Geography of the Middle East The region known as the Middle East straddles three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa

Geography of the Middle East It has connected major trade routes since ancient times between Europe, India, and China, both by land and sea

Geography of the Middle East The Middle East has key strategic waterways through which the flow of trade must pass:

Diffusion Many different civilizations have either sprang up or passed through the Middle East and left their mark These people and civilizations spread their ideas, inventions, languages, and achievements Diffusion has occurred through both trade and warfare

Diffusion Ancient Sumer: Contributions: Cuneiform The Lateen Sail The Potters Wheel Bronze-Making

Diffusion Hittites: Known for their mastery of iron Spread their culture through warfare Phoenicians: Ancient shipbuilders and traders who established many colonies throughout the Mediterranean Gave us their alphabet, which the Greek and Latin alphabets are based on

Diffusion Babylonians: Gave us a collection of laws which became the foundation for all future codes of law Code of Hammurabi

Diffusion Hellenistic Civilization: the blending of ancient Greek culture with the cultures of the Middle East Occurred as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great

Other Ancient Civilizations Persians: Zoroastrian religion, postal service Romans: roads, laws, Latin alphabet, architecture Byzantines: preservers of Classical knowledge during the Dark Ages

Modern Day People Arabs: majority ethnic group Kurds: found in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria Persians: found in Iran Armenians Turks: modern day Turkey Berbers: North Africa

Languages Arabic: majority ethnic group Kurdish: found in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria Farsi: spoken in Iran Turkish Berber: North Africa

Five Regions of the Middle East The Northern Tier The Arabian Peninsula The Fertile Crescent The Nile River Valley The Maghreb

The Northern Tier Stretches across Turkey and Iran Region of mountains and plateaus Consists of the Anatolian Plateau and the Iranian Plateau

Anatolian Plateau Fertile soil Good for farming Can support a large population

Iranian Plateau Very dry Sparsely populated

Northern Tier The eastern border of the Northern Tier is the Zagros Mountains These mountains are both high and rugged, and have separated the Fertile Crescent from Persia

Arabian Peninsula Small population scattered throughout the region, depending on where water sources are located Lack of water BUT lots and lots of oil!!! Birthplace of Islam

Saudi Pipeline

Al-Masjid al-Haram (The Holy Mosque)

The Fertile Crescent Arc-shaped region that stretches from the Tigris and Euphrates river valley to the Persian Gulf 1.Very rich soil which is great for farming 2.Rivers were filled with fish 3.Prone to flooding 4.Lack of natural barriers has made it vulnerable to attack by outside powers: Sumerians-Hittites-Assyrians-Babylonians- Persians-Greeks-Parthians-Romans-Arabs- Ottomans-British and French-United States???

The Fertile Crescent In the Fertile Crescent, people had to band together for two reasons: 1. to control the rivers and make the land suitable for farming 2. defend themselves This gave rise to the first civilizations: (Sumer)

The Fertile Crescent

The Nile Valley Enjoyed a safer and more reliable flood season than Mesopotamia

Nile River Valley cont’d Protected from invaders by deserts to the West and East

Nile River Valley cont’d The Nile River Valley gave rise to the civilization of Ancient Egypt

The Maghreb Means “western isle.” Most people live along the coast Region is bordered by the Sahara Desert to the south and the Atlas Mountains to the West