Chapter’s 11 & 12 Study Guide: Southwest Asia Physical Geography and History





























Three regions that make up Southwest Asia:
 Middle East: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel
 Northern Tier: Turkey, Iran, Cyprus
 Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, United Arab Emrites, Qatar
Southwest Asia is a crossroads for Europe, Asia, Africa
Important bordering bodies of water: Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea
Important rivers: Tigris and Euphrates
Region has several landforms: but mostly is made up of mountains and desert
Southwest Asia Climate and Resources
Southwest Asia’s climate varies
 Most of the region is arid
 Cold rain/snow winters; summers are hot and dry
Southwest Asia was home to world’s first farmers
o Farmers grow crops that only need a little bit of water
Rainfall affects where people settle
Oil is the only major natural resource that comes from Southwest Asia
o 60% of the world’s oil comes from countries bordering Persian Gulf
Water is scarce and valuable
o Many countries fight over fresh water supply
Many natural resources have been depleted
o Mineral resources have been over-mined
Deforestation is a huge problem
Lack of mineral resources has not allowed for much industry or manufacturing to take place
People and Their Environment
Not all Arabs are Muslims
Southwest Asia is home to many different people of different ethic groups and religions
Migration and conquest has led to the diversity in Southwest Asia
o Different Ethnic groups: Arabs, Turks, Jews, Kurds, Armenians
Top 3 most populated countries of Southwest Asia: Turkey, Iran, Iraq
90% of people in Southwest Asia worship Islam
Other religions in Southwest Asia: Christianity, Judaism
Farmers developed desalination (process of turning saltwater into freshwater) and fertigation ( feeding water and
fertilizer directly to the root of crops) to farm on the land
Important cities in Southwest Asia: Damascus, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Baghdad, Jericho
People are attracted to cities because it is a center of business, trade and culture
Roots of Southwest Asia Society
Southwest Asia developed the first:
o Farming methods, Writing, Set of written laws (Code of Hamurabi)
Early civilizations rose around the Fertile Crescent
o area between Tigris and Euphrates river
o first civilization was called Mesopotamia (land between 2 rivers)
o present day Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey
City-states developed
o City with it’s own from of government
Sumerian city-states developed Math, Science, Arts, Law
Code of Hamurabi
o First set of written laws (282 total, dealt with all aspects of life)
o Written using cuneiform
o No one was above the law
o “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”
Writing appeared 5000 years ago
o Sumerians developed cuneiform (carving onto clay tablets using reeds)
o Phoenicians adopted the idea and formed letters (basis of our alphabet today)
Christianity, Judaism, Islam: all developed in present-day Israel







Three World Religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
*all 3 are monotheistic: belief in one god
Judaism
o Holy book: Torah / Place of worship: Synagogue/ Rabbi: leader of service
o Believe they must follow God’s laws which cover daily life
o Torah contains a set of 10 commandments
o Most Jewish people live in USA and Israel
Christianity
o Holy book: Bible/ Place of worship: church/ Minister or Priest: leader of service
o Belief in teachings of Jesus Christ (God’s son)
o 2 billion Christians live in world (majority in USA and Canada)
Islam
o Holy book: Quran/ Place of worship: mosque/ Allah/ name of god
o Follow 5 Pillars of Faith (faith, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage)
o 1 Billion Muslims live in the world (mostly in Asia)
Shaping Modern Southwest Asia
After death of Muhammad (creator of Islam) Arabs built a huge empire
o Arab empire led by a caliph(leader claiming to be successor of Muhammad)
After Arabs, Ottoman’s built an empire
Difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims
o Sunni: believe caliph should be picked by community
 Have a strict conservative view
 Majority of Muslims: 90% are Sunni (Iran and Saudi Arabia are led by strict Sunni ideals) \
 *al Qaeda, suicide bombers, Taliban, = Sunni
o Shiite: believe caliph should have been passed onto Muhammad’s grandson
 10% of Muslims are Shiite
European Imperialism lasted in Southwest Asia from 1800’s-1950’s
 Europeans colonial zed Asia for new market to sell goods
 Southwest Asians viewed Europeans as thieves changing the culture and taking land and resources
 Caused for negative views on “western” societies for years to come