What and where were the Islamic Arab Empires and what is it like today?

 Learned about some things that came from the Middle East...But what exactly is the Middle East?

 What did we say about the title “Islamic Arab Empire”?

    Loosely defined area that includes Arabian peninsula, Iran, Turkey, Egypt Geography features desert, oases, mountains, rivers Very dry in most areas, even along coast The Islamic Arab Empire goes beyond this though

 They are spread West to East very far apart  They do not expand very far south into Africa  Across countries that have a long history of complex civilizations

 Used extensively by Egyptian civilization  6671 km long, considered the longest in the world  More than 3 times larger than BC’s largest river the Peace River  Important source of water for irrigation farming

    9.4 million square km Crosses 11 different countries Sand dunes that reach 180m tall, but that type of terrain is the minority Takes up most of North Africa

   Nearly 355 km wide by 2250km long As wide as Vancouver Island is long Has been important for trade between Europe and the East for since the beginnings of sea trade

 Large sea that separates Africa from Europe  Served as trade route between continents  Helps to create rainfall for dry areas in North Africa and Middle East

 Large desert on the Arabian Peninsula  650,000 km squared  Can reach as high as 51 degrees Celsius  <1.2 inches of rain/year

 Capitals of the Arab Empire over the course of its history  Places important to the formation of Islam  Cities that remain important today

 Without knowing the political boundaries of the time, it is hard to understand how significant the Arab Empire was  The shape of the Arab Empire was determined by the geography of the region  Without knowing what other empires existed at the time, it is hard to understand who their competition was  The movement of people, trade, and ideas determines how empires expand

    You will be sharing an Atlas with your neighbour Work together, but write down your answers on both sheets so you can each use it through the unit Go to pages 106-107 in your Atlas Latitude, longitude, and using the index