Title: Formation of the Modern Middle East
1Learning Objectives Each student will be able
to -Describe the political situation and the
emotional motivations that existed during the
early 1900 in the area controlled by the Ottoman
Empire (modern day Middle East) -Explain the
role the various documents/agreements (Damascus
Protocol, Belfour Agreement, Sykes-Pecot
Agreement, United Nations Mandate, etc) played in
creating the confusion and hard feelings that are
still present in the region today -List and
explain in a timeline format the major turning
points in Middle East history as it relates to
the Israeli/Palestinian territories
2 The Birth of Modern Zionism1897 Zionism is the
national liberation movement of the Jewish
people who sought to restore their independence
in their ancestral homeland. The dream of
restoration and return had been at the core of
Judaism and Jewish identity for 2,000
years. Zionists integrated this historic dream
with modern political ideals.
3Germany, Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary VS
Russia, France, GB, Italy and eventually USA
4Good Guys win, now what to do with the conquered
land?
5Formation of the Modern Middle East
- The Middle East up to and After 1919
6The Middle East in WWI The Ottoman Empire
- Controlled large areas of modern day Turkey,
Syria, Israel, Jordan, Iraw, and parts of Western
Saudi Arabia. - Ottomans fought on the side of Germany and
Austria Hungary in WW1 - Challenge British control of the Suez canal
their colonies
7British Interests and Protectorates
Suez Canal
Kuwait
8Ottoman Empire 1915-1918
- Outgunned by allied Forces
- Undermanned
- Industry couldnt keep up on destroyed weapons,
etc - Eventually defeated by British invasions into
modern day Iraq and Russia from the north
9British Wheelings And Dealings
- Muslims
- Promised independence if they assisted in the
defeat of the Ottoman Turks
Lawrence of Arabia
10Hussein-McMahon Letters, 1916
- The Arab inhabitants of the area were already
looking toward a large revolt against the Ottoman
Empire. - The British encouraged the Arabs to revolt and
thus hamper the Ottoman Empire, which had become
a German ally in the War after November 1914. - See docs (end for today)
Sharif Hussein of Mecca
11Wheeling and Dealing continue
- The SykesPicot Agreement of 1916, officially
known as the "Asia Minor Agreement", was a secret
agreement between the governments of the United
Kingdom and France, with the assent of Russia. - It defined their respective spheres of
influence and control in Western Asia after the
expected downfall of the Ottoman
Empire during World War I. - It effectively divided the Arab provinces of the
Ottoman Empire outside the Arabian peninsula into
areas of future British and French control or
influence. - This conflicted with the promise of self rule
negotiated with the Hussein-McMahon letters of
1916.
12Sykes-Picot - defined
- France was to exercise direct control over the
coastal strip of Syria, Lebanon, and the greater
part of Galilee, up to the line stretching from
north of Acre to the northwest corner of Lake
Kinneret -referred to as the "blue zone."
13Sykes-Picot - defined
- East of that zone, in the Syrian hinterland, an
Arab state was to be created under French
protection (Area "A").
14Sykes-Picot - defined
- Britain was to exercise control over southern
Mesopotamia (the "red zone"), the territory
around the Acre-Haifa bay in the Mediterranean,
with rights to build a railway from there to
Baghdad.
15Sykes-Picot - defined
- The territory east of the Jordan River and the
Negev, south of the line stretching from Gaza to
the Dead Sea, was allocated to an Arab state
under British protection (Area "B").
16Sykes-Picot - defined
- South of France's "blue zone," in the area
covering the Sanjak of Jerusalem, and extending
southwards toward the line running approximately
from Gaza to the Dead Sea, was to be a "brown
zone" under international administration.
17Sykes-Picot secret Agreement
18British Wheeling and Dealing cont
- Jews- Balfour Declaration 1917
- His Majestys Government views with favor the
establishment in Palestine of a national home for
the Jewish people and will use their best
endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this
object, it being clearly understood that nothing
shall be done which may prejudice the civil and
religious rights of existing non-Jewish
communities in Palestine
Sir Arthur James Balfour, Br. Foreign Sec.
19Ottoman Empire-Collapse 1919-1922
- Great Britain, and other Arabs eventually defeat
the Ottomans - Empire is dissolved by British at end of war
- Ottoman Empire NOT mentioned in Versailles Treaty
(ending WWI) but Great Britain gets jurisdiction
over former Ottoman territory. - Lands are partitioned (divided)
- Nationalist Groups want independence (those that
were friendly to England were put in charge) - Turkey gains independence (former Ottoman Empie
reduced to 1 independent country)
20War Ends- Arab world expects deals to be honored
1917 Bolshevik revo occurs, they (Russia) leak
the Sykes-Picot agreement, Arab mistrust begins
- The King of Syria, was the title briefly used
following the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire
in the aftermath of World War I. King Faisal
proclaimed the seat for himself, but it was not
recognized by either France or BG (Skyes-Picot) - France sends in troops to get him out, and he is
expelled - On 10 August, the Treaty of Sèvres divided the
region into League of Nations mandates governed
by France and the United Kingdom. - The British government decided to step back from
direct administration and create a monarchy to
head Iraq while they maintained the mandate. - Faisal agreed to become King following a
referendum showing 96 in favor, and on 23 August
1921, Faisal was crowned King of Iraq.
King Faisal of Syria
21Faisal-Weizmann Agreement
- On 4 January 1919, Faisal and Dr. Chaim Weizmann,
President of the World Zionist Organization
signed the FaisalWeizmann Agreement for
Arab-Jewish cooperation, in which Faisal
conditionally accepted the Balfour Declaration
based on the fulfillment of British wartime
promises of development of a Jewish homeland in
Palestine and on which subject he made the
following statement - The agreement committed both parties to
conducting all relations between the groups by
the most cordial goodwill and understanding, to
work together to encourage immigration of Jews
into Palestine on a large scale while protecting
the rights of the Arab peasants and tenant
farmers, and to safeguard the free practice of
religious observances. The Muslim Holy Places
were to be under Muslim control. - The Zionist movement undertook to assist the Arab
residents of Palestine and the future Arab state
to develop their natural resources and establish
a growing economy. - The boundaries between an Arab State and
Palestine should be determined by a Commission
after the Paris Peace Conference. - The parties committed to carrying into effect
the Balfour Declaration of 1917, calling for a
Jewish national home in Palestine. - Disputes were to be submitted to the British
Government for arbitration.
22King Faisal (background info only)
- Faisal fostered unity between Sunni and Shiite to
foster common loyalty and promote pan-Arabism in
the goal of creating an Arab state that would
include Iraq, Syria and the rest of the Fertile
Crescent. - While in power, Faisal tried to diversify his
administration by including different ethnic and
religious groups in offices. - He faced great challenges in achieving this
because the region was under European,
specifically French and British, control and
other Arab leaders of the time were hostile to
his ideas as they pursued their own political
aspirations for power. - In addition, Faisals attempt at pan-Arab
nationalism inevitably isolated certain religious
groups.
23Mandate System- Post WW1
- GB, France administer regions until theyre
Ready for independence - Mesopotamia (Iraq)
- Install king (Faisal)
- Establish 75-year-long oil concession
- Transjordan (Israel, Jordan, Palestine)
- Dont give full independence
- Support more power, land for Jewish repatriation
in region
24UN Mandate 1923 For area involving the Balfour
Declaration agreement
25Allies attempt to maintain control over Turkey
following WWI conquest of Ottoman Empire, but
Mustafa Kemal lead successful fight for
independence, establishing modern Turkey. This
derails Allied plans to settle the Kurds and
Assyrians inside modern Turkey borders, forcing
them into Northern Iraq instead, a cause of
ongoing conflict with the majority Arab
population.
Mustafa Kemal
26Arab Independence?
- When the Ottomans departed, the Arabs proclaimed
an independent state in Damascus (Syria), (1917)
but were too weak, militarily and economically,
to resist the European powers for long, and
Britain and France soon established control and
re-arranged the Middle East to suit themselves.
27New Middle East
- Syria became a French protectorate thinly
disguised as a League of Nations Mandate. - The Christian coastal areas were split off to
become Lebanon, another French protectorate. - Iraq and Palestine became British mandated
territories. Iraq became the "Kingdom of Iraq"
and one of Sharif Hussein's sons, Faisal, was
installed as the King of Iraq. - Iraq incorporated large populations of Kurds and
Assyrians, (the ones kicked out of Turkey), many
of whom had been promised independent states of
their own.
28New Middle East Cont
- Palestine became the "British Mandate of
Palestine" and was split in half. - The eastern half of Palestine became the "Emirate
of Transjordan" to provide a throne for another
of Hussein's sons, Abdullah. - The western half of Palestine was placed under
direct British administration. - The already substantial Jewish population was
allowed to increase. Initially this increase was
allowed under British protection. - Most of the Arabian peninsula fell to another
British ally, Ibn Saud. Saud created the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia in 1932. - The Pahlavi Family put on the throne of Persia
after overthrowing the existing leader (last
ruler of Qujar Dynesty). With the assistance of
GB. (In 1935, Reza Shah Pahlavi instructed
foreign embassies to call Persia by its ancient
Persian name, Iran)
29Rezah Khan (1877-1944)
- In 1921 he headed a British orchestrated coup and
occupied Tehran from the surrounding Arab clans. - He negotiated the evacuation of the British
forces stationed in Iran since World War I in
1924, and declared himself SHAH (ruler) in
1925. - Created the Pahlavi Dynasty - ruled from
1925-1941 - Initiated some modern reforms (railways,
modernization of infrastructure, Oil exports,
improved education (secular rather than just
religious, etc)
30Middle East during WW2
- Germans wanted North African Colonies, and
control of the Suez Canal in order to gain access
to Arabian oil fields and the ability to
transport it on water. - Germans offered full independence to middle east
and African states if they supported Axis cause - Some political and religious leaders supported
Germans in order to attain independence from
British, French - This decision by Reza Khan in Iran -forced him to
abdicate his throne by the Allied armies in 1941
when Germany could no longer protect him. - Rezas son put in place to replace his father
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi from 16 September 1941
until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on
11 February 1979
31WWII ends - effects
- Transjordan, under the Hashemite ruler Abdullah
I (Faisals brother), gained independence from
Britain in 1946 and was called Jordan in 1949,
but it remained under heavy British influence. - Egypt gained nominal independence in 1922, but
Britain continued to exert a strong influence on
the country until the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of
1936, which limited British presence to a
garrison of troops on the Suez Canal until 1945.
(when it gained full independence) - Lebanon became an independent state in 1943, but
French troops would not withdraw until 1946, the
same year that Syria won its independence from
France.
32Resolution 181
- On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted a plan (Resolution 181)
recommending the adoption and implementation of a
plan to partition Palestine into two statesone
Arab and one Jewish. - Provided for the termination of the Mandate, the
progressive withdrawal of British armed forces
and the establishment of boundaries between the
two States and Jerusalem. - The Plan also called for Economic Union between
the proposed states, and for the protection of
religious and minority rights. - The Plan was accepted by the Jewish public. With
a few exceptions, the Arab leaders and
governments rejected the plan of partition in the
resolution and indicated an unwillingness to
accept any form of territorial division. - Their reason was that it violated the principles
of national self-determination in the UN
charter which granted people the right to decide
their own destiny.
33Access to water Access to each part through
narrow crossings Most of the land in the south is
desert
-May 14, 1948 Israel declares itself a
country. -British Mandate ended the next
day. -Let the fighting commence! Arab nations
attack
34After 1 year war, Israel controls much larger
area, including Jerusalem
35STOP HERE
36Oil discovered in the Middle East
- First discovered on Masjid-I Suleiman in Persia
(Iran) in 1908. - Turkish-Petroleum Co. TPC founded in 1911
?drill for oil in Mosul, Mesopotamia (Iraq) - Britain signed a secret agreement with the sheikh
of Kuwait (1911) who, while outwardly pledging
allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan in Istanbul,
promised exclusive oil rights to the British. - Kuwait became a British protectorate in November,
1914. - In 1927, oil was struck in Kirkuk, Iraq, and the
Iraq Petroleum Co. IPC was created.
37Oil and the Middle East
- First discovered on Masjid-I Suleiman in Persia
(Iran) in 1908. - Turkish-Petroleum Co. TPC founded in 1911
-drill for oil in Mosul, Mesopotamia (modern day
Iraq). - Britain signed a secret agreement with the sheikh
of Kuwait who, while outwardly pledging
allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan in Istanbul,
promised exclusive oil rights to the British. - Kuwait became a British protectorate in November,
1914. - In 1927, oil was struck in Kirkuk, Iraq, and the
Iraq Petroleum Co. IPC was created.
38Oil and the Middle East
- American oil companies Texaco Chevron,
gainoil concessions in Bahrainin 1929. - In 1933, American oil companies win an
oilconcession in Saudi Arabia. - ARAMCO Arab-American Oil Co, is created in
1939.
39Arab Reaction the Cold War
- US and Western powers support Israel
- USSR tries to influence Arab countries
- Several Regional conflicts break out
- Arab Israel War of 1948
- 1967 Six day war
- 1968-72 War of Attrition
- 1981 attacked Iraq
- 1982 Lebanon
- Israel holds its independence to this day
(extreme Anti-Israeli stance in many Middle East
countries)
40Elsewhere
- Iran
- 1950s saw US-backed installation of a Shah
- 1970s Shah forced from throne again by
Fundamentalist Clerics, led by Ayatollah Khomeini
41Elsewhere
- Iraq
- 1960s Baath party takes control of Iraq
- Secular Government
- Late 1970s Saddam Hussein takes control
42Elsewhere
- Afghanistan
- 1970s- invaded by Soviet Union
- US-backed muhajideen against Soviets
- After Soviet Collapse, establishment of Taliban
Government
43Elsewhere
- Saudi Arabia
- people enjoy decent standards of living financial
benefits from government - Little- to no social reforms
- Women cant drive
- Limited ability to criticize govt
44RESULTS
- US is last major super power left after 1991 with
a great interest in the Middle East (no one else
left to blame) - Middle Eastern countries have been pawns of the
western powers since the early 20th century. - Anti-American, Anti- Western, and Anti-Israeli
thought common in many countries and
organizations.