Middle East (pd 4)
Natan Zamansky, Dorothy Yuen,
Jeffrey He, Oliver Zhang, Justin Choi,
Edmond Loi
The Fertile Crescent
•The Fertile Crescent
consists of the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers
in Mesopotamia, and
the Nile River in Egypt.
•Known as the “cradle
of civilization”
because Fertile
Crescent contains
world’s oldest records
of settlements and
civilization.
Mesopotamia
• Mesopotamia gave rise to several important civilizations
1. Sumerians
2. Akkadians
3. Babylonians
4. Assyrians
• Settlement began as early as 8000 B.C.E and large-scale agriculture
was being practiced by 5000 B.C.E
• First true civilizations appeared between 3500 B.C.E and 2350
B.C.E by the Sumerians
• Agriculture was sustained by the silt of the Euphrates and Tigris
Rivers
• Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning “land between 2 rivers”
Sumerians
•Sumerians built cities around
ziggurats, which were giant stepped
pyramids used for religious purposes
•Cuneiform is oldest full-fledged
writing system discovered
•One of the most famous examples of
Sumerian literature is the Epic of
Gilgamesh, which was an epic poem
about King Gilgamesh and his search
for immortality.
•Sumerians used 60 as a base number
system, which explains why we use
360o in a circle and 60 seconds in a
minute, and 60 minutes in an hour.
Akkadians
• Lasted from approx. 2700 BCE to 2154 BCE
• First king to build up Akkadian empire was Sargon
the Great, and is often considered the first
empire in history
• By 2100 BCE, the empire was falling apart due to
drought.
• One of the earliest people
to keep astronomical
records, earliest date from
2500 BCE.
Babylonians
• Babylonia was the southern neighbor of Assyria, with
whom they had uneasy relationship
• King Hammurabi of Babylonia presented Hammurabi’s
Code, a set of detailed laws and consequences that was
advanced for its time
• King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled Neo-Babylon, built the
Hanging Gardens, one of the 7 wonders of the world.
• Nebuchadnezzar also built the Ishtar Gate, an elaborate
and heavily decorated entrance to Babylon.
• Sacked the city of Jerusalem and deposed King Jehoiakim of
the Jews, instead replacing him with King Zedekiah. (597
BCE)
• Enslaved the homeless Jews and brought them to Babylon
Assyrians
• Known for being the most warmongering of all the states in
Mesopotamia
• Leveled Babylon in 1200 BCE, but
worried about sacking a city that was
built in Marduk’s name, they rebuilt the
city
• Around 600 BCE, last Assyrian king
started the Library at Nineveh to house
Mesopotamian literature
• Over 30,000 clay tablets have been
discovered
• In 612 BCE Assyrian Empire began
declining when Nineveh was besieged
and destroyed by a coalition of Medes,
Scythians, and Chaldeans.
• One of the first Mesopotamian
civilizations to use iron weapons, thus
contributing to their efficiency at war
Remains of Older Forms of Religion
Continuities from 8000 BCE – 600 BCE
• Shamanism (spirits), animism, ancestor
veneration
• The Hebrews’ faith took a more solid form, i.e.
Judaism (codified texts by 400s BCE)
– Some Hebrews chose to return to Jerusalem
(during Persian Empire) and some remained 
Jewish diaspora
The Persian Empire
• 550-331 BCE
• Three dynasties:
– Achaemenid founded by Cyrus who overthrew
Median monarch 550 BCE
• Conquer Lydians, Neo-Babylonians, Egyptians, etc
• Darius I, or Darius the Great (522-486 BCE) expanded
empire to 2 million acres (see map)
• Two capitals: Susa (administrative) and Persepolis (inspired
by Mesopotamia)
• Postal system, tributary system, military garrisons, network
of roads (Royal Road), single currency, provincial
government (apprx. 20 regions) governed by satraps
• Patriarchal, rigidly stratified, religious tolerance
• Zoroastrianism official religion Ahura mazda had given
Darius mandate to rule
The Persian Empire (continued)
• Achaemenid Persians fell after wars with Greek
neighbors (500-400 BCE)
• By 331 BCE, empire falls to Alexander the Great
– Parthian dynasty founded as a rebellion to Alexander
the Great
• Grew wealthy from silk road and Arab traders
• Powerful enemies of Roman Empire as it spread East
• Sassanid dynasty takes place of Parthian dynasty
– Also an enemy to Rome and Byzantine Empire
• Fell as a result of military expansion of Islam, and
overextending (like Roman Empire, Han China)
Trading and Exchange (Middle East and
Persian Empire)
• Mediterranean Sea
– North Africa, Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Spain
• Indian Ocean maritime network
– East Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia (China/Japan)
• Roads
– Silk Road (East Mediterranean, passing Parthian
Persians, to China)
– Royal Road (Built by Darius the Great, from East
Mediterranean to Persepolis)
• Camels became an integral part of trading
– Stirrups, yokes, collars, pack saddles, etc.
• Cultivation of Rice, building aqueducts, qanats (for
agriculture, originated in Persia)
• Disease (bubonic plague) 500 - 600CE
Extent of Achaemenid Empire with Royal
Road and the three principle cities:
Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis
600 CE – 1450 CE: Spread of Islam
•
-Spread throughout the Middle East through conquest (Islam was
originally considered both a political and religious entity)
• Spread by trade to Africa (some remained Christian like Ethiopia)
- Arab slave trade: Exported glass, metalwork, pottery;
imported slaves, salt, ivory, animal skins (Muslims were especially
good at creating steel)
- Trade benefited by camel saddles – old saddles, were
militarily inefficient (you were behind the hump). A new saddle was
made so that you’d be on top of the hump- making it easier to use
weapons and dominate trade routes.
- Lots of trade with Mali and Timbuktu. Timbuktu had lots
of salt and was a stopping point for trade. Timbuktu became a center
of Islamic scholarship.
- Desert nomads called Berbers used camels to trade with
sub-Saharan Africa.
• Had also spread to Spain. -Spanish Muslim Textile-----------------
Muslim Caliphates
• Caliph – religious leaders who ruled Muslim terroritory
• After Mohammad’s death, three caliphs ruled (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman).
After their deaths, there was a split between Sunni followers and Shiite
followers.
• The difference was that the Shitte wanted descendants of Mohammad
to rule.
• The Umayyad caliphate ruled after the split. Arabic became the official
Muslim language and they taxed non-Islamic people.
• After rebellions, the Abbasid Caliphate took over. They ruled from
Baghdad and was considered the golden age of classical Islamic culture.
• Originally, there was lots of unity. Overextension, different ethnicities,
Sunni-Shiite split, and rivaling caliphates (e.g. the Shiite Fatimid caliphate
in Egypt), the fall of Baghdad to Seljuk Turks (but kept a Muslim
figurehead), and the Mongols who captured Baghdad and killed the
Abbasid caliph led to its fall.
The Turks & The Crusades
• Turks had been brought to the Middle East because of their skill as
cavalry soldiers. (These became Mamluks who were located in Egypt)
• Seljuk Turks conquered went west to conquer in the 11th century. They
conquered Baghdad, much of Asia Mino, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine.
• They also crippled the Byzantine Empire, causing Christians to begin the
Crusades.
• At the beginning, no one was able to organize an effective resistance
until around the 13th century.
• Saladin was a Kurdish General who fought successfully against the Third
Crusade and regained Jerusalem.
• The Mongols emerged as a greater threat afterwards. They destroyed
the Abbasid Caliphate at Baghdad and took lots of territory, with the
Mamluks eventually blocking their advance. However, the Middle East
was still decentralized.
Ottomans
• Ottomans had been the vassals of the Seljuks.
• They eventually gained an independent state (founder:
sultan Osman I) and eventually took over much of the
Middle East (incl. Mamluk Egypt, Seljuk territory, and
Mongol territory)
- conquered remainder of the Byzantine Empire (incl.
Constantinople by using gunpowder artillery)
- conquered parts of southeastern Europe and attacked
the Balkans.
Islamic Culture
• As mentioned before, the Abbasid Caliphate was considered
the golden age of Islamic culture.
– They widely used Arabic numerals, algebra,
trignomentry
– Skilled at astronomy and medicine
• Had knowledge of chemistry and metalworking (e.g.
Ottoman’s skill with gunpowder weaponry and cannons)
• Art tended to be (but not always) very geometric because of
restrictions in the Qur’an against idolatry.
• Ibn Battuta was an Islamic explorer who chronicled his
journeys in his
journal Travels.
Ottoman in the 15th century
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Constantinople captured by Mehmet II in 1453
Name changed to Istanbul (you may have heard a song
about it) meaning "city of Islam"
Around this time, Judaism and Christianity started growing
in the middle east. (The Ottoman's tolerance had fostered
their growth.)
The Ottoman empire became a "gunpowder" empire-- one
known for its military conquests
The Safavids
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•
•
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In persia, another gunpowder empire.
Formed by Shi'a Muslims from the Ottoman empire after
Mehmet's successor, Selim, took power-Which they did because Selim started a regime of Islamic
nationalism, taking the title of Caliph of Islam.
It was built on framework Timur had laid out in the early
15th centure.
Timur? Caliph? Someone get Puccini on the phone.
The Safavids in Iran
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The Safavids were tolerant of ethnic background, but
generally required citizens to be Shi'a Muslims.
Shah Esma'il did some conquering, but ended up in a spat
with the Portuguese at the beginning of the 16th century.
Sultan Selim (of the Ottoman) waged war on the Safavids
and Shi'as in 1512.
The Safavid empire ultimately ended in 1722 with Shah
Sultan Hossein, a pawn to the local religious leaders.
The Ottomans expand again
•
•
Taking advantage of the sudden lack of Safavid, the
Ottoman empire took Persia, and almost got as far as
Russia--with whom she split the Iranian spoils.
To be perfectly fair, the Safavid empire was still technically
there, but disintegrating fairly rapidly.
Map of the Middle East in 1750
Map of the Middle East in 1900
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
• The janissaries, strong military leaders, and the ulma,
Muslim religious scholars , opposed to industrialization and
modernization of the empire.
• They would go as far as to assassinating Sultan Selim III who
carried out reforms.
• Sultan Abdul Mejid launched a reform program known as
the Tanzimat. He secularized the state by declaring that
Muslim laws of Shari’a only applied to family matters.
Therefore the ulma lost power.
• Eventually a nationalistic and modern group, the Young
Turks, controlled the government starting in the beginning of
the 1900s.
The Eastern Question
• Throughout the 19th century, nationalism sprouted in many
parts of the Ottoman Empire. Areas such as Serbia, Greece,
and Egypt revolted and gained independence. Russia also
annexed some Ottoman land in the Balkan area.
• As the empire is failing, the Eastern Question asks, “Should
the empire continue to exist? What will happen to its
territory?”
• European countries such as France and Britain wanted to
take over Ottoman lands.
• Despite this, they helped the Ottomans against Greece and
Egypt to prevent the rebels from getting too much power.
Egypt
• In 1798, Napoleon took over Egypt in the Napoleonic Wars.
• Egypt gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in
1805 after a rebellion led by Muhammad Ali. He tried to get
more land but France and Britain defeated him.
• Egypt rapidly modernized and industrialized, becoming one
of the biggest exporters of cotton.
• The Suez Canal was built to connect the Mediterranean Sea
to the Red Sea which ultimately led to the Indian Ocean.
• Britain bought ownership of the canal which they used as an
excuse to control the government too. Britain earned a lot
with their high tolls.
Persia
• By the late 1700s, the Persian empire was falling just
like the Ottomans.
• Russia, who was more westernized and modernized,
defeated the Persians in war and took lands such as
Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
• Russia also took other lands in Central Asia for pride
and for resources such as cotton.
• The Qajar Dynasty took power. Under their reign,
Britain and Russia divided the empire into a southern
and northern half with each having their sphere of
influence in it respectively.
1900-Present Day
• In 1901 Riyadh was captured by Abdul Aziz bin
Abdul Rahman ibn Faisal Al Saud (Ibn Saud for
short). This area would later be known as Saudi
Arabia.
• This started a 30 year campaign led by Ibn Saud in
attempt to unify the Arabian Peninsula.
WW1
• After WW1 breaks out, the Ottoman empire was sided with the
Germans. Britain desperately looked for assistance, and formed a
treaty with the Saud Dynasty for peace.
• The Ottoman empire started the Armenian genocide, killing 1.5
million Christian individuals, just because of the minority.
• Britain, France and Russia form the Hussein-McMahon
Correspondence with the Arabs which promises independence to
what is today Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq if these Arabs
joined the Allies.
• Britain and France Secretly planned to split up the middle east
after the war.
• To create even more confusion, Britain promised a Jewish
home/mandate in Palestine after the War.
• After the war, in April 1920 the last two agreements were
negotiated, causing disruption in Palestine, as well as all around
the peninsula. Britain gained Iraq and Palestine, France got Syria
and Lebanon.
• The Jewish home was created on July 1922 by the League of
Nations.
Road to Independence
• Egypt was granted limited independence in 1922, but was still watched
over by Britain.
• Afghanistan declared independence in 1919 after a one-month war.
• Oil was first discovered in Iraq in 1923, and first discovered in Saudi
Arabia in 1938.
• In October 1923, the Republic of Turkey was established.
• In 1927, The Ikhwan, a group of Muslims who practice Wahhabism, a
very conservative type of Islam turned against Ibn Saud.
• The Muslim Brotherhood was founded by Hasan al-Banna in 1928,
starting a revival of traditional Islamic ideas. This Brotherhood was
banned, and found much conflict in Egypt.
• The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is officially founded on 1932.
• Iraq gained an independent monarchy in 1932 when Britain stopped the
mandate. However, Britain remains as a strong influence.
• Lebanon gains independence in 1944 from France.
(post)-WWII/Cold War
• The Oil in the Middle East was essential to both sides of WWII. It became
a battlefield for the most important resource in the 20th century.
• The state of Israel was created on May 1948 after years of fighting
between the Jews and the Arabs. Palestine was split into two equal
halves. This was met with a lot of conflict and wars from neighboring
Arab nations.
• Prime Minister Mossadeq of Iran nationalized the oil industry. He was
praised in the Middle east, but became a threat to Britain. The British
convinced the United States that Mossadeq must be removed, and they
plan a coup against him in 1953.
• This coup succeeded, and a new Shah replaced Mossadeq.
• Israel and Arab states start the Six-Day war in 1967, eventually leading to
the loss of the Arabs, and the resignation of Nasser in Egypt.
• A later Anwar al-Sadat was then Assassinated in 1981 by Islamists.
1980s-Present
• Al-Qaeda was formed in 1989 by Osama bin
Laden.
• Since the formation of Al-Qaeda, many
attacks occurred not only in the United
States, but countries worldwide.
• There is civil war going on in Syria between
the Syrians and the Lebanese.
• Today, the Arabia is still a big oil industry.
Bibliography
• http://www.iranchamber.com/history/safavids/safavids.php
• http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his112/Notes/Gunpowder.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/ottomanempire_
1.shtml
• http://www.globaled.org/nyworld/materials/ottoman/turkish.html
• http://www.sephardicstudies.org/ottoemp.html
• McCannon, John. "Chapter 23 The Middle East." Barron's AP World
History. 4th ed. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's, 2010. 257-62. Print.
• "The Gulf/2000 Project - SIPA - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY." The Gulf/2000
Project - SIPA - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. Columbia University, n.d. Web.
12 May 2013.
• “Global Connections: The Middle East.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 14 May
2013.
• Ashley, Sean P. “Cold War Politics in the Middle East” Einternational
Relations RSS, 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 14 May 2013