Chapter 23—The Countries of Southwest Asia

• Mandate: a commission from the League of Nations authorizing a nation to govern a territory.
• Zionist: A member of a movement known as Zionism, founded to promote the establishment of an
independent Jewish state.
• Drip irrigation: A process by which precisely controlled amounts of water drip directly onto plants from
pipes, thus preserving precious water resources in dry areas.
• Militia: A citizen army.
• Anarchy: Political disorder and violence; lawlessness.
• Embargo: A severe restriction of trade with other countries.
• Infrastructure: The basic support facilities of a community or country, such as roads and bridges, power
plants, and schools.
• falaj system: In the Arabian Peninsula, an ancient system of underground and surface canals.
• Secular: Worldly, not relating to religion.
• Shah: The title of the former ruler of Iran.
• Ayatollah: A religious leader among Shiite Muslims.

1. Describe cultural diversity found during the Arab Empire (Muhammad).

• Most conquered by followers of Muhammad adopted the Islamic religion and the Arabic language
• Christians + Jews continued to practice own religions
• Persians, Kurds, + Armenians—maintained strong cultural identities
• 150+ years—Islam successful in governing different peoples as 1 political region
2. Describe cultural diversity and unity under the Ottomans.
• People continued to practice their religions
• Ottomans didn’t impose Islamic law on non-Muslims
• Christians + Jews were allowed to govern import aspects of their lives (marriage + death) according to
beliefs
• 1700s—discontent + rivalry dev. among diff. ethnic + religious groups, many who were eager to est.
independent homelands
• Ottoman leadership no longer powerful enough to hold own empire
• Mid 1800s—Ottoman Empire = “sick man of Europe”—Great Britain, France, + Russia were waiting for
it to die
3. How did the ending of World War I impact the Middle East
• Secret Negotiations
o Soon after war started Allies began secret negotiations to decide how to divide the Ottoman
Empire when it was defeated
o Except for Arabian Peninsula, each of Allies would control different parts of the empire
o Arabs on Peninsula would be given independence when war ended
o 1915—McMahon + Husayn began to write letters discussing possible arrangements for
independence
o Husayn agreed to revolt against Ottomans in exchange for British support of a homeland for all
Arabs
• A Broken Promise
o Great Britain + France secretly working another agreement for dividing Ottoman Empire
o French control of Syria—Great Britain control of Iraq—Palestine under joint control
o Peace conference following Allies’ victory—Ottoman Empire reduced to a single
independent country—Turkey
o Arab state promised to Husayn became limited to Saudi Arabia + Yemen
4. What mandates were created out of the Sykes-Picot agreement?
 • Under Great Britain control—Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Iraq
• Under French control—Syria + Lebanon
5. Why was the idea of independence for Palestine a dilemma for Great Britain?
• 2 groups claimed Palestine as their homeland—Arabs + Jews
• Both groups had strong historical ties to Palestine
• Jews began to be discriminated against and cruelly persecuted throughout the world—believed the only
way to solve the problem of oppression was to returning to their homeland (Palestine) and creating an
independent country w/ their own gov.
• As Jewish immigration to Palestine increased, Arabs under Ottoman rule grew more + more fearful of
loosing their land
• Zionists put increasing pressure on Great Britain + other European nations to support their plan for an
independent homeland
• Arabs led by British to believe they would be granted the right of self-determination (right do decide own
political future), but Britain supported the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine w/out violating
the rights of Arabs living there—Arabs believed Palestine would become part of a larger Arab country
• Both groups pressured Great Britain to fulfill promises—became clear the goal of Jew s+ Arabs were at
odds
• As Britain looked for a solution, the struggle between both groups became increasingly violent—people
on both sides were killed
• As genocide of Jews spread in Nazi Germany, Jews fled to Palestine
• Tensions between Great Britain, Palestinians, + Jews mounted—Great Britain decided to limited
Jewish immigrationJews in Palestine began a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the British
6. How did the creation of Israel impact relations between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East?
• Arabs were bitterly opposed to the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine
• Great Britain, unable to find a solution, retired and turned the problem to the United Nations—
recommended that Palestine be partitioned into 2 states—Jews accepted, but Arabs were furious
• Arabs warned that dividing Palestine would turn into war
7. How has Israel changed its environment in order to make its land more productive and increase prosperity?
• 1880s—settlers began the long, slow process of reclaiming the land—drained swamps, coaxing water
into the desert
• Important part of Israel’s national policy—turning the unwelcoming desert into productive land that can
be used for agriculture, industry, + settlement
• Technology Transforms the Desert
o Built a system of pipelines, canals, + tunnels almost 100 miles long called the National Water
Carrier in the Negev desert
o Water pumped southward—region that was once barren stretches of sand is now striped
w/huge tracts of fertile green land
o Drip irrigation—Israel produces almost all of its own food
• Mining the Dead Sea
o Built processing plants to extract potash—used in explosives + fertilizer—table salt, bromine, +
other minerals to be exported
• Encouraging Migration to the Desert
o New towns built + workers offered high pay + extra time off
8. Describe cultural diversity in Israel.
• To strengthen the nation, the Israeli gov. encouraged Jews to immigrate from around the world
• Israel’s Jews
o Ashkenazi—Immigrated to Israel before 194 from Europeest. Israel into a modern country
o Sephardic Jews—immigrated from S.W. Asia, N. Africa, and Asia after 1948worked as
unskilled laborers, earned less money + lower standard of living than European Jews
o Mid-1980s + early 1990s—thousands of Ethiopian Jews moved to Israel
o 1980s—100’s of 1,000’s Soviet Jews immigrated to Israel when the Soviet Union relaxed its
emigration policies
o Political divisions—ultra-Orthodox Jews + nonreligious
  Nonreligious believe that religion shouldn’t dictate running of the state + interfere with
people’s daily lives
 Often difficult/impossible for the gov. to reach any agreement on important issues
• Israel’s Arabs
o Arab pop. Includes Christians, Muslims, + Druzes (independent people who broke from Islam in
the 116h century + live in villages in N. Israel)
o As a 20% minority, they believe they are discriminated against in education, employment, etc.
9. What is the source of conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians?
• 1947—When United Nations voted to partition the British mandate of Palestine into 2 states—1 Arab, 1
Jewish
• As the British left, war broke out between the states of Israel + its Arab neighbors
10. How have both sides cooperated in an attempt to resolve the conflict?
• Various solutions to the challenge of creating a homeland for the Palestinians were proposed, but both
sides viewed the possibility of peace with suspicion
• Peace talks continued in Madrid, Spain—Israel talked to Palestinians but refused to talk to the PLO
(Palestinian Liberation Organization)
• 1993—via secret negotiations, Israel + the PLO exchanged 2 short letters formally recognizing each
other + promising to being negotiations
• Peace process stalled after Israel handed over control of the Gaza Strip + several W. Bank cities
• Since assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Israel + the Palestinians negotiated several times,
but talks have broken down repeatedly
11. How have changing boundaries and migrations impacted Jordan?
• Changing Boundaries
o Addition of West Bank after the 1948 war between Arab countries + Israel provided Jordan with
fertile land for growing crops
o Workers built irrigation canals, + farmers learned modern methods of growing vegetables, fruit,
+ wheat—industries also opened—mid 1960s this was 1/3 of Jordan’s GNP
o 1967—Jordan, Egypt, + Syria attacked IsraelIsrael gained control of the West Bank, leaving
Jordan’s economy devastated
o Jordan lost a huge part of its agricultural production, banking business, tourism, + industry
• Migrations
o After Arab-Israeli wars, many Palestinian refugees fled to Jordantoday ½ of Jordan’s pop. =
Palestinian Arabs
o Palestinians—strong political force in Jordan
12. What impact did civil war have on Lebanon?
• Left the country in ruins—struggling to rebuild
• The Beginning of the War
o Chaos grew out of a breakdown in the political system
o 1958—civil war erupted
o Compromise reached, but political system remained unchanged
o 1975—civil war broke out again
• A Kaleidoscope of Terror
o PLO set up military bases in Lebanon from which it conducted raids across the border to Israel,
who in turn struck back
o After destroying the PLO bases in S. Lebanon, Israelis advanced to Beirut—bombed city heavily
for weeks
o US went in early 1983, but withdrew by 1984country slid further into chaos
o Muslim + Christian groups slit up into different militias
o Mid-1980s—Lebanon was in a state of anarchy (lawlessness)—no gov., army, or police force
could maintain order
o Fights broke out in the middle of the day, families installed steel doors on their houses +
apartments + bought machine guns for protection
• Calm Returns
 o Militias stopped fighting each other in early 1990s—Lebanon has begun to rebuild infrastructure
+ economy
o S. regions still controlled by Hezbollah guerrillas, who threaten peace along the border w/Israel
13. What geographic factors and economic activities make Syria a prosperous land?
• Location on E. edge of Mediterranean made cities busy centers of trade
• Rich farmlands + thriving cities—grow cotton, wheat, fruit, + vegetables
14. How have recent government changes in Syria affect life there?
• Gov. has given money to farmers to buy modern machinery improve farming methods
• Gov. has focused more attention on research to improve crop output to encourage farmers to stay
• Gov. has built dams in the N. to irrigate more acres of land on their land
• 1970—General Hafex al-Assad took power of all political and economic decisions
• 2000—When Assad died, his son became presidentlaunched a serious of economic political
reforms, such as privatization, turning the economy from a gov. economy to market, freeing political
prisoners have been, and giving more freedom of speech
15. Describe the causes and effects of conflicts that have involved Iraq.
• War With Iran
o Cause—in 1980, Saddam Hussein took advantage of turmoil in Iran to occupy a disputed
border, pushing deeper into Iran. Iran launched a counterattack
o Effect—enormous human + economic losses; neither Iran nor Iraq achieved its goal; Iraq
heavily in debt
• The Persian Gulf War
o Cause—1990, under Saddam Hussein, Iraq attacked Kuwait, claiming it a part of Iraq, thereby
gaining a large % of the world’s oil
o Effect—85,000+ Iraqi soldiers were killed; 10’s of 1000’s of civilians probably died also; capital
of Baghdad badly damaged; embargo (severe restriction on trade w/other countries) forced on
Hussein to case his chemical + nuclear weapons programsgreat economic suffering for the
Iraqi people
16. How did the discovery of oil change the Arabian Peninsula?
• Oil Pays for Modernization
o Modernization of traditional ways of lifehospitals, schools, roads, airports, + apartment
buildings, health + other services = free/heavily subsidized by the gov.
o Countries spent billions of $ on water—industrial plants constructed to remove salt from
seawater through a process called desalination
• OPEC
o 1960—Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, + Saudi Arabia joined w/ Venezuela to form Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries
o Meet regularly to decide how much oil to produce + what price to sell it—goal to decrease
influence of W. oil companies on their countries + to increase profits
o 1970-1980—oil prices began to soarinflation resulted in many countries
o As world demand of oil has increased, so has OPEC’s power
• Planning for the Future
o Can’t depend on oil to support economies foreverinvested large sums of money to develop
other industries
o Bahrain est. an international banking center
o Saudi Arabia, Qatar, + United Arab Emirates have built steel + petrochemical industries
o Massive dev. requires efforts, but pop. Are small + lack necessary skillsoil rich countries have
had to hire huge #’s of foreign workers
17. How has Saudi Arabia tried to balance modern-day changes and economic growth with respect for
tradition?
• Gov. led change from ancient desert kingdom into modern country come cautiously—tried not to let
modernization upset the Islamic + other traditions to which life in Saudi Arabia is rooted
• No movies theaters/night-clubs—family still most important social unit in Saudi Arabia
 • Women have an honored position in society, but roles are limited—custom prohibits them from
association w/men outside their immediate familyhave to find jobs where they see only other
womensome Saudi women would like the freedom to make more choices
• Saudi Arabia has tried to create a harmonious balance between change + tradition
• Saudi Arabia has used modern technology to support what Muslims believe to be the single most
moving + meaningful religious ritual in Islam (hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca)
18. Why are Oman and Yemen considered the least developed countries in the Arabian Peninsula?
• Oman hasn’t undergone large scale modernization for oil deposits
• Until 1990—Yemen divided into 2 countries—N. + S. Yemen
• Yemen—poorest + newest country
• Oman + Yemen—most people make living through farming + herding, difficult as most of Oman is
desert
19. How did Turkey become a modern nation after World War I?
• Mustafa Kemal, a fiery young army officer, began a movement to establish Turkey as an independent
republics
• 1923—Kemal + revolutionaries overthrew the sultan + declared Turkey a republic. Kemal was elected
president
• Kemal set about modernizing Turkey—believed won’t survive w/out sweeping political + social reforms
• Break bond between Islam + gov
• Replaced Islamic laws /laws based on European legal system
• Outlawed fez + ridiculed custom that required women to wear viels in public
• Gave women right to vote + hold office
• Everyone encouraged to attend school
• Kemal had been a strong force in est. Turkey’s modern identity that Turks gave him surname “father of
the Turks”
20. How is Iran unique from the rest of Southwest Asia?
• Persian descendents—dominant cultural group in Iran
• For about 600 years, Persia was part of the Islamic empire
21. Describe Iran under the shah’s rule.
• Shah opened schools, built roads + railroads, encouraged industry, + gave women more rights
• Under son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, profits from huge oil industry were channeled into industrial +
agricultural dev.
• Teachers + medical workers traveled into villages to improve literacy + health care
• Women began to vote, hold jobs outside the home, + dress in W. style clothing
• Some resented the government, but the shah ran the country as a dictatorshipno 1 dared oppose the
gov. for fear of being put in prison or exiled
22. How did Iran change as a result of the Iranian Revolution?
• An Islamic Revolution
o Shah and his supporters fled, and immediately Khomeini set up a new gov. + declared Iran and
Islamic republicrid the country of all w. influences, which it saw as a threat to Islam
o Westerners forced to leave, alcohol outlawed, women discouraged from wearing w.ern style
clothing + went back to traditional dress
o Iran’s new rulers called Shiites everywhere in S.W. Asia to overthrow their gov.’s + est. Islamic
republics
o Hundreds of thousands of Iranians were killed in the war against Iraq, which lasted 8 years
• Iran Today
o Revolution + war w/Iraq severely affected Iran’s economy
o Radical position isolated from world
o Economy has improved, but dangerous power struggle between modernization and traditional
ways of life continues
23. Describe the political tensions in Cyprus.
• Some Greek Cypriots wanted Cyprus to unite with Greece
• 1974—Turkey sent troops to Cyprus to prevent this
• Turkey declared N.E. part of Cyprus, which has a majority Turkish pop. independent in 1983
• State not recognized as a separate nation by most other countries