Geography - Chapter 4
History and Culture - Caliphs
-632 CE the expansion of Islam spread to the borders of India to the Pyrenees during the Umayyad caliph -In 750 Abbas, uncle of the Prophet took control creating the Abbasid Caliph. Baghdad is made the capital and center of trade -In 809 Abbasids lose power and rule in name only, the regions break up into a number of smaller kingdoms
World Regions
-A large scale geographic division based on continental and physiographic settings that contain major clusters and humankind with broadly similar cultural attributes -Belief systems that have adherents worldwide
OPEC
-A specialist economic organization with the central purpose of fixing crude oil prices among its member states -Has 12 members dominated by Middle Eastern and Arab states
Gravity System
-A type of water mining where holes are drilled into the ground at the foot of a mountain or hill to tap local groundwater -Known as qanat in Iran -Known as flaj on the Arabian peninsula -Known as foggara in North Africa
History and Culture - Mandates
-Areas that were neither colonized or allowed independence -Administered by a European power with a promise and preparation for self government and independence
Three Dominant Mountain Ranges
-Atlas -Taurus -Elburz & Zagros
Peasant Farmer (villager)
-Cornerstone of the trilogy, grow stable crops (wheat of barley) that feed both the city dweller & pastoral nomad -Supplies taxes, soldiers, and workers for the city -Plunder for the pastoral nomads
Fossil Fuels
-Deposits of hydrocarbon that have developed over millions of years from the remains of plants and animals, which have been converted to potential energy sources under extreme pressure below Earth's surface -Includes coal, oil, and gas
Middle East
-Dry -Oil -Islamic -Conflict
History and Culture - Ottoman Empire
-Founded in 1300 CE by Osman I -Was at the height of its power in 1512 -By 1820 the Empire is falling apart
Four Major River Systems
-Nile -Jordan -Euphrates & Tigris -Syr Darya & Amu Darya
Muslim
-One who surrenders to God -A member of the Islamic religion
Middle Eastern Ecological Triology
-Peasant Farmer (villager) -Pastoral Nomads -Urbanities (city dwellers)
Islam
-Submission to the will of God (Allah) -Muslim -Monotheistic -Recognizes Moses, Abraham, & Jesus, but considers Mohammad to be the last prophet -Follows the writing of the Qu'ran -Disagreement between the two branches are concerned with the succession of leadership after Mohammad's death
Two Branches of Islam
-Sunni (Sunny) -Shiite (Shia)
Pastoral Nomads
-Supply villagers with livestock products, cheese, milk, hides -Desert herbs & medicines
History and Culture - Trade
-The Middle East has always been a crossroads, this is the most evident when looking at trade routes -The world was highly integrated before contemporary globalization -Timar the Great
Middle East - Oil
-The Persian Gulf region has the majority of oil, as one moves away from it the less oil there is -Organization of OPEC
Middle East - Dry
-The Sahara is over 3,000 miles. The US could fit inside of it -The Arabian Peninsula is mostly desert -Yet, around the Mediterranean, Northern Iran, the Amu Daria & Samu Daria region, there is enough precipitation for agriculture
Desertification
-The process by which arid and semiarid lands become degraded and less productive, leading to desertlike conditions
Unequal Distribution of Wealth in the Middle East
-These countries adjacent to the Persian Gulf are the richest (petrodollars) -Exception is Israel. Computer & high tech companies, Diamond processing & distribution, assistance from Jewish organizations
Middle East - Islamic
-This region is predominantly Muslim -Three groups: Sunni, Shi'a, and Sufi -Sharia (Islamic law)
Physical Geography of MENA
-Three quarters of the land receives less than 10 inches of precipitation a year -Winter & Spring storms bring rain to coastal areas -The regions climates have a wide range of temperature variations -Nights can be surprisingly cool -Summers are hot everywhere (104-116 degrees); mild winters (except Iran and Turkey) -Dust storms, sirocco, haboob -Irrigation has been the key to success -Over-exploitation & Desertification -Some plant species are extinct. Like the forests.
Ethnic and Language
-Turkic -Semitic -Indo European -French, English, and Spanish
Why the Middle East is Underdeveloped
-Unequal distribution of wealth & natural resources -Easy to over use natural resources -The Golden Age of Islam came to an end -They were 'bypassed' -Ottoman Stagnation
Population of MENA
-Unlike Europe & the US, the Middle East is going through a population explosion -60% of MENA's population is 25 years old -The number of young between 15-24 is expecting to grow until peaking at 100 million in 2035 -Much of the high growth rate is attributed to poverty
Middle East - Conflict
-Up to WWI, the Ottoman Empire controlled the region -After WWI, boundaries were created to ensure hostility -Many of the new countries became mandates of Britain & France -During the Cold War it became a battleground between US and Soviets -There is religious and ethnic strife
Balfour Declaration
A 1917 British mandate that required the establishment of a Jewish national homeland
Aridity
A characteristic of a climate with insufficient moisture to support trees or woody plants
First Arab-Israeli War
A conflict that took place in 1948 when British forces withdrew from Palestine. The war pitted Arab forces against a recently established Jewish state with the goal of eradicating Israel
Mandates
A delegation of political power over a region, province, or state
Guest Workers
A foreigner who is permitted to work in another country on a temporary basis
Orthodox Judaism
A group that represents a small percentage of practicing Jewish people in the Middle East and North Africa who live according to strict adherence to the religious texts of the Old Testament
Tribe
A group that shared a common set of ideas about collective loyalty and political action
Petroleum
A liquid compound that can be converted into fuel and developed into energy sources, lubricants, waxes, asphalt, and medicine
Chador
A loose robe worn by Muslim women that covers most of the body
Jihadist
A member of the global movement that seeks war on behalf of Islam against those who oppose the religion
Pan-Arabism
A movement across the Middle East and North Africa to ally Arab peoples against the Ottomans prior to WWI and later Europeans during the colonial and postcolonial periods
Zionism
A movement whose chief objective has been the establishment of a legally recognized home in Palestine for the Jewish people
Union for the Mediterranean
A multilateral partnership that encompasses 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin established to form links across the Mediterranean with the European Union
Hasidism
A mystical offshoot of Judaism, practiced by a very small percentage of Jews
Rain Shadow
A phenomenon that occurs when mountains cause most of the moisture contained in the air masses passing over them to condense and fall as rain on the mountains, dry air then descends and warms creating dry conditions and deserts on the landward side of the mountains
Hajj
A pilgrimage to Mecca required of all Muslims
Hezbollah
A political and military organization based in Lebanon, in which some members are part of militias with a main goal of destroying the state of Israel
Desalinization
A process that coverts saltwater into drinking water
Fertile Crescent
A region arching across the Northern part of the Syrian Desert and extending from the Nile Valley to the Mesopotamian Basin in the depression between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Occupied Territories
A region under Israeli occupation that includes the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights where many Palestinians live as refugees
The Arab League
A regional alliance in the Middle East founded in 1945 to strengthen ties among member states, set policies, and promote common interests
Jihad
A sacred struggle or striving to carry out God's will according to the tenets of Islam
Shi'a
A sect of Islam whose beliefs are based on an interpretation of Islam in 7th century CE; adherents are mostly located in Iran and Iraq
Sunna
A set of practical guidelines for Islamic behavior - the body of traditions derived from the words and actions of the prophet Muhammad
Carbon Market
A system in which countries and companies are required to reduce emissions and can earn so-called carbon credits toward meeting their reduction obligations by investing in reducing emissions in developing countries
Wet Farming
Agriculture that involves irrigation
Kurds
An ethnic group and non-Arabic people who are mostly Sunni Muslims and who have been struggling with both the Turkish and Iranian governments for autonomy
Internally Displaced Person
An individual who is uprooted within his or her own country due to civil conflict or human rights violations
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
An organization that coordinates political, economic, and cultural issues of concern to its six members
Intifada
An uprising of Palestinians in the 1980s against the rule of Israel in the Occupied Territories
Semitic
Arabic, Hebrew, and Aramaic
Dry Farming
Arable farming techniques that allow the cultivation of crops without irrigation in regions of limited moisture
B
Cultural differences are some of the reasons for the tensions between Iraq and Iran, because most Iraqis are _______, while most Iranians are _________. A. Persian/Arabic B. Arabic/Persian C. Arabic/Jewish D. Sunni/Shi'ia E. None of the above
Informal Economy
Economic activities that take place beyond the official record and not subject to formalized systems of regulation or remuneration (i.e. street selling and petty crime)
Lebanon
Has 5 million people and the slowest growth rate (.09%) in the region
History and Culture - Empires
Has had a number of key civilizations & Empires over the past 10,000 years -Egypt -Sumerians -Assyria -Babylonian -Persian Empire -Alexander -Hellenized -Rome
Water Mining
Involves a system of low-gradient tunnels that collects groundwater and brings it to the surface through gravity flow
Shari'a
Islamic canonical law and the foundation of political institutions in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, and Yemen
True
Jihad can mean both a personal struggle and the struggle of a community. True/False?
History and Culture - Religion
Judaism, Christianity, Islam all developed within the region; all three diffused from each other (Abrahamic)
Indo European
Kurdish, Persian, Armenian
Hydraulic Civilizations
Large state societies hypothesized to have arisen from the needs of organizing massive irrigation systems
True
Nearly three-quarters of the region experiences average annual rainfall of less than 250 millimeters (10 inches). True/False?
Secularism
Nonreligious
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
Nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological devices that can kill large numbers of people, and/or cause widespread damage to the built environment or the biosphere
A
OPEC is: A. A group of oil-exporting nations B. A Muslim group C. An Arabic group D. All of these E. None of these
National Movements
Organized groups of people sharing common elements of culture, such as language, religion, history, who wish to determine their own political affairs
Elburz and Zagros Mountains
Orographic lifting plays a prominent role in "this"
Oases
Places in arid and desert environments where underground water percolates to the surface producing fertile soils that can support plant and animal life
Islamism
Political movement or political identity that promotes Islamic law, pan-Islamic unity, and rejection of Western influences in the Muslim world
Afforestation
Programs that convert previously non-forested land to forest by planting seeds or trees
Petrodollars
Revenue generated by the sale of oil
Urbanities (city dwellers)
Technological innovations, manufactured goods and medicines
False
The "Cedars of Lebanon" no longer exist due to extensive deforestation. True/False?
C
The African Arab militia responsible for one of the most brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing that Africa has ever seen is called: A.Bumiputra B. Hutu C. Janjaweed D. Desakota E. Tutsi
Qital
The Arabic word for fighting or warfare refers to a form of jihad in terms of conquest or conversion against nonbelievers
Hamas
The Islamic Palestinian party founded in 1987 that largely governs the Gaza Strip and whom the Israeli government refuses to recognize or negotiate with
Qur'an
The Islamic sacred book; Muslims believe the contents are the direct spoken words of God to Muhammad
Apostasy
The abandonment or reunciation of religious faith or beliefs
Transhumance
The action of moving herds according to seasonal rhythms
Mecca
The city in present day Saudi Arabia where Muhammad was born in 570 CE
B
The holy book of Islam is the: A. Shia B. Qur'an C. Shari'a D. Sunni E. None of the above
Over-exploitation
The landscape has been dramatically transformed
Janjaweed
The militia of African Arabs supported by the authoritarian Islamic Sudanese government to fight the rebellion of native Africans in Darfur
Egypt
The most populated state at 87.9 million & has a growing increase rate of 2.6%
Gaza Strip
The part of the Occupied Territories in which Palestinians live, located on the Mediterranean coast
Nationalization
The process of converting key industries from private to governmental organization and control
Sunni
The sect of Islam practiced by the majority of Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa
Kinship
The shared notion of relationship among members of a group often, but not necessarily, based on blood, marriage, or adoption
Iran & Turkey
These states are in the humid continental climate zone
Turkic
Turkish & Azeri
D
Which of the following is the dominant religion in the Middle East and North Africa? A. Christianity B. Judaism C. Zoroastrianism D. Islam E. None of the above
D
Which of the following is the oldest monotheistic religion? A. Christianity B. Islam C. Druse (Druze) D. Judaism E. None of the above
