Exam #1 Flashcards
Describe the 4 Gulf Wars…
1) Iraq Vs. Iran (1980)
2) US War the followed Iraqs Invasion of Kuwayt (1990)
3) US invasion of Iraq (2003)
4) ISIS????
What are the 3 different names of the middle east?
1) Levant
2) Holy Land
3) Near East
What are the two possible origins of the phrase “Middle East”?
1) Alfred Thayer Mahan: Military school teacher who was removed from teaching refered to the Persian/Arabian Gulf as “The Middle East”
2) The British Command office in Cairo was called the “Middle East Command” during WW2
What country today was once known as Persia?
Iran
What is unique about Arabic and Farsi?
Vowels are not written
What are the Egyptians referred to as?
Hamitic People
what Two groups of people are Semitic?
Jews and Arabs
What is ironic about the Jews and Arabs?
The Have a Common ethnic and Linguistic backgroud. At one point they were essentially one people
Why can’t the Middle East be labeled as the “Arab world?”
because Egyptians in Egypt, Turks in Turkey, and Persians in Iran create a very large population in the area
Why can’t the Middle East be labeled the “Islamic world?”
Because the Largest populations of Islamic People live in: 1) Indonesia and 2) India 3) Pakistan
What is a monotheistic religion?
Belief in a Single, All powerful, God.
What are the monotheistic religions in the middle East and in what Chronological Order did they Rise?
1) Judaism (1800 BC)
2) Christianity (1 AD)
3) Zoroastrianism (1500-1200 BC)
4) Islam (622 AD)
Name the Deserts of the Middle East and Where they are…
1) Sahara Desert: Stretches from Morocco to Egypt
2) Rub Al-Kali Desert: Far South of Saudi Arabia
3) Nafud: Northern Saudi, Iraq, Jordan, Syria
Iranian Deserts:
1) Dasht-i-lut: Sandy Desert- Directly south of kavir desert
2)Dasht-i-kavir: Salt Desert- Southeast of Tehran
What mountains are there in the Middle East?
- MT. SAHNAI
- HEJAZ: Mtn/Coast Region of Iran
- LEBANON Mtns
- ANTI-LEBANON Mtns
- MT. HEBRON:
- TAURUS MTNS: Turkey
- Iranian Mtns:
1) ELBORZ
2) ALBORZ
3) ZAGROS - Afghanistan Mtns:
1) HINDU KUSH - CAUCUS MTNS.
Why are the 5 seas in the Middle East?
- Mediterranean Sea
- Black Sea
- Red Sea
- Persian Gulf (AKA Arabian Sea)
- Caspian Sea
Where did the white population of the World begin
The Caucus mountains- Thats why white people are called “caucasians”
The People from the caucus region supposedly have what gift? (Georgia Myth)
Very Long Life
Demography is….
A Picture of where people live
The demography of the middle east is dictated by what?
Water
List the Rivers in the Middle East
-THE NILE: Heart of Egypt, Runs south to north into the Mediterranean sea
-THE JORDAN: Runs from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Serves as Boundary between Jordan and Israel.
IRAQI RIVERS:
-TIGRIS: Runs South
-EUPHRATES: Runs South
-SHATT AL-ARAB (Iraq) or ARVAND RUD (Iran): The Tigris and Euphrates merge to create this river that runs into the Persian gulf. Big spot for oil refineries.
Name the Critical waterways in the Middle East.
- Suez Canal
- Turkish Straits
- Persian Gulf (Straits of Hormuz)
- Straits of Tiran
- Aqaba
- straits of ManDab
What is significant about the major waterways?
They have all been a cause for engaging in or talking about war at some point.
List the Basic Ethic/ linguistic Groups in the Middle East.
- SEMITIC: Arab (Arabic), Jews (Hebrew)
- INDO-IRANIAN: Iranian and Kurds (Farsi) *Subgroup of Indo-europeans
- ALTAIC UGRIE: The Turks
- HAMETIC: Egyptians
- BERBER: Africans
- INDO-EUROPEAN: Armenians, Georgians (South of the Caucuses)
When was the name Persia Changed to Iran?
1935
What is the difference between Arabic and Farsi?
Farsi has 4 added letters
What is Jahiliya?
The “Period of Ignorance”. The time before Muhammad brought the “word of God”
Who was Herodotus?
Greek Historian that lived around 470 BC. First person to suggest a division between East and West. Mainly wrote about the wars of the Greek City-States against the Persians
What did the Greeks give us?
The division of religion and the division of government
What happened in 500 AD?
A War between the Byzantine Empire (West:The Remains of Rome, and very Christian) and The Sassanian Empire (East: Latest Persian Empire and Zoroastrian)
What were the major contributors of the War in 500 AD?
Primary: Religion
Secondary: Control of the Frankincense Trade
What are the Shoot offs from Zoroastrianism?
MITHAISM: 3rd Century BC. Common teachings concern and afterlife and baptism in blood
MANICHAEISM: 300 AD The Prophet Mani (AKA “the Prophet of Doom”). taught that Eve was seduced by the serpent in the Garden of Eden and that mankind is a product of them mating. taught complete celibacy so that mankind would die out and some be resurrected.
What is so interesting about St. Augustine?
St. Augustine Converted from Manichaeism to Christianity and it was about that time that the idea of complete celibacy begins in Christianity
Who Hellena and why is she important?
She is Constantine’s Mother. She claims to finding the tomb of Christ and builds “The Church of the Holy Sepulcher” over it. She also claims to have found the actual cross that Christ was crucified on along with the head of the spear that pierced the side of Christ.
What are the two different types of Camel?
dromedary: One humped Camel. Inhabits the Middle East and the Horn of Africa
bactrian: two humped camel. Inhabits Central Asia
