Southwest Asia (Middle East) Study Guide: use workbook pg. 228-232 and 233-236 green
textbook pg. 297, 457, 504-512, 517-527
GPS:
SS7E5 The student will analyze different economic systems.
a. Compare how traditional, command, and market economies answer the economic questions of (1) what to
produce, (2) how to produce, and (3) for whom to produce.
b. Explain how most countries have a mixed economy located on a continuum between pure market and
pure command.
c. Compare and contrast the economic systems in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
SS7E6 The student will explain how voluntary trade benefits buyers and sellers in Southwest
Asia (Middle East).
a. Explain how specialization encourages trade between countries.
b. Compare and contrast different types of trade barriers, such as tariffs, quotas, and embargos.
c. Explain the primary function of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
d. Explain why international trade requires a system for exchanging currencies between nations.
SS7E7 The student will describe factors that influence economic growth and examine their
presence or absence in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
a. Explain the relationship between investment in human capital (education and training) and gross
domestic product (GDP).
b. Explain the relationship between investment in capital (factories, machinery, and technology) and gross
domestic product (GDP).
c. Explain the role of oil in these countries’ economies.
d. Describe the role of entrepreneurship.
SS7H2 The student will analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East) leading to the 21st
century.
a. Explain how European partitioning in the Middle East after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire led to regional
conflict.
b. Explain the historical reasons for the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948; include the Jewish
religious connection to the land, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and Zionism in Europe.
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 and invasions of Afghanistan
and Iraq.
Resources:
End of an Empire
A series of wars during the early 20th century ended the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan Wars
(1912-1913) resulted in the loss of the last of the Ottomans’ Balkan territories. Finally, as an ally of Germany
and Austria, the Ottoman Empire found itself on the loosing side in World War I. The treaty signed ending
the war divided the empire and gave many of its territories to the victorious European powers. Under the
mandate system, the Middle East was partitioned (divided) between France and Great Britain. The
mandate system left many Arabs bitter because they thought that since they helped defeat the Ottomans,
they would be rewarded independence after the war. In October 1923, they officially established a new
nation: the Republic of Turkey. After more than 600 years in existence, the Ottoman Empire was over.
The Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire was a political event that occurred after WWI. The huge
territories and peoples formerly ruled by the sultan of the Ottoman Empire were divided into several new
nations.
After the occupation of Istanbul by British and French troops in November, 1918, the Ottoman
government collapsed completely and signed the Treaty of Sevres in 1920. The Treaty of Sevres decided
the fate of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty took all of the Ottoman Empire’s territories away; all that was
left was the country of Turkey. The empire was at an end. If the Ottoman Empire had chosen to remain
neutral or support the Allies during WWI, the outcome would have been different and the map of the world
would have been different too.
The partitioning brought the creation of the modern Arab world and the Republic of Turkey. The
League of Nations granted Frances mandates over Syria and Lebanon and granted the United Kingdom
mandates over Mesopotamia and Palestine. Parts of the Ottoman Empire on the Arabian Peninsula became
parts of what are today Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Conflict arose because each new country gained independence at different times and by different
governments. The three prominent religions also caused conflict.
Israel Vocabulary:
1. Zionism- a movement which urged Jews to establish a national homeland in Palestine.
2.
3.
Holocaust- systematic murder of more than 6 million Jews and 6 million others by Adolf Hitler and
the Nazis during World War II.
Anti-Semitism- hatred of Jews
Questions to answer on a separate sheet of paper:
1– How did Europe divide Southwest Asia after the breakup of the
Ottoman Empire? Pg. 518(map), 504, 506
2– How were these boundaries different than the way the region was
organized before?
3– How did the people living in this region feel about these boundaries?
Explain your answer.
4– What were the results of these new boundaries? How did the people
respond to them? Why?
5-What is the Jewish religious connection to the land of Israel? How did this
influence the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948?pg. 510-512
6– What was the Holocaust? How did this influence the establishment
of the modern state of Israel in 1948?
7– What is anti-Semitism? How did this influence the establishment
of the modern state of Israel in 1948?
8– What is Zionism? How did Zionism in Europe influence the establishment
of the modern state of Israel in 1948?
9-After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, European powers
partitioned Southwest Asia (Middle East).
What has been a result of the artificial boundaries they created? regional _________(peace, conflict, or
pollution)
10-Fill in the blank with the correct phrase. _____________________is a reason for continuing
conflicts in Southwest Asia (Middle East)?
“Historical claims to the same land”, “The destruction of the rain forest”, or “Competition between
agricultural industries”
11-Israel has a literacy rate of 97%. Afghanistan has a literacy rate of
28%.
What does this mean about each countries economy? Explain.
12-Why does Turkey have more of a market economy than Saudi Arabia?
13-What must be present for international trade to be successful?
14-Investments in ___________capital + investment in ____________capital= higher GDP
15-In a market economy, who takes on financial risk in starting a new business?
16-Does the government play a role in a market economy?
17-Explain why there is not a single country in the world that is self-sufficient?
18-How does specialization help each country buy items that they cannot make locally?
19-Draw the continuum for the system of economies and plot Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey on this
continuum.
20. Who took over controlling Afghanistan in 1995 and how did the country change?
21. Describe Afghanistan’s landscape.
22. Why would the Soviet Union be interested in invading Afghanistan?
23. What type of government did the Soviet Union have in place?
24. Why was it easy for the Afghans to be invaded?
25. What was the Taliban in the beginning 1980’s?
26. How did the United States support Afghanistan and the Taliban?
27. Why did the United States get “unofficially” involved?
28. What was the situation like in Afghanistan from 1989-1994?