Middle+East

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I chose this region of land as the Middle East because it seems to have been the heart of the Ottomon Empire in the 19th century. This region also shares one common language, Arabic. The people who live in this region are also Arabs, sharing one common ethnicity.

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__Egypt and the Rise of Nationalism in the Middle East:__ __War and Nationalist Movements in the Middle East:__ __Revolt in Egypt:__ __Conflicting nationalisms: Arabs, Israelis, and the Palestinean Question__
 * __MI: The Egyptian middle class begins to resistance British occupation through the press and organized revolts, and it was only a matter of time until the entire nation surged toward independence.__**
 * Risings by **Ahmed Orabi** and others lead to British occupation in 1882, attempt to free Egyptians of Turkish overlords and Europeans.
 * **Lord Cromer** initiates economic and political reforms in Egypt, work mainly to aid middle- and elite classes at expense of mass population
 * The **ayans**, or landlords in rural areas, amassed great wealth from British policies, as the British also relied on these ayans to extend control to rural areas.
 * Resistance to the occupation was left mainly to the middle class. The sons of the **effendi**, or prosperous business families, led nationalist movements.
 * Arabic newspapers begin to expose British corruption and mistakes to support of resistance. Also, several nationalist parties emerged in support.
 * Before WWI, the British made heavy retaliations against Egyptian uprisings and assassination attempts, as seen in the **Dinshawai incident.**
 * Incident involved the shot wife of an imam by the British, and the clash that ensued resulted in heavy losses. Popular support for resistance and the emergence of ayan support for the cause fueled the fire of revolt.
 * Following WWI, the resistance to European occupation that had only occurred in Egypt now spread to the rest of the Middle East.
 * **Jamal Attaturk** drives the Greek out of Turkey and claims independence.
 * Attaturk introduced sweeping reforms that secularize Turkey based on Western values.
 * **Hussein**, the sherif of Mecca, persuaded the Arabs to join the British against the Turks, and the Arabs were deeply humiliated by British betrayal of pre-war promises.
 * **Zionists** were promised Palestine as part of the **Balfour Declaratio**n.
 * **Theodor Herzl**, an established Austrian journalist, formed the World Zionist Organization. He attempted to promote Jewish migration to Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish state.
 * Secret agreement b/w British and French in **Sykes Picot Agreement**, division of Arab land after WWI.
 * 1919 - Middle East -> mandates = grants of land by league of nations,
 * Muslims uprisings occured in response to Turkish calls for holy war, and British martial law was declared.
 * Mass demonstrations followed the war, and student-led riots began outright insurrection in Egypt.
 * The **Wafd** party, under its hard-driving leader **Sa'd Zaghlul** proved nationalist with a focus for unified action and a mass base far stronger than any before.
 * The Holocaust provided powerful support for a Zionist Palestine,.
 * Violent Zionist resistance to the British presence in Palestine emerged.
 * The **Haganah**, or regular Zionist military force, spearheaded Zionist assaults.
 * Neighboring Arab states violently opposed UN action, and tension would still remain.

In-Class Notes:
 * Future war? -> control.
 * 1930s British & U.S. drilling in Middle East.
 * Protecting oil supplies = key
 * 1948 - Israel is created.
 * Invaded by -> Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, Iraq.
 * By 1949, Israel = bigger


 * **Name of Leader: __Gamal Abdel Nasser__** ||
 * **Lifespan** || **Title: President** ||
 * **Country/region: Egypt** || **Years in Power: 1958-1970** ||
 * **Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power**
 * **Egypt was defeated in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948**
 * **Egypt defeated against British in battle over Suez Canal in 1952.**
 * **A political coup in 1952 toppled the khedive Farouk from power** ||
 * **Ideology, Motivation, Goals:**


 * **Began to nationalize all industries and place them under state control**
 * **Pan-Arabism - Idea that all Arab nations should unite to become one nation – Arab nationalism**
 * **Part of Free Officers Movement – revolutionary organization that observed Egyptian conditions and seized power**
 * **Social program that gave government power to carry out social and economic reform.** ||
 * **Significant Actions & events During Term of Power**
 * **Land reforms were enforced: limits on land control and excess land redistribute back to poor.**
 * **State-financial education until the college level**
 * **More than 30 % of workers under state payroll**
 * **Placed stiff restrictions on foreign investments; began interventionist policy against new Israeli state**
 * **Attempted to forge Arab unity through Nasserism, or pan-arabism**
 * **Nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956 from British control**
 * **Aswan Dam as a failure; failed to successful irrigate Nile River Valley**
 * **Lost Six-Day war against Israel in 1967.** ||
 * **Short-Term effects:**


 * **Nationalized Egyptian industries**
 * **Brought together Arabian nationalistic sentiments**
 * **Inspired further revolutions in Arab world**
 * **Instilled sense of pride in Egyptian people**
 * || **Long-Term Effects**


 * **Social and economic reforms**
 * **Agrarian reform**
 * **Suez Canal**
 * **Became a symbol of Arab dignity (as seen in 2011 revolution)** ||


 * **Name of Leader: __Ruhullah Khomeini__** ||
 * **Lifespan** || **Title: Ayatollah** ||
 * **Country/region: Iran** || **Years in Power 1979-1989** ||
 * **Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power**


 * **The Pahlavi Dynasty (Shah) was existent in Iran; backed by the West**
 * **Iran was formerly divided into British and Soviet spheres of influence – never really developed the infrastructure that accompanied colonial domination**
 * **Shah was merely a Western puppet, alienated the Iranian lower class.**
 * **Economic conditions under the oil-rich Iranian Shah were grim, the people faced mass unemployment and falling oil prices**
 * **Imposed western reforms and was very religiously incompetent.**
 * **Khomeini was exiled to France until 1979.** ||
 * **Ideology, Motivation, Goals:**
 * **Toppled the western-backed government of the Shah.**
 * **A revivalist movement of Islam – bring back the glory of the past Muslim Ummah – similar to the Third Rome**
 * **Sought to create a social order that was based on Islamic Sharia** ||
 * **Significant Actions & events During Term of Power**


 * **Introduced radical religious and social reforms**
 * **Constitutional and leftist parties were repressed.**
 * **Iran distanced itself for the atheist Communist world**
 * **Islamic law codes were put into place, theocracy was formed.**
 * **The Iran-Iraq war sucked up Iranian energies and resources, as Iraq was backed by the West and newer technology.** ||
 * **Short-Term effects:**


 * **Iran transformed from secularism**
 * **Path to brutal repression was created** || **Long-Term Effects**


 * **Transformed Iran into an Islamic theocracy**
 * **Established social and political reforms**
 * **Instilled anti-Western sentiments in Iran**

__ Middle East Summary: __ In the mid-century 20th, the Middle East was a dynamic region that underwent numerous **political** and socioeconomic shifts. Prior to WWI, tensions arose in Egypt as a result of mismanagement and the **Dinshawi** Incident. The **Dinsahwi** incident was a local skirmish between British troops and Egyptian villagers that resulted in the very first Egyptian uprisings and revolts. The uprisings would continue to gain **momentum** through and after WWI until the entire Middle East region was up in arms against European occupiers, especially after the Europeans broke territorial **concessions** and other promises of sovereignty prior to the war. As the Turks drive out the Greek and claim independence under **Attaturk**, we also begin to see the growth of **Zionism** and its establishment in Israel prior to and following 1948. US and British **oil** drillings also proliferate at this time as oil becomes more important than ever; these nations remain to be economic **assets** to European nations. Educated middle-class students and intellectuals begin revolutions against western-installed **despotic** rulers, able to unite the masses under the name of nationalism. Religious **revivalism** also plays a key role in Iran ( **Khomeini**) and Sudan (Mehdi) as religious leaders pave road to independence.