Transcript Southwest Asia

Southwest Asia
History and Government
Map of Southwest Asia
The Region’s Countries
Kuwait
Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan
Qatar
Oman
United Arab
Emirates
• Yemen
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Turkey
Syria
Cyprus
Iraq
Iran
Lebanon
Israel
Jordan
Quick History . . .
• Ancient History
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8000 BC – Fertile Crescent, establishment of agriculture and civilization
3000 BC – Sumerians, development of writing, complex societies, etc…
2000 BC – Judaism is founded in the region
• Christianity would follow 2000 years later
• 600s – followers of Muhammad swept over the Arabian
Peninsula
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The conquered would adopt the Islamic faith and Arabic language.
Other religions would be allowed to practice their faith.
• 900s – Arabs began to lose their control of the region; the Turks
(Seljuks) conquered the lands
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The conquerors actually adopted the traditions of the people living in the region.
• 1300s – the last great empire takes control - the Ottoman Turks
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There were freedoms for all different peoples living in the region.
Quick History . . . (cont.)
• 1700s – rivalries built up with tensions between
different ethnic and religious groups
o The Ottomans could not maintain their power, and many of these groups
wanted to establish their own homelands
• January 3, 1916 – Sykes-Picot Agreement
o Limited the independent Arab state to the area that is now Saudi Arabia
and Yemen
o Syria became French-controlled; Iraq was now British-controlled, and
Palestine was jointly ruled
• 1917 – end of World War I
o The fall of the Ottoman Empire
Quick History . . . (cont.)
• Mid-1940s – the issue of Palestine and Israel
o Many Jewish people were escaping the reaches of Hitler; tensions rose
between the British, Palestinians and Jews.
o 1947 – Great Britain withdrew from the disputed area and handed the issue
over to the United Nations
• Led to the creation of two states (one Arab and one Jewish)
• 1980s – Iraq/Iran War
o The two countries fought a war over control of oil fields.
• 1991 – Persian Gulf War
o Iraq invaded Kuwait . . . led to other countries intervening.
• The US and 32 other countries found to drive the Iraqis out of Kuwait and
keep the oil fields open
• 2003 – Operation Enduring Freedom & Operation Iraqi
Freedom
The Region’s Governments
• Theocracy
o The government is run by religious leaders; there is no separation between
church and state
o The government claims to be guided by God, or divinely blessed
• Republic
o Simply Defined – a government without a king or queen; people elect
representatives to make decisions
• Traditional Monarchy
o Major feature – the ruler inherits power
• So, when the ruler dies, power automatically passes to one of the
monarch’s children or close relatives.
• Constitutional Monarchy
o The power of the monarch is shared with a constitutional body
o A modern adaptation of monarchy
Important Individuals
• Abdul al-Aziz Ibn Saud
o Responsible for the consolidation of land in the Arabian Peninsula under
the name of the Saud family
o By 1920s – almost all of the Arabian Peninsula was under his control
• 1932 – the whole area became known as Saudi Arabia
o His descendants still rule Saudi Arabia today
• Saddam Hussein
o Iraqi president, then dictator; ruled from 1979 until 2003
o He was in office during the Iraq/Iran War, Persian Gulf War, and the UN
sanctions on Iraq.
o He was deposed from office and put on trial for crimes committed early in
his political term; found guilty, and sentenced to death
Important Groups
• The Bedouins
o Nomadic desert dwellers that traveled along the Arabian Peninsula; very
family oriented
o Known for their superior fighting - - - conquered many lands across the
Arabian Peninsula during the 7th century
• They spread the Islamic faith by placing Muslim leaders in control of
the newly acquired lands.
• Sunni & Shi’ite Muslims
o The two major branches of the Islamic faith
• 83% of Muslims are Sunni; most Iranians are Shi’ite.
o These two ethnic groups have severe tensions that split them apart
despite the religious ties.
Important Groups
• The PLO
o The Palestinian Liberation Organization; created in the 1960s
o The group was formed to regain the land for Palestinian Arabs - - - they
have used both military and political means to take possession of land.
• The Taliban
o A fundamentalist Muslim political group that imposed strict rules on the
people’s behaviors (primarily in Afghanistan)
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Century Issues
• The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
o Prior to the late 19th century, Palestine was under Arab control, but then
Britain intervened in political matters.
• 19th century – the Zionist Movement began
o The movement supported the creation and support of a Jewish
homeland in Palestine.
o Post-WWI – Britain takes over the region; continues to allow Jewish
immigration into the region
o 1939 – the increase of tensions between Jews and Muslims was too high,
and the British halted Jewish immigration to Palestine
• Many Jews were attempting to relocate to the area from Europe
(escaping persecution and Hitler’s Nazis)
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Century Issues
• The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict . . . (cont.)
o Post-WWII – many Jews were relocating to the area; Britain handed over
the issue to the United Nations
• 1947 – the UN decision - - - divide Palestine into two states (one for
Arabs and one for Jews)
o May 14, 1948 – the Jewish states, Israel, was established
• The surrounding Arab nations invaded the newly formed nation; the
Jews fought back
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Century Issues
• The Kurds
o The world’s largest stateless minority (est. 25 million)
o Kurdistan – region where the Kurds are located
• The region lies within the countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and
Armenia . . . Causes land disputes
o The Kurds have dealt with centuries of oppression.
o Recently:
• 1988 – Iraqi troops killed thousands of Kurds (& destroyed villages)
• Early 1990s – Iraq crushed another Kurdish uprising
o One million Kurdish refugees fled (to Turkey, Iran, and northern
Iraq)