CHAPTER 19 THE PERSIAN GULF AND INTERIOR >

NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS CHAPTER 19 – SECTION 1

QUESTIONS  What landforms and rivers can be found in the Persian Gulf area and the interior of Southwest Asia?  How does the region’s physical geography affect its climates and biomes?  What natural resources does the region have?

LANDFORMS  The region formed by the Persian Gulf and interior Southwest Asia includes the following countries:  Saudi Arabia.  Bahrain.  Kuwait.  Oman.  Qatar.  United Arab Emirates.  Yemen.  The Arabian Peninsula is often referred to as the Middle East.

BODIES OF WATER  The Arabian Peninsula lies between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.  To the south – the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.  Beyond those two bodies of water is the Indian Ocean.  North and northwest of the Arabian Peninsula are three large countries:  Iran and Iraq which have coast on the Persian Gulf.  Afghanistan which is landlocked. <>

TECTONIC ACTIVITY  Tectonic activity shaped most of the physical features in the area.  Southwest Asia sits on the intersection of the African, Eurasian, and Arabian Plates.  Mountains, valleys, plateaus.  The Red Sea is becoming wider as the African and Arabian plates move apart.

MESOPOTAMIA  The land between two rivers.  The Tigris and the Euphrates.  Exotic rivers – rivers that begin in humid regions and flow across dry areas.

HINDU KUSH MOUNTAINS  Extension of the Himalayas.  Difficult to cross with only a few major passes.

CLIMATES  Hot and dry climates dominate the region.  Rains come mostly in the winter.  Southern interior is mostly uninhabited desert called the Rub’al-Khali (Empty Quarter) and the An Nafud, a desert of reddish sand.  Region’s mountains provide water to the valleys.  Orographic effect produces humid climates with water picked up along the Caspian Sea.  Lowlands of Saudi Arabia along Persian Gulf are among hottest places on Earth.  Over 114 ⁰.  Little rain but high humidity.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS  Shrubs and grasses grow on the wide dry plains, adapting to climates without water.  Trees grow only in mountains and dry streambeds.  Highest plains are grasslands.  Soil is so salty in some places that nothing can grow.  Hunting and domestic animals has made life hard for larger wild animals.  Gazelles, lions, wild goats, hyenas, leopards, wild camels and donkeys are rare and mostly limited to game preserves.

NATURAL RESOURCES  Two most important natural resources are water and oil.  In Iraq, rivers are the main source of water.  In Iran, farmers depend on rain and irrigation.  Surface water in desert areas can only be found at an oasis.  Bubbling surface waters have been turned into producing wells.  Desalinization.  Only wealthy countries can afford to make freshwater this way.  Oil reserves are the largest in the world.  Countries in the region have few other resources to develop.

HISTORY AND CULTURE CHAPTER 19 – SECTION 2

QUESTIONS  How have peoples, empires, and Islam affected the history of the Persian Gulf area and interior of Southwest Asia?  What are the major features of the region’s cultures?

FROM EMPIRES TO INDEPENDENCE  Fertile Crescent.  The world’s first civilizations developed in this arc of productive land.  3000 B.C. the Sumerians built the first known cities in southern Mesopotamia.  Traders continually traveled through the area.  Akkadians conquered the Sumerians.  Later the Persians, Greeks, and Romans controlled much of the region.

THE RISE OF ISLAM  Muhammad established Islam when he was 40 years old and was visited by the Archangel Gabriel.  Muhammad was to spread the word of Allah to his followers, Muslims.  Allah’s message is contained in the Qur’an.  Muhammad established a Muslim community in Medina when he was forced to leave Mecca.  Eventually Islam spread throughout North Africa, Spain, Central and Southeast Asia, and India.

GAINING INDEPENDENCE  Mongul rulers conquered Central Asia in the 1200s.  The Safavids came to power in Iran in the early 1500s and seized Afghanistan from the Muslims.  Lasted more than 200 years.  Considered to be the golden age of Persian culture.  In the western part of the Persian Gulf, the Ottoman Turks conquered Mesopotamia.  The British took over the area in the early 1900s.

CULTURE  Islam is the unifying cultural feature of the region.  Many empires and migrating peoples have coexisted in the presence of many ethnic groups in the region.

PEOPLE AND LANGUAGES  Most people in the region are Arabs and Arabic is the dominant language.  The Qur’an in written in Arabic.  Arabic place-names can be found throughout the Eastern Hemisphere as a result of trade, migration, and Islam.

NON-ARABS  Iraq is an Arabic country.  More than a million Arabs live in southern Iran.  Non-Arab ethnic groups live in the area.  Kurds live in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey and are Muslims, have never had their own country and have often been persecuted.  Most of Iran’s Persians speak Farsi.  Other groups that live in Iran:  Baloch, Bakhtiari, Hazara, Turkmen, Azeri, Qashqai.  In Afghanistan, the Pashtun are the largest ethnic group.  Most people’s loyalties lie with their clan and family, rather than an ethnic group.

RELIGION AND SOCIETY  Islam has split into two main groups – Sunni and Shia.  Difference centers around who can be a leader within the religion – imams (spiritual leaders).  Sunnis choose their imams – lead prayer.  Shia allows only descendents of Muhammad to become leaders – interpret the Qur’an.  90% of Muslims are Sunnis and 10% are Shia.

THE REGION TODAY CHAPTER 19 – SECTION 3

QUESTIONS  On what activities do the region’s economies depend?  What are the region’s cities like?  What are some important issues in the region today?

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT  Oil and gas production is central to their economies.  Oil wealth has helped modernization.  Some still follow traditional ways.  Farmers – subsistence agriculture.  Bedouins – nomadic herders.  Traditional crafts.  Modern manufacturing is limited.

URBAN ENVIRONMENTS  The largest cities in the regions are the national capitals.  Tehran, Baghdad, Kabul, Riyadh.  People move to the cities looking for jobs.  Most cities are ancient and contrast with the newer sections.

GOVERNMENTS, ISSUES AND CHALLENGES  Politics and concerns for the future center around three basic themes.  Use of oil wealth.  Preservation of authority of traditional leaders.  Role of Islam in a modernizing world.

OIL WEALTH AND POWER  Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter.  Key member of OPEC.  Controls Islam’s holies city, Mecca.  Absolute monarch who maintains Arab traditions.  Iran suffered a revolution in 1979, deposing the shah and replacing the leadership with religious leaders or ayatollahs.  Government is a theocracy.

IRAQ  Iraq was ruled by a dictator, Saddam Hussein, until  After raising a large military, Saddam invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in  Coalition forces, led by the U.S., liberated Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War.  U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 after Iraq refused to allow U.N. inspectors to check for violations of U.N. sanctions.  New government was elected in 2005.