iraq and iran Flashcards
middle east term
coined by the british
largest ethnic group in middle east
arabs
what is the term arabs
term referring to people originally from arabian peninsula - not all arabs are muslims, and all muslims are not arabs, but arabs are 20% of the worlds muslim population
what are the three abrahamic faiths
judaism, islam, and christianity
where is the holy land
modern day Israel - Jerusalem - three faiths have a claim over it
Judaism claim to holy land
calls it promised land, major events in their religion happened there, holiest sight is the western wall, the only extant structure from the second temple
Islam claim to holy land
Jerusalem is the third holiest city, holiest site is Dome of the Rock (Al-Aqsa Mosque - believed to be where muhammed ascended to heaven and spoke to allah
christianity claim to holy land
major events of Jesus’s life happened there, holy city, death and resurection occured there, church of the holy sepulchre is said to be the site where christ was crucified and to contain christ’s empty tomb
ottoman empire
controlled middle east starting in 1500s, Sykes-Picot Agreement created by france and britian divided the areas of the ottoman empire after they lost WW1
the mandate system
Britian and France gave mandates to the freed states after WW1, goal was to move mandates toward independence, strong resistance to mandate system up through WW2, after WW2 the mandates became independent nations
state
a political entity with defined borders
nation
a group with common cultural, religious, linguistic, or historical backgrounds
Zionism
movement for self-determination and statehood for the jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel
Theodor Herzl
organized movement to promote zionism, advocated for international recongnition of an independent and soverign jewish state in the land of Israel
UN resolution
confirmed international recognition for the jewish sovereignty, created to states (one arab one jewish) but Jerusalem was put under international control, supported by 33 countries including USA and USSR, only arab world opposed
population of Palestine
1.3 million Arab and 600k jews - lots of jews moved to palestine as a result of antisemitism in europe
America worrying about angering arabs
Arab nation controlled much of oil production and we did not want to loose that
arab israeli war
May 14, 1948, the day Israel and Palestine were both created, five arab nations invaded Israel. Israelis won the war even though they were greatly under supplied
