1. The Countries of Southwest Asia Chapter 23 World Geography
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

2. Chapter 23: The Countries of Southwest Asia
World Geography
Chapter 23: The Countries of Southwest Asia
Section 1: Creating the Modern Middle East
Section 2: Israel
Section 3: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq
Section 4: Arabian Peninsula
Section 5: Turkey, Iran, and Cyprus
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

3. Creating the Modern Middle East1
Creating the Modern Middle East
How successful were the Ottoman Turks in uniting the diverse peoples of the Middle East?
Why did several European powers take control of the nations of Southwest Asia after World War I?
How did the creation of Israel affect relations between Arabs and Jews?

4. 1
Diverse Peoples
After being conquered by the followers of Muhammad, most of the peoples of the region adopted Islam and the Arabic language, but some continued to practice other religions and maintain their cultural identities.
For over 150 years Islam governed these peoples as one political region, but beginning in the tenth century, the empire began to fall apart.
Turks, led by the Seljuks, conquered almost all of the Middle East, adopting Islam and ruling for more than four hundred years before being replaced by the Ottoman Turks.
The Ottomans did not impose Islamic law on non-Muslims.
Beginning in the late 1700s, discontent and ethnic and religious rivalry caused Ottoman power to deteriorate.
European nations, eager to exert political influence in the Middle East and gain new markets for their products, called the Ottoman Empire “the sick man of Europe.”

5. 1
World War I

6. 1
World War I
After the outbreak of war, the Allies secretly negotiated how to divide the Ottoman Empire upon its defeat.
Britain convinced the Arabs to revolt against the Ottomans, and the Arabs believed they would receive a homeland in return.
Britain and France secretly worked out an agreement to divide the Ottoman Empire.
After the war, the Ottoman Empire was reduced to Turkey, and the independent Arab state was limited to Arabia and Yemen.
France took Syria and Lebanon as a mandate, while Britain took Palestine, Trans-Jordan, and Iraq as three separate mandates.

7. 1
Arabs and Jews
Two groups claimed Palestine as their homeland—the Arabs and the Jews
Amid the flow of Jews emigrating to Palestine in the face of persecution where they lived, Zionists believed the solution to oppression was to create their own country.
Britain issued the Balfour Declaration, a statement of support for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, which caused an uproar among Arabs.
As Nazi Germany began to persecute Jews, thousands fled to Palestine.
The United Nations recommended that Palestine be partitioned, which infuriated the Arabs because most of the best land went to the Jews.
In 1948, Israel declared its independence and within hours was attacked by neighboring Arab countries, which resulted in Israeli control of three fourths of Palestine.

8. 1
Section 1 Review
Which religion did most peoples of the region adopt after the Arab conquests of the 600s?
a) Christianity
b) Islam
c) Judaism
d) Zoroastrianism
What was Husayn ibn ‘Ali promised in return for revolting against the Ottoman Empire?
a) control over the Ottoman Empire
b) an independent Jewish homeland
c) governorship of Arabia under British control
d) an independent Arab homeland
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9. 1
Section 1 Review
Which religion did most peoples of the region adopt after the Arab conquests of the 600s?
a) Christianity
b) Islam
c) Judaism
d) Zoroastrianism
What was Husayn ibn ‘Ali promised in return for revolting against the Ottoman Empire?
a) control over the Ottoman Empire
b) an independent Jewish homeland
c) governorship of Arabia under British control
d) an independent Arab homeland
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10. 2
Israel
How has Israel changed its environment in order to make its land more productive and to increase prosperity?
Who are the major cultural groups in Israel, and what roles have they played in the nation’s history?
What cooperative steps have Israel and its Arab neighbors taken to try to prevent conflicts from erupting?

11. 2
Environmental Change

12. 2
Environmental Change
Israelis have transformed stretches of desert into tracts of fertile land, and have developed the process of drip irrigation.
Agricultural success has strained Israel’s limited supplies of water.
Israelis have built processing plants to extract potash, salt, and other minerals from the Dead Sea.
The government has tried to attract workers to live in and develop the desert.
Israel has looked to high technology industries to help its economy.
Service industries have developed to support the growing population.

13. Diverse Cultures Israel’s Jews2
Diverse Cultures
Israel’s Jews
Differences between Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardic Jews formed a sharp division in Israeli society.
Sephardic Jews came from Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Asia, and were poorer and less educated than Ashkenazi Jews, who came from Europe.
Most recent immigrants to Israel come from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.
There are wide political divisions in Israeli government, which ranges from the very religious groups to the nonreligious groups.
Israel’s Arabs
Almost 20 percent of the population is Arab.
The Arabs are a diverse group, with a population that includes Muslims, Christians, and Druzes.
Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel, with full political rights.
Nevertheless, Israeli Arabs believe they have been discriminated against in education, employment, and other areas.

14. Cooperation and Conflict2
Cooperation and Conflict
During and after the Israeli war of independence in 1948, as many as 500,000 Palestinian refugees fled to neighboring Arab countries. Some Palestinian refugees found jobs and housing, but others remained in crowded refugee camps.
In the mid-1960s, many of these camps became bases for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which demanded that Palestine be liberated, and attacked and killed Israeli civilians.
More and more Israelis settled in the occupied territories, which caused Palestinian support for the PLO in the West Bank and Gaza to grow.
Palestinians began uprisings, called intifadas, in 1987 and again in 2000, after peace talks with Israel stalled.

15. 2
Section 2 Review
How has Israel provided water to the dry Negev Desert?
a) a long irrigation canal from the Jordan River
b) a system of canals, pipelines, and tunnels from the Sea of Galilee
c) a desalinization plant and canals and pipelines from the Red Sea
d) underground aquifers are tapped
What group became refugees after the 1948 war of independence?
a) Sephardic Jews
b) Ashkenazi Jews
c) Druzes
d) Palestinians
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16. 2
Section 2 Review
How has Israel provided water to the dry Negev Desert?
a) a long irrigation canal from the Jordan River
b) a system of canals, pipelines, and tunnels from the Sea of Galilee
c) a desalinization plant and canals and pipelines from the Red Sea
d) underground aquifers are tapped
What group became refugees after the 1948 war of independence?
a) Sephardic Jews
b) Ashkenazi Jews
c) Druzes
d) Palestinians
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17. Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq3
Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq
How have political conditions changed society in Jordan?
How has Lebanon recovered from civil war?
What geographic factors and economic activities make Syria a prosperous land?
Why has there been a series of conflicts in Iraq?

18. 3
Jordan

19. 3
Jordan
After the 1948 war between the Arab countries and Israel, Jordan annexed the West Bank, which increased Jordan’s productivity.
After attacking Israel with Egypt and Syria in 1967, Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel, suffering economically as a result.
As the Arab-Israeli wars sent many refugees to Jordan, Palestinian Arabs became a significant part of Jordan’s population and are now a strong political force there.
Jordan’s economy has been improving since the early 1990s, and it continues to unite an Islamic heritage with modern political freedoms.

20. Lebanon: Civil War and Recovery3
Lebanon: Civil War and Recovery
Since independence from France in 1943, power has been divided between Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Druze based on the sizes of their populations.
The Maronites had the highest population and held the most power, but population growth among Muslims and growing economic inequalities between groups created more tensions.
Civil war broke out in 1958 and again in 1975, and in 1982, Israel invaded to drive out the PLO.
An international peacekeeping force was sent in to maintain order, but after several hundred United States Marines were killed, all American troops were withdrawn and the country slid into anarchy, or lawlessness.
The militias, or citizen armies of each faction of Lebanese society, stopped fighting each other in the early 1990s when a new power-sharing agreement was created.
Lebanon has begun to rebuild its infrastructure and economy, and Israel withdrew its troops in 2000.

21. Syria: Challenges and Reforms3
Syria: Challenges and Reforms
The location of Syria has made cities like Damascus and Aleppo busy centers of trade.
Although Syria has rich farmland, farming methods are out of date, and only one third of the fields are irrigated.
Turkey has built dams upstream along the Euphrates, which has resulted in Syrian claims that less water is available for agriculture and electricity production.
General Hafez al-Assad took power in Syria, making all economic decisions and allowing little political freedom.
Bashar Assad succeeded his father in 2000, and began to turn Syria’s economy into a market economy while freeing political prisoners.

22. Iraq: A Series of Conflicts3
Iraq: A Series of Conflicts
Iraq lies on the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and after oil was discovered in the 1920s, Iraq spent billions of dollars of oil money to develop the country.
In 1980, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein took advantage of turmoil in Iran to seize a disputed border area, but after years of inconclusive conflict, both sides accepted a UN cease-fire in 1988.
War broker out when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, and armed forces led by the United States attacked and liberated Kuwait.
Hussein remained in power, but refused to follow the terms of a UN cease-fire, so the UN imposed an embargo.
In 1988 and again after the Persian Gulf War, Iraq crushed Kurdish uprisings, forcing many Kurds to flee to neighboring countries.

23. 3
Section 3 Review
How did the Arab-Israeli wars affect the economy of Jordan?
a) Jordan gained resource-rich lands from Israel.
b) Jordan lost the economically vital West Bank to Israel.
c) Jordan was forced to pay crushing reparations to Israel.
d) Jordan’s economy was stimulated by the wars.
In what way is Syrian agriculture at a disadvantage?
a) The soil in Syria is very poor.
b) The country has little water for irrigation.
c) Syrian farming uses outdated methods and lacks irrigation.
d) The climate is inhospitable for farming.
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24. 3
Section 3 Review
How did the Arab-Israeli wars affect the economy of Jordan?
a) Jordan gained resource-rich lands from Israel.
b) Jordan lost the economically vital West Bank to Israel.
c) Jordan was forced to pay crushing reparations to Israel.
d) Jordan’s economy was stimulated by the wars.
In what way is Syrian agriculture at a disadvantage?
a) The soil in Syria is very poor.
b) The country has little water for irrigation.
c) Syrian farming uses outdated methods and lacks irrigation.
d) The climate is inhospitable for farming.
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25. 4
Arabian Peninsula
In what ways did the discovery of oil change the Arabian Peninsula?
How has Saudi Arabia tried to balance modern-day changes and economic growth with respect for tradition?
Why are Oman and Yemen considered the least developed countries in the region?

26. 4
Oil Changes a Region

27. 4
Oil Changes a Region
The discovery of oil in the 1930s brought the region enormous wealth, which was used to pay for hospitals, schools, roads, airports, apartment buildings, modern health care, and desalination plants.
In 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed to decide how much oil to produce and at what price to sell it.
Between 1970 and 1980, high demand for oil caused prices to soar, which had an immense impact on the world economy.
Because oil wells will one day run dry, the countries of the region are investing large sums of money to develop other industries.

28. 4
Saudi Arabia
Since the 1960s, Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars to build the country’s infrastructure, or basic support facilities.
Two giant industrial centers on the coasts of Saudi Arabia are home to petrochemical factories that collect, process, and ship oil and natural gas.
Saudi Arabia has also built desalination plants and built up irrigation, so it would not have to rely on other countries for food.
The family is the most important social unit in Saudi Arabia, and women have an honored position in Saudi society but limited freedoms.
Saudi Arabia has tried to create a balance between change and tradition, which can be seen in Saudi Arabia’s role as guardian of Islam’s most sacred cities, Mecca and Medina.
Each year, approximately two million Muslims from all over the world visit Saudi Arabia for the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca.

29. 4
Oman and Yemen
In Oman and Yemen, life for most people has changed little since ancient times.
Yemen has only begun processing its oil deposits, while Oman has used oil revenues to improve life for its people, although it did not undergo the large-scale modernization that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait did.
Yemen was formed in 1990 from North Yemen and South Yemen, and while Sanaa is the political capital, Aden is the economic capital.
Most people in Yemen and Oman are farmers or herders, and many farmers depend on an ancient system of underground and surface canals called the falaj system for water.
The government of Oman has used oil money to improve the standard of living there, although it is setting up new industries in order to lessen dependence on oil.

30. 4
Section 4 Review
How has oil wealth changed life in many countries in the region?
a) New money has allowed these countries to build up their militaries.
b) Oil wealth has allowed these nations to modernize their economies.
c) Oil money has been squandered through corruption.
d) The money from oil has not affected life in the Arabian Peninsula.
What is the falaj system?
a) a system to remove salt from seawater
b) a network of canals for transporting water
c) a traditional economic system
d) the pilgrimage to Mecca
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31. 4
Section 4 Review
How has oil wealth changed life in many countries in the region?
a) New money has allowed these countries to build up their militaries.
b) Oil wealth has allowed these nations to modernize their economies.
c) Oil money has been squandered through corruption.
d) The money from oil has not affected life in the Arabian Peninsula.
What is the falaj system?
a) a system to remove salt from seawater
b) a network of canals for transporting water
c) a traditional economic system
d) the pilgrimage to Mecca
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32. 5
Turkey, Iran, and Cyprus
How did Turkey become a modern nation after World War I?
What effects did an Islamic revolution have upon the level of development of Iran?
What major issue divides the people of Cyprus?

33. 5
Turkey

34. 5
Turkey
After revolutionaries overthrew the sultan and declared Turkey a republic in 1923, Mustafa Kemal, the first president, set about modernizing Turkey.
Debt and inflation have troubled Turkey since the 1960s.
In the government, secular and Islamic parties have struggled for power.
Struggling under government repression, Kurds have fought for independence and, more recently, have been trying to peacefully win their rights.
Turkey has one of the few freely elected governments in the region.

35. 5
Islam Changes Iran

36. 5
Islam Changes Iran
The shahs, or rulers, of Iran modernized and Westernized the country; but many people still lived in poverty, and some wanted political reform of the dictatorship.
In 1979, after the people of Iran revolted and the shah fled, the Ayatollah Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic.
In 1980, Iraq attacked Iran because of Khomeini’s attempts to stir revolution in Iraq.
Revolution and war severely affected Iran’s economy, and radical politics isolated it internationally.
Iran’s economy has improved, but a power struggle continues between reformers and Islamic leaders.

37. Cyprus Greek colonists settled Cyprus as early as 1200 B.C.5
Cyprus
Greek colonists settled Cyprus as early as 1200 B.C.
Today about four fifths of Cypriots speak Greek and are Greek Orthodox Christians.
Cyprus was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 1570s until the British occupied it in 1878, and one fifth of Cypriots are Turkish and follow Islam.
In the 1960s, civil war split Cyprus between Greeks and Turks.
Some Greeks Cypriots wanted Cyprus to become part of Greece, and in 1974, Turkey sent troops to Cyprus to prevent this.
Turkey declared the northeastern part of Cyprus independent in 1983, but this state is not recognized as a separate nation by most countries.

38. 5
Section 5 Review
What does Turkey possess that few other countries in the region have?
a) vast oil resources
b) large tracts of fertile land
c) a parliamentary government
d) a strong economy
Why did Turkey send troops to Cyprus in 1974?
a) to conquer the island
b) to put down a rebellion against Turkey
c) to act as peacekeepers
d) to prevent the island from uniting with Greece
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39. 5
Section 5 Review
What does Turkey possess that few other countries in the region have?
a) vast oil resources
b) large tracts of fertile land
c) a parliamentary government
d) a strong economy
Why did Turkey send troops to Cyprus in 1974?
a) to conquer the island
b) to put down a rebellion against Turkey
c) to act as peacekeepers
d) to prevent the island from uniting with Greece
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