important people - middle east test - honors world history 25/26

Hammurabi

a major leader of Babylon, known for the Code of Hammurabi: the rules he set in place during his reign

Hittites

people from a Middle Eastern civilization on the Anatolia Plateau in Asia Minor; invented iron

Phoenicians

people from a Middle Eastern civilization near the Meditteranean Sea; were big on trade and developed communicatio, including their own alphabet

Muhammad

considered the founder of Islam; taught Islam to his first generation of followers

Umayyads

people from the powerful Umayyad Caliphate, which spanned over 100 years and conquered much land. they:

• made Arabic the official language

• established a common currency

• standardized weights and measures

• unified the caliphate

Abbasids

people of the Abbasid Caliphate that came after the Umayyads. they:

• produced major exports

• fostered creativity, philosophy, and scholarship

• translated many Greek works into Arabic

• collaborated peacefully with non-Muslims

• developed cameras and Algebra (math)

Sunni

sect of Islam that believed that accepted caliph of Abbasid’s rule and Abbasid caliphate being the Islamic nation

Shiite

sect of Islam that did not accept Abbasid rule, thought that 4th caliph (Ali) was the last legit ruler of Islam, and Islam should ruled by a blood relative of Muhammad

Seljuks

took over Abbasid caliphate and caused religious crusades by preventing pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina

Saladin

first Sultan of Egypt and Turkey

Suleiman I

a sultan of the Ottomans that expanded Ottoman empire to it’s peak

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; an organization of major oil producers and exporters formed after WWII. Included Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other countries

Saddam Hussein

prominent president and dictator in Iraq, started many conflicts for oil and power

PLO

Palestinian Liberation Organization; advocated and protested for freedom in Arab-Israeli conflicts