Key Events and Concepts in Middle Eastern History

Why is the Middle East called the Middle East?

It is called the Middle East because it is in the middle of the Far East (East Asia) and the Near East (Ottoman Empire).

Percentage of global population that is Muslim

~25.8%

Countries in the Levant

Hatay Province, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria.

Globalization

A term used to describe how trade and technology made the world more connected.

ISIS

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

ISIL

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Connect the instability of the Middle East with the Sykes-Picot agreement.

The instability of the Middle East with the Sykes-Picot agreement is deeply tied. The agreement created borders between the Ottoman Empire's Arab nations in a way that ignored ethnic and sectarian divisions.

Saddam Hussein's justification for invasion of Kuwait

His decision was partly shaped by the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq War and Iraq's economic desperation. He saw Kuwait as a part of Iraq which was unjustly separated and as a rival to Iraq because of the fact they were overproducing oil.

Rationalize why the United States has bases in Bahrain. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States has bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to counter regional threats like Iran, secure oil routes, and maintain influence in a strategically vital area.

Nov. 29, 1947

UN General Assembly Resolution 181; the partition of the Palestinian territories into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.

May 14, 1948

Israel declares its independence as the British rule ends, causing the first Arab-Israeli War.

Dec. 11, 1948

Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria signed armistice agreements after the war.

June 5, 1967

During the first Arab-Israeli War, at least seven hundred thousand Palestinian refugees flee their homes.

Resolution 194

Call for the repatriation of Palestinian refugees, which Palestinians pass as a 'right of return' for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (12.11.48)

Oct 7, 2023

Hamas launches a surprise attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, many of them civilians.

Balfour Declaration

Britain took up the responsibility of establishing 'a national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine in a letter written on November 2, 1917.

Sykes-Picot treaty (IMPORTANT)

A secret agreement that France (Paris) and Britain (London) made on May 16, 1916 to divide nations (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine) into regions that British and France administer. (Mark Sykes, Francois Picot)

Sharif of Mecca's Declaration

Hussein bin Ali announced that he intended to establish an Arab state extending from Aleppo, in Syria, to Aden in the south, as mentioned in his correspondence with the British Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon.

Sharif Faisal

The favored son of Sharif Hussein who supported Britain and entered Damascus on October 1, 1918, establishing an Arab government.

Maysalun

The location near Damascus where the French defeated Sharif Faisal's army on June 24, 1920.

Iraq Petroleum Company

The rebranded name of the Turkish Petroleum Company after France gave up its claim on Mosul province for a larger share.

State of Lebanon

Formed by France in 1920 by annexing parts of the Ottoman provinces around Beirut and Damascus.

State of Syria

Created in 1932 by combining Aleppo and Damascus states.

San Remo agreement

Replaced the Sykes-Picot agreement after World War I, establishing mandates for new Arab countries in Al Mashriq.

Independence of Syria and Lebanon

Syria and Lebanon became independent in 1943.

State of Israel

Declared in 1948 after Britain ended its mandate in Palestine.

Levant

Ancient lands along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Caliphate

The rule or reign of a caliph or chief Muslim ruler.

Zionism

A nationalist political ideology that calls for the creation of a Jewish state and now supports the continued existence of Israel as such a state.

Secularism

Separation of church or religion from the affairs of state.

Fundamentalism

Religion of strict belief and literal interpretation of scripture.

Theocracy

A system of government where religious leaders rule.

Wahhabism

Advocates a purification of Islam, rejects Islamic theology and philosophy developed after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, and calls for strict adherence to the letter of the Koran and hadith.

Overthrow of the Shah of Iran

In 1979, the Shah was overthrown by mass demonstrations inspired by the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini.

American Hostages

On November 4, 1979, Iranian student demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage, holding them for 444 days.

Iran Hostage Crisis

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately seventy Americans captive, lasting 444 days. (1979-1981)

Who was the American President during the crisis?

Jimmy Carter, 39th President

Who was the Islamic fundamentalist leader who took control of Iran?

1902-1989, Ayatollah Khomeini

Robert C. Ode

One of the 52 American citizens taken hostage by Iranian students in November 1979 at the American embassy in Tehran.

Duration of Hostage Holding

The hostages were held for a total of 444 days and were released on January 20, 1981.

Ethnic Groups in Iran

Persians (Largest Group), Kurds, Azeris, Lurs, Arabs, Balochs, Turkmens, and more smaller groups.

Official Language of Iran

Persian (Farsi) is the official language, along with Azerbaijani and Kurdish.

Emirate

The states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Reserves

Future supply.

Intifada

Mass Uprising.

Totalitarian Government

A form of government that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens, ruling through terror.

Taliban/Extremists

People who hold rigid religious or political views.

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

In 1978, a New Communist Political Party took power, ignored local ethnic and religious customs, and forced policies of modernization, leading Afghan leaders to ask the Soviet Union for help.

Zionist Movement

Advocated for establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine, marked by the First Zionist Congress founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897.

1972 Munich Massacre

11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Two-State Solution

A pair of transitional agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) designed to establish a partnership for negotiating border disputes.

1993 Oslo Accords Breakdown

Broke down after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist.

Second Intifada

Launched by Palestinians after the breakdown in talks at Camp David in 2000, characterized by widespread protests, demonstrations, and armed confrontations, resulting in close to 1,000 Israelis killed or injured.

West Bank Barrier

Constructed by Israel as a response to the Second Intifada and its significance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

2020 Abraham Accords

A dramatic change in Israeli Arab relations.

Abraham Accords

A series of historic agreements that normalized diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations between Israel and Arab countries (including UAE and Bahrain, and the Joint Declaration with Morocco).

October 7 Hamas Massacre

Hamas launched an unprovoked and vicious surprise attack on over 20 Israeli communities using rockets, paragliders, boats, motorcycles, and other vehicles to infiltrate Israel.

Treaty of Sèvres

A post-World War I pact between the victorious Allied powers and representatives of the government of Ottoman Turkey that abolished the Ottoman Empire and obliged Turkey to renounce all rights over Arab Asia and North Africa.

Marine barracks bombing

Hezbollah blew up the U.S. Marines and French army barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, as 'punishments' related to the Lebanese Civil War.

Casualties of the Marine barracks bombing

The barracks bombings left 241 Americans and 58 French dead.

U.S. embassy bombing

Hezbollah bombed the U.S. embassy, killing 63, including 17 Americans.

Marine barracks bomb composition

The Marine barracks bomb was composed of at least 18,000 pounds of explosives.

Largest non-nuclear explosion

The Marine barracks bomb was the single-largest non-nuclear explosion on earth since the Second World War.

Marine barracks bomb aftermath

The bomb demolished the four-story barracks building, leaving behind a crater at least thirteen feet deep and thirty feet wide.

Ottoman Empire

The empire that ruled over much of the Middle East for over 600 years before World War I.

Importance of Palestine

The land area of Palestine is sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Zionism

The belief that the Jewish people deserve a national homeland in the area of Palestine.

Reason for Jewish homeland in Palestine

Zionists wanted the Jewish homeland in Palestine because their holy city, Jerusalem, was there.

Anti-semitism

The hatred of Jews that contributed to the rise of the Zionism Movement.

British promise to Sharif Hussein

Support for the independence of the Arabs if he and others of the same ethnic group supported Britain against the Ottoman Empire.

Sykes-Picot Agreement

The plan by Britain and France to divide the Arab lands of the Middle East amongst themselves after WWI.

Balfour Declaration

The manner in which the British government expressed support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine in exchange for support in WWI.

Holocaust

The systematic, state-sponsored killing of Jews that occurred during World War II and increased world sympathy for the Zionist cause.

United Nations (UN)

Created after WWII as an International Peacekeeping Organization.

UN partition plan

After the end of World War II, the UN proposed a partition plan that would give Jews part of Palestine for the establishment of their own nation called Israel.

Israel's independence

Israel officially proclaimed itself as a new, independent nation in the Middle East in 1948.

Outcome of the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War

Israel gained land while the Palestinians lost land.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

A political movement, founded in 1964 under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine.

Gaza Strip

A territory along the Mediterranean Sea just northeast of the Sinai Peninsula; part of the land set aside for Palestinians, which was occupied by Israel in 1967.

West Bank

A strip of land on the west side of the Jordan River, which is part of the land set aside for Palestinians.

Camp David Accords

Led to a more peaceful relationship between Israel and Egypt.

First Intifada

The Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Oslo Accords

Led to a more peaceful relationship between Israelis and Palestinians.

Who did Iran go to war with after the Islmic revolution?

Iraq

After the Yom Kippur War, what did Israel give back to Egypt?

The Sinai Peninsula.

Who were the Islamic fighters that the United States supported in Afghanistan?

The Mujahideen