Shahanna Sarkisian

October 20, 2014

Flex PM
Middle Eastern Geography Lecture
1.) What ties this region together?
2.) Why are these nations lumped in a group?
3.) What might tear this region apart?
o The name is left over from a euro-centric world, everything East of Europe was
East and everything West of Europe was West.
o Middle East is between Far East and Near East.
o Middle East is better called Southwest Asia.
o Known for its vast deserts

Sahara Desert, divides Africa.

Rue Al Khali, known as the empty quarter.

o The earliest civilization in the history of the world happened in Mesopotamia.
o Mediterranean Temperate Climate
o The climate of the region greatly affects the population.
o Black Gold
o Oil is an important resource.
o America makes a small amount of oil, however they produce the smallest
possible amount.
o Resources are the reason why any nation or any certain people get into
conflicts.
o Many people predict that water is going to be the number one resource the
world is going to fight over within the next 100 years.
o By 2025, at least five Middle Eastern countries will be in high demand.
o The Silk Road brought in many trading goods to the Middle East.
o The Crusades

Christian Conformists

Brought Knowledge
o Islam started n 600s and promptly spread all over the place to places such as
Europe, Africa, Asia, etc.
o Decline of the Ottoman Empire

1174-1914

One of the largest empires of its time.

By 1914, the Ottoman Empire was considered to be the sick man of the
world.

France and England were the two places that greedily went to take the
inheritance of the Ottoman Empire

Sykes-Picot Agreement
Took the map and drew an A and a B and a line dividing them,
one was for France and one was for England.
Areas would be Areas of Direct Control and others would be
Spears of Influence.

Drawing up the agreement from 1915-1916, before the Empire

was even dead.
Complicated Agreement
Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1985)
He was actually on the ground in the Middle East, during WWI. He was figuring
out what would benefit England in the long run.
Unaware of the Sykes-Picot Agreement.
Most of Northwest Africa and Southwest Asia was taken over.
Influence lead to the colonial Middle East.
Diversity

Islam is the religion; a Muslim is somebody who follows the religion.

What is the difference between Muslim and Islamic?

Great Diversity in terms of faith.

Coptic Egyptian Christian

Iraq
Shiite
Shia

Europeans carved up borders for their advantage.

Because Europeans wanted to assume control, it was to their benefit to

cut up groups and not have one majority in one place.
Kurds

Group in Turkey

Find themselves an oppressed minority wherever they are, mostly

because they were split up
Birth of Modern Turkey

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

He wanted Turkey to be modern, not old and traditional.

Modernizing Iran

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi

He wanted Iran to modernize, as well.

Seen as a puppet of the West.

If you were willing to Westernize, you were part of a wealthier group

and were more successful. However, if you held on to your old ways, you
were not apart of the privileges.

Traditionalists got their way.

Monarchies

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