I. Major Geographic Qualities: (page 345) II. Defining the Realm ( )

Transcription

1 Chapter 7: North Africa and Southwest Asia Part One: pages Student Notes Please do not write on the T-Lines, those are reserved for the teacher s notes you will get later. I. Major Geographic Qualities: (page 345) 1) Several of the world s greatest civilizations based in its river valleys and basins 2) Cultural Hearths: ideas, innovations, technology spread to the world 3) Home of Judaism, Christianity, Islam 4) Islam, the last of the religions expanded rapidly and far 5) Drought and variable precipitation dominate the region 6) Enormous oil/gas reserves provide great wealth and worsen poverty 7) Boundaries are volatile 8) Conflicts over water and supplies threaten the region 9) Middle East is the heart of the realm 10) Religion, ethnicity, and culture conflicts bring instability and strife II. Defining the Realm ( ) A. Dry World: Area is very dry, People live around bodies of water a. Majority of the realm is dry/arid climate Exceptions: Peripheral regions of Turkey Northwest section of Iran Oases scattered throughout the realm Great river valleys Where most people live? Around Water resources like: The Nile Valley Mediterranean Sea Euphrates & Tigris Basin Lower mountain slopes of Iran, south of the Caspian Sea 1

2 The Middle East Middle East - Based off of Western World bias To someone in India, it would make more sense to be the Middle West than the Middle East An Arab World Term comes from the people of the realm who speak the Arabic languages, this only applies to a part of this region. An Islamic World This term is misleading as well It suggests that this is the only place Islam can be found & that only Islam will be found in this region Muhammad s teaching spread all across the globe Have a very powerful influence E. Language: (Not in the text) Relates to language as a cultural feature of this realm Arabic is the dominant language in 16 States of the realm. In Non-Arab States, indigenous languages dominate Turkey Turkish (Lingua Franca) Iran Farsi (Lingua Franca) Israel - Hebrew (Lingua Franca) Niger French (Lingua Franca) III. Hearths of Culture two of the world s first cultural hearths ( ) Geographic Terms: Cultural Geography: Studies spatial aspects of human culture Cultural Hearths: crucibles of civilizations, source of ideas, innovations & ideologies Cultural Diffusion: spreading of these cultural ideas and innovations Cultural Environment: the dominate culture of a region dictates/creates the overall culture Cultural Ecology: the relationship between human societies and natural environments 2

3 General Information on Region: Great strides in domesticating animals, crops, science, health, math, astronomy, engineering, metallurgy 1. Mesopotamia - World s first states Land amidst the rivers Tigris & Euphrates rivers Fertile Crescent they were Innovative farmers, used irrigation. The knowledge from this agricultural hearth diffused from Mesopotamia across Southern Turkey into Syria and the Mediterranean Hydraulic Civilization Theory: Cities who used water/irrigation control others Babylon (4100 BC) 2. Egypt/Nile Egyptians used the Nile for: Protection Rapids & the desert Irrigation Produced a steady food supply Commerce Acted as a method of easy transportation 3. Indus Valley: 3

4 Lies outside of the realm, however has cultural & commercial ties to Mesopotamia 4. Decline and Decay: Reasons for Decline: Climate Change Glaciers & floods created new spots for people to live Overpopulation Destruction of natural vegetation Overuse Depletes the soil Results: As older societies collapsed, the power shifted elsewhere. First to the Persians, then to the Greeks, then to the Romans IV. Stage for Islam ( ) Introduction: Arabian Peninsula escaped invasions Arab society and culture was in disarray Muhammad ( ): Forcefully taught lesson of Allah Revelations from God in 611 B. Faith 4

5 Mecca: Islam s holiest location Islam: United and mobilized Arab society almost overnight, Political, Way of life Combined: Judaism and Christianity Muhammad: final and greatest prophet Beliefs: What is Earthly & worldly is profane; only Allah is pure; Allah s will be absolute; Allah is omniscient (all knowledge) and omnipotent (powerful); all humans live in Allah s world and are waiting for His judgment Five Pillars of Faith: 1. Repeated expressions of the Creed 2. Daily Prayer 3. One month of daytime fasting (Ramadhan) 4. Alms-giving (Charity) 5. At least one pilgrimage to the Mecca (Hajj) C. Arab-Islamic Empire: Islam spread rapidly by AD

6 D. Diffusion: Spatial Diffusion: the way ideas, inventions, and cultural practices propagate through a population in a given space and time. General Points: - Arabs overshadowed Europeans in Architecture, Math, Science, institutions of higher learning in many cities (Baghdad, Cairo, Toledo) - Crusades were carried out in response - Stopped when Mongols entered Europe, them Islam pushed again Ottoman Empire V. Islam Divided ( ) A. Introduction: Islam is still fragmented over who should be the successor or the Caliph of Muhammad Sunnis Believe that anyone of the faith who was a good leader could be the successor Shi ites Believe the successor should be followed by blood, his cousin Ali 6

7 B. Strength of Shi ism Persia (Iran) was the only to adopt Shiism Shiism remerged in Iran during the 1970s when it overthrew the secular government. The United States backed secular government King was replaced with an Ayatollah (Leader under Allah) Left: Mohammad Reza, Shah of Iran Right: Ruhollah Khomeini (Ayatollah Khomeini) 7

8 C. Religious Revivalism: Turned away from Western ideology, it corrupted the Islamic way Urban women shifted to more traditional jobs Religious leaders were put in charge of the gov. War with Iraq ( ) became a Holy War It was over border disputes previously Much internal conflict between moderates & militants Osama Bin Landen as followed this path, however he wished to return Saudi Arabia to an Islamic State Through Sharia law The largest struggle was between Israel and Islamic world D. Muslim vs. Muslim: Militants planned to carry out attacks on moderates Mullahs (Teachers of Islamic Way) were given more power government E. Other Religions Christians invaded Muslim world (Crusades) frequently to retake what had been Christian areas, which had been Jewish previously. F. Ottoman Aftermath Empires namesake comes from Osman I of Turkey (1453) He amassed a great empire (Eastern Europe, Persia, Mesopotamia, North Africa) The empire ruled for 4 centuries Then lost power in Eastern Europe, then in Russia Europeans took the lands they conquered (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen) Boundaries were poorly defined, resulted in quarrels 8

9 VI. Power and Peril of Oil ( ) Two biggest obstacles: Israel & Oil A. Dimensions: 77% of the world s oil is from this region Major Oil Producing Nations: 1. Saudi Arabia (267 billion barrels) 2. Iraq (114) 3. United Arab Emirates (101) 4. Kuwait (97) 5. Iran (91) Canada has the potential to be the greatest oil producer in the world However, its oil reserves are locked into what s known as Tar Sands Very difficult and very expensive to recover the oil B. Foreign Invasions: Middle East nations lacked skills, capital, or equipment to properly utilize their natural resources They had to bring in help from the West, this created conflict Haves vs. Have-nots = Internal conflict United States conducted covert operations to create the Iran we know today C. Impact of Oil: Incomes: High incomes for states and people Modernization: Oil $ is used to modernize infrastructure Industrialization: Realizing oil won t last forever, governments seek to diversify 9

10 Intra-Realm Migration: Shiites and Palestinians moved into areas to find work, throwing balance off. Inter-Realm Migration: Workers from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka come to the area to seek work Regional Disparities: Very large differences between nations modern/old, rich/poor.. Foreign Investment: Arab make investments in foreign countries, intertwined with global matters 10