History & Culture

1. History & Culture

2. The Fertile Crescent • The first civilizations in the world developed in the Fertile Crescent. • From the Persian Gulf north through the plains of the Tigris and Euphrates to Asia Minor and the Mediterranean coast. • Many of the plants and animals found on farms throughout the world were first domesticated here. • By 3000 B.C. the Sumerians built the world's first known cities in southern Mesopotamia. • They depended on irrigated fields of wheat and barley. • City merchants traded goods throughout the region.

3. Ancient Empires • Mesopotamia's rich resources attracted many invaders. • Akkadians conquered the Sumerians in about 2350 B.C. and created the region's first empire. • Islands of the Persian Gulf became major trading centers eventually linking merchants of Mesopotamia and India. • 550 B.C. an empire developed in Persia and they conquered both Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. • Later, the Greeks and Romans controlled much of the region.

4. The Rise of Islam • Muhammad, who was born in Mecca, established Islam. • Around 610 A.D. he had a vision of the angel Gabriel who told him to preach the word of God (Allah). • He spread Allah's message to people called Muslims. • The Qur'an contains Allah's message to Muhammad. • Due to persecution, Muhammad established a Muslim community in the city of Medina. • By the time of his death in 632, Islam had spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula. • Within a century Islam had spread as far as Morocco and Spain, and later to Central and Southeast Asia as well as India.

5. Empires and Independence • In the 1200s the Mongols conquered what is now Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. • In the 1500s the Safavids came to power in Iran and soon seized Afghanistan from the Muslim rulers of India. • The more than 200 year rule of the Safavids is considered the golden age of Persian culture. • Literature, architecture, and arts flourished. • Persian carpets, ceramics, and textiles became renowned. • Britain and Russia tried controlling the area in the 1800s and both Iran and Afghanistan became independent in the 1900s.

6. Empires and Independence • In the 1500s the Ottoman Turks conquered Mesopotamia and the east and west coasts of the Arabian Peninsula. • This land was held until the British took over in the early 1900s. • Iraq and Saudi Arabia became independent in 1932. • Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, and the UAE did not become independent until the 1960s and 70s.

7. People and Languages • Most people in the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia are Arabs. • Arabic place names in Spain and Morocco, Central Asia, and India. • Located primarily in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. • Kurds are Muslims but not Arabs. • Live in borderlands of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. • Most Iranians are Persians who speak Farsi. • Iran also includes Arabs and Turks. • The Pashtun are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. • Pashtun refers to several tribes that speak the Pashtu language.

9. Sunnis and Shia Sunnis (orthodox) • Choose their imams. • 90 percent of Muslims. • Spread throughout the world. Shia • Only Muhammad's descendants. • Iran, southern Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon. • Imams have considerable political power in Iran.