The Middle EastI. Historical

A. Ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia (between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers- modern Iraq)

1. Sumerians 4000 – 3000 BC

a. cuneiform- wedge shaped writing

b. ziggurats- pyramid shaped

brick temples

c. built city-statesd. developed irrigation systems

Cuneiform

ziggurat

ziggurat

Sumerian mosaic

2. Assyrians- first to develop iron

weapons

3. Babylonians

a. Hammurabi’s Code

b. Nebuchadnezzar’s Hanging

Gardens of Babylon

Code of Hammurabi

• If a man puts out the eye of a patrician, his eye shall be put out.

• If a man knocks the teeth out of another man, his own teeth will be knocked out.

• If anyone strikes the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.

• If a freeborn man strikes the body of another freeborn man of equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina.

• If the slave of a freed man strikes the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.

• If anyone commits a robbery and is caught, he shall be put to death.

Hanging Gardens of

Babylon

4. Persians (modern Iran)- conquered much

of Middle East under Darius the Great

Darius the

Great

5. Phoenicians

a. traded purple dye along the

Mediterranean

b. spread alphabet around the

region

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Purpur-mit-Ausfaerbung.png

B. Religion1. Judaism- First monotheistic religion.

Established in Israel around 3000 BC

2. Christianity-founded by Jesus in

Jerusalem

Jewish writings- the

Torah

Jerusalem

3. Islam- means submission to Allah

a. developed among Bedouin nomads in Arabia, early 600’s AD

b. Mohammed- prophet of Allah

c. rapid spread across N. Africa

The Great Mosque in Mecca

C. Colonialism

1. Ottoman Turks control area from Middle Ages until 1918

2. European powers in control until after WWII

II. Physical GeographyA. Mostly arid plains and plateaus

B. Some uninhabitable deserts- The Rub al Khali

C. Climates

1. arid year round

2. decent rainfall along coast

D. Water

1. Major rivers- Tigris and Euphrates

2. Oasis- desert waterhole

E. Oil!!

1. OPEC- Organization of Petroleum

Exporting Countries

2. Saudi Arabia- Leading producer

OPEC

Palm Island in Dubai