conflicts in the Middle East.
d) Explain U.S. presence and interest in Southwest Asia; include the Persian Gulf conflict, invasions of Afghanistan
and Iraq.
1) The Palestinian Arabs were upset about the formation of the new state of Israel because the Palestinian Arabs
believed they had been cheated out of their land because the United Nations gave the Jews the land.
2) What was the outcome of the 1948 war between the new state of Israel and the Arabs living in and around Palestine?
Israel won and received more land than they had originally planned
3) What is a “refugee”? Someone who leaves their home due to war
4) What has become of many of the Palestinians who became refugees in 1948? They are still in refugee camps
5) At the root of many conflicts in the Middle East is a religious issue concerning historical ownership of the land. This
issue centers around who the Jews who believed that God had promised them the land around Palestine.
6) What is the United State’s main economic interest in the Middle East? oil
7) Why did the United Nations try to stop Iraq from taking over Kuwait in 1990? They were required to come to the
aid of a member nation that is attacked without cause by another country
8) Who are the Taliban? Radical Muslim government of Afghanistan
9) Why did the United States bomb and invade Afghanistan in 2001? Because Osama bin-Laden was believed to be the
person responsible for the hit on the World Trade Center and he was being supported by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
10) Why did the United States go to war against Iraq in 2003? The United States believe that Saddam Hussein was
developing nuclear weapons
11) When Arabs and Israelis fight over the land, the underlying reason is oil.
12) What was the result of the Persian Gulf War? The Iraqi army was driven from Kuwait
13) Facts about Operation Iraqi Freedom? There was a search for weapons of mass destruction
14) What military action was/is the result of the attacks of 9-11? The invasion of Afghanistan and the United States still
has troops fighting in Afghanistan.