World War I



WORLD WAR I:

During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire joined forces with Germany and Austria-Hungary against Britain and France. This ultimately led to their defeat primarily by British troops. After the war, Britain and France divided most of the Middle East between them, leading to an era of European domination.

World War I

European Conflicts more:

Great Britain, France, and Russia would fight the Turks and Germans for control of Ottoman territories.

Blurb pointing to Armenia:

Russian involvement in the war was disrupted by the Communist Revolution of 1917. Armenians would suffer for having sided with Russia, in 1915 the Ottomans led a secret campaign that executed an estimated 1,000,000 Armenians.

Blurb pointing to Beirut:

The French had established a presence in Beirut when they came to the aid of Christians in 1860. They would occupy Lebanon and Syria.

Blurb pointing to Egypt:

By WWI, Great Britain occupied Egypt and eastern Arabia. They attacked the Ottomans from the south and claimed Palestine, Jordan and Iraq.

Arab Revolts more: In an effort to take the Ottomans out of the war the British encouraged Arabs to revolt against Turkish rule in favor of an independent Arab state. Hussein, the hereditary ruler of Mecca and a descendant of the Prophet Muhammed, led the revolt but when the Ottoman Empire finally fell, the British and French divided the Middle East between them instead.

Mandates

European Mandates

Great Britain and France decided to divide the Ottoman Middle East between them and obtained mandates from the League of Nations to support their claims. Borders were drawn up that did not take cultural differences into account, which resulted in many conflicts that continue today.

The Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 was drawn up between Russia, France, and Great Britain. After the Russian revolution, the Bolsheviks shared the documents with the Turks, which let the Islamic world know that the Europeans had lied about who would control the Middle East after the war.

Blurb pointing to French mandates

France gained control of Syria and Lebanon. Christians in the region benefited from French rule. France would occupy the region until 1942. Palestine was to remain neutral.

Blurb pointing to British mandates

Britain gained control of Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan. Britain awarded Prince Faisal for his support in WWI and made him King of Iraq. Iraq became an independent member of the League of Nations by 1932.

Emerging Nations more:

Western economic interests made it difficult for emerging Arab nations to develop true independence. Kingdoms that were friendly to foreign investors would come to power, and corruption and poverty was prevalent.

Blurb pointing to Egypt:

In 1922, King Fuad I was made King of Egypt under an agreement with the British. Under his families rule, the British maintained control of much of the economy, and troops would occupy most of Egypt till 1936. In the 1920s, the Moslem Brotherhood started a campaign of bombing and assassination of British targets in Egypt.

Blurb pointing to Saudi Arabia:

Ibn Saud seized control of most of the Arabian Peninsula and declared it the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Saudi's are Wahhabi Muslims that resisted foreign influence and attempts to modernize, but a poor economy forced them to give American Oil companies’ rights to drill in Saudi oil fields.

Blurb pointing to Iran:

Reza Shah Pahlavi assumed control of Persia in 1925. In 1935, he officially changed the name of Persia to Iran. He made attempts to modernize the country, and sought to reduce religious influence in the government. His policies created conflicts with Iran's Shiite Muslim population.

Blurb pointing to Turkey:

Turkey was established as a Republic in 1923 with its borders recognized by the Treaty of Lausanne. The Turks managed to fight off Greek advances at Smyrna claiming all of Anatolia and portions of Armenia and Kurdistan.

Balfour Declaration

On November 2, 1917 the British offered support for the establishment of a home for Jewish nationalists in Palestine in the form of a letter by Arthur Balfour, the British foreign secretary. This declaration was supported by the Allied powers, but fell short of generating the international support for the Jewish population in the Middle East as it was intended to do.

Blurb pointing to Tel Aviv:

In the 1800s, Jewish persecution throughout Europe led European Jews to create the Zionist movement which wanted to create a Jewish nation in Palestine. Eastern European Jews faced the most hostility, and they were the first to immigrate to Palestine. In 1909, Tel Aviv would become the first Jewish city in Palestine.

Blurb pointing to Jerusalem:

Palestine was populated mostly by Arab Muslims. Arab majority would be challenged as tens of thousands of Jews immigrated to Palestine. This led to many conflicts between Jewish settlers and native Arab Palestinians. In 1929, Arabs in Jerusalem went on a rampage attacking Jews in the area until the British army stepped in.

Oil Economy

Oil was first discovered in Persia in 1908 and in Saudi Arabia in 1938 and later in other Middle Eastern countries. This was the largest oil reserve in the world and would become the cornerstone of the Middle Eastern economy.

WORLD WAR II

Most Middle Eastern nations were not involved in the fighting during World War II, but were along important routes for soldiers and supplies between Russia and Europe. After the war however, Europe lost much of its power in the Middle East and Arab nations began establishing their independence.

War Alliances

(Mostly occupations except Turkey Iraq and Syria)

Syria: Britain and Russia

Turkey: neutral until 1945 when it declared war on Germany.

Iran: Britain and Soviets

Iraq and Syria: Pro-axis

Egypt: British

Libya: Italians and Germans

The Arab League

Seven Arab states

Happened in Cairo

In order to counter balance of US and Russia

Eventually 22 members

Oil nations

Arab American oil co. formed

Oil in UAE

OPEC established

Post-war independence

Steven: possibly countries and dates of independence established?

3)  Contemporary conflicts: The contemporary era is a time of conflict in the Middle East. The increasing importance of the oil industry, the rise of several independent states in place of regional rule, and the re-creation of Israel fueled all of these conflicts and have been the cause of many wars. Local and international powers continue to work together to bring an end to this era of violence.

US Allies in Middle East (and why?)

 Palestine-Israel

 Iran-Iraq War

 Gulf Wars

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