Chapter S 11 & 12 Study Guide: Southwest Asia Physical Geography and History

Chapter’s 11 & 12 Study Guide: Southwest Asia Physical Geography and History

 Three regions that make up Southwest Asia:  Middle East: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel  Northern Tier: Turkey, Iran, Cyprus  Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, United Arab Emrites, Qatar  Southwest Asia is a crossroads for Europe, Asia, Africa  Important bordering bodies of water: Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea  Important rivers: Tigris and Euphrates  Region has several landforms: but mostly is made up of mountains and desert Southwest Asia Climate and Resources  Southwest Asia’s climate varies  Most of the region is arid  Cold rain/snow winters; summers are hot and dry  Southwest Asia was home to world’s first farmers o Farmers grow crops that only need a little bit of water  Rainfall affects where people settle  Oil is the only major natural resource that comes from Southwest Asia o 60% of the world’s oil comes from countries bordering Persian Gulf  Water is scarce and valuable o Many countries fight over fresh water supply  Many natural resources have been depleted o Mineral resources have been over-mined  Deforestation is a huge problem  Lack of mineral resources has not allowed for much industry or manufacturing to take place People and Their Environment  Not all Arabs are Muslims  Southwest Asia is home to many different people of different ethic groups and religions  Migration and conquest has led to the diversity in Southwest Asia o Different Ethnic groups: Arabs, Turks, Jews, Kurds, Armenians  Top 3 most populated countries of Southwest Asia: Turkey, Iran, Iraq  90% of people in Southwest Asia worship Islam  Other religions in Southwest Asia: Christianity, Judaism  Farmers developed desalination (process of turning saltwater into freshwater) and fertigation ( feeding water and fertilizer directly to the root of crops) to farm on the land  Important cities in Southwest Asia: Damascus, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Baghdad, Jericho  People are attracted to cities because it is a center of business, trade and culture Roots of Southwest Asia Society  Southwest Asia developed the first: o Farming methods, Writing, Set of written laws (Code of Hamurabi)  Early civilizations rose around the Fertile Crescent o area between Tigris and Euphrates river o first civilization was called Mesopotamia (land between 2 rivers) o present day Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey  City-states developed o City with it’s own from of government  Sumerian city-states developed Math, Science, Arts, Law  Code of Hamurabi o First set of written laws (282 total, dealt with all aspects of life) o Written using cuneiform o No one was above the law o “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”  Writing appeared 5000 years ago o Sumerians developed cuneiform (carving onto clay tablets using reeds) o Phoenicians adopted the idea and formed letters (basis of our alphabet today)  Christianity, Judaism, Islam: all developed in present-day Israel Three World Religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam *all 3 are monotheistic: belief in one god  Judaism o Holy book: Torah / Place of worship: Synagogue/ Rabbi: leader of service o Believe they must follow God’s laws which cover daily life o Torah contains a set of 10 commandments o Most Jewish people live in USA and Israel  Christianity o Holy book: Bible/ Place of worship: church/ Minister or Priest: leader of service o Belief in teachings of Jesus Christ (God’s son) o 2 billion Christians live in world (majority in USA and Canada)  Islam o Holy book: Quran/ Place of worship: mosque/ Allah/ name of god o Follow 5 Pillars of Faith (faith, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage) o 1 Billion Muslims live in the world (mostly in Asia) Shaping Modern Southwest Asia  After death of Muhammad (creator of Islam) Arabs built a huge empire o Arab empire led by a caliph(leader claiming to be successor of Muhammad)  After Arabs, Ottoman’s built an empire  Difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims o Sunni: believe caliph should be picked by community . Have a strict conservative view . Majority of Muslims: 90% are Sunni (Iran and Saudi Arabia are led by strict Sunni ideals) \ . *al Qaeda, suicide bombers, Taliban, = Sunni o Shiite: believe caliph should have been passed onto Muhammad’s grandson . 10% of Muslims are Shiite . European Imperialism lasted in Southwest Asia from 1800’s-1950’s . Europeans colonial zed Asia for new market to sell goods . Southwest Asians viewed Europeans as thieves changing the culture and taking land and resources . Caused for negative views on “western” societies for years to come