Geography and Early History of the Middle East Chapter 25
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Section 1 The Land and The People What is the Middle East?
Europeans invented the term to describe the region that lies
between Europe and distant parts of Asia Middle only in relation to
Europe
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Crossroads of the World Crossroads of three continents: Africa,
Asia, and Europe Connected major trade routes Caravans from India
and China brought goods to the busy markets of the Middle East
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Cultural diffusion Over thousands of years, migrating peoples,
traders, and conquerors crossed the Middle East They spread ideas,
inventions, and achievements of many civilizations Iron making, the
alphabet, religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Arabic numerals spread to the ME from India and the lateen sail
from Southeast Asia
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Strategic location Some ME nations sit on vital sea routes Some
sit atop vast reserves of oil The ME is important to the world for
military and economic reasons Egypt-Suez Canal Turkey-Bosporus and
the Dardanelles Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of Persian
Gulf-transports huge tankers of oil for industries and homes around
the world.
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Five major regions Northern Tier Stretches across present-day
Turkey and Iran Mountains and plateaus In the West lies the
Anatolian Plateau-fertile soil The Anatolian Plateau is located in
Asia Minor, a large peninsula that connects Asia and Europe In the
East likes the Iranian Plateau-dry
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Arabian Peninsula A vast plateau that is about 1/3 the size of
the US Borders several important bodies of water: Red Sea, Arabian
Sea, and the Persian Gulf Saudi Arabia is the largest nation in the
region Small population due to lack of water Mostly a barren desert
Most people live around scattered oasis Huge oil deposits
Birthplace of Islam
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Fertile Crescent An arc-shaped region that stretches from the
eastern Mediterranean along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the
Persian Gulf Rich soil and abundant water One of the worlds
earliest civilizations emerged in the fertile Tigris-Euphrates
Valley Few natural barriers allowed for invaders to control its
fertile land Wealthiest settlements lay in Mesopotamia land between
rivers Flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers spread fertile
soil over the region Flooding is unpredictable
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Nile Valley Northeastern Africa was a cradle of ancient
civilizations Deserts in the east and west protect this region from
invaders Flooding of the Nile is predictable Trade linked Egyptians
in the Nile Valley with the people in the Fertile Crescent Caravans
and armies from Egypt crossed the Sinai Peninsula, while ships
sailed from Nile delta ports to lands adjoining the
Mediterranean
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The Maghreb Includes the North African nations of Algeria,
Tunisia, and Morocco western isle Chief features of this region are
the Sahara and Atlas rugged mountains Major crossroads-commands the
southern rim of the Mediterranean and a gateway to the Atlantic
Traders exchanged goods from West Africa, Europe, and the Middle
East
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Climate and Resources Climate has dictated where people live in
the ME Nearly all of the region is a desert People clustered in
well-watered areas along the coasts and in river valleys where they
irrigate and farm Less than 10% of the region receives enough water
to farm Irrigation is extremely important for life in the ME Oil is
the most important resource in the ME
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Peoples Many different peoples, languages, religions and
traditions Major languages are: Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, Kurdish,
Persian, Greek, and Armenian Major religions are: Islam,
Christianity, Judaism 19 countries and almost 350 million
people
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Ethnic diversity Arabs are the majority group in many ME
countries What is an Arab? Mid-600s Arabs from the Arabian
Peninsula conquered many different peoples in the ME Arabic
language and the religion of Islam Today, the term Arab is used to
describe anyone whose native language is Arabic Other groups
include Turks, Iranians and Kurds
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Religious diversity The majority religion is Islam Most Arabs
are Muslim Many non-Arabic people are also Muslim A significant
number of Christians live in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria
Judaism is the most ancient of the three religions in the ME In
Israel, the majority of the people are Jewish