The Middle East 500BC to 1948AD
To understand the modern middle east we need to understand its history and geography. The middle east has always been an area of major importance.
It is the meeting point and crossroads of three continents. Africa, Europe and Asia. For this reason it has always been an important market for trade in goods, technologies and ideas.
It was the site of two of the early world civilizations, the Egyptians on the Nile and the Mesopotamians on the Tigris / Euphrates rivers.
Making it the origin of agriculture, writing and trade routes.
Three of the world' s major religions began in the region. Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jerusalem is of major significance to each of these religions and they share prophets, philosophy's and laws.
In the modern era the regions astonishing reserves of oil and gas give it a significant influence on regional and international relations.
The region is still an important cog in world transport networks, for example transit between the Indian Ocean and Europe is still controlled by Egypt.
1. Religion
Rapid religious prototyping
The Middle East is significant in the religious lives of Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Jerusalem in Israel is the center of this cross over.
The most sacred place in Judaism is the Wailing Wall, it is the surviving part of the Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
The two holiest sites in Christianity are in the Holy Sepulcher, the church on the site of Christs crucifixion and burial.
The Al-Asqa mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. It is where Muhammed ascended to heaven.
Activity 1. Getting to know you: Religion in the Middle East
Judaism
Jews didn’t start using the word “Jew” as a way to identify themselves until after 500 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible and the Torah, the text that is most sacred to Jews, the term used most often is “the sons or daughters of Israel,”
The term “Israelites” also appears, along with the term “Hebrews.”
Ancient Israelites originated roughly in the territory of modern Israel, also known as the ancient Levant or ancient Canaan, sometime before 1000 BCE. They believed they were descendants of Abraham.
The Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD to quell Jewish unrest. This led to the Jewish diaspora, Jews escaping the oppression under the Romans.
Christianity: A Jewish heresy?
Heresy: a theological doctrine or system rejected as false by ecclesiastical authority.
According to Bertrand Russell, proponents of a heresy emerge to deal with what they perceive as abuses in the contemporary practice of the dominant religion. The success of Christianity and Islam in the early days show how powerful the appeal of a reforming heresy can be when attacking an orthodoxy that is reluctant to reform.
In its very earliest days, Christianity was seen by the Jewish leaders as a Jewish heresy; its adherents were Jews who believed in the divinity of Christ [and considered Christianity a Jewish sect]. Jewish religious leaders viewed Jesus as a false prophet. When Christianity spread and became a world religion, with numerous converts from the Gentile (non-Jewish) world, it became a rival religion to Judaism.
Islam: A Christian heresy?
In the year 610 A.D. a man named Muhammad began publicly preaching revelations received from the Angel Gabriel, the beginning of what we know today as Islam.
During the Early Middle Ages following Islam’s rapid expansion, Christendom largely viewed Islam as a Christian heresy and Muhammad as a false prophet. By the end of the Late Middle Ages, the consensus grouped Islam with paganism, and viewed Muhammad as inspired by Satan. Public opinion only shifted slightly after the Islamic empires ceased to be an acute military threat to Europe.
It is worth noting that Muhammad’s uncle was an Assyrian Christian monk by the name of Sergius who held heretical views including elements of Arianism and Nestorianism. It was from this relative that Muhammad likely was exposed to the Old and New Testament.
Is Islam a Christian Heresy? - UCatholic University
Questions
When was the last historical Jewish empire in Israel.
Define a heresy with examples
How did the Jewish authorities view Jesus and the early Christians?
Did Jesus view himself as a Christian or a Jew?
What is the evidence for Mohammed and his teachings being viewed by Christian authorities as a heresy?
For discussion.
Why didn't the Islamic empires experience an 'Enlightenment' equivalent to the European Renaissance?
2. The Ottomans
Background briefing: The Ottomans
The Ottoman Empire, was created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (modern day Turkey) it grew to be one of the most powerful states in the world during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Ottoman period spanned more than 600 years and came to an end in 1922. It was replaced by the Turkish Republic and various successor states in south-eastern Europe and the Middle East.
At its height the empire encompassed most of south-eastern Europe to Vienna, including present-day Hungary, the Balkan region, Greece, and parts of Ukraine; portions of the Middle East now occupied by Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Egypt; North Africa as far west as Algeria; and large parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
The first period of Ottoman history was charecterised by almost continuous territorial expansion, during which Ottoman dominion spread out from north west Anatolia. The political, economic, and social institutions of the classical Islamic empires were amalgamated with those inherited from Byzantium.
The Ottomans ruled Palestine for 401 years.
Under Ottoman rule, the Palestinian territory was organised into three states, Jerusalem, Gaza and Nablus, all linked to the Damascus Province (Syria). The gradual decline in the quality of Ottoman rule left the province in a state of widespread neglect.
By the end of the 18th century, much of the land was owned by absentee landlords and leased to impoverished tenant farmers. Taxation was as crippling. The great forests of Galilee and the Carmel Mountain range were denuded of trees; swamp and desert encroached on agricultural land.
3. The Arabs revolt while the Europeans make secret plans.
Activity 2. The Arab revolt 1915 - 1918
England and France supported the Arab revolt against Ottoman rule in the Middle East that began in July 1915. It was encouraged by the British who wanted support in their campaign against the Ottomans. In return, the British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon, promised that Britain would support Arab independence once Ottoman control had come to an end.
What were the different promises made by the English to Arab tribes in 1915?
Why was this a problem?
What did France and England do in 1918? Use a map to illustrate your answer
What was the significance of the Balfour declaration?
How did the Arab tribes react to the new Mandates?
Background briefing: McMahon/Husayn agreement. 1915 -16)
At the start of the first World War (1914-1918), the Allied governments attempted to gain the sympathies of the Arabs with promises of independence from the Ottoman Empire and other foreign powers. The British High Commissioner in Egypt, Sir Henry McMahon (acting on behalf of the British Government) promised Sharif Husayn ibn Ali of Mecca, independence over purely Arab areas liberated from the Ottoman Empire. The correspondence between McMahon and Sharif Husayn contains 10 letters from (14 July 1915 to 30 March 1916) outlining the terms for Sharif Husayn allying himself to Britain and leading the Arab revolt on the Ottoman Empire in return for the support of Arab independence.
Activity 3: Sources - Drawing lines
Despite promising to support Arab independence after WW1, the British and French governments had made a secret agreement to divide and govern the ex principalities of the Ottoman empire in the Middle East after the war.
Sources Analysis Answer Guide
Don’t forget: Quote often and begin your response with name of the author, not the Source number. Put the source number in brackets at the end of the quote/paraphrasing.
For example:
This is supported by Jones who states that 'History students would be more popular at parties if they used this method.' (Source 3)
SACE Sources advice
More successful responses:
were well-structured
contained relevant evidence from sources when required.
Less successful responses
provided responses without reference to any evidence from the source
stated that sources are limited without reasoning
did not address the nature of sources clearly
did not explain how the nature and origin of the sources were a strength or limitation
did not include of the source in the response.
Source 1.The Sykes-Picot Agreement. The History of the Middle East - Peter Mansfield
‘'Sykes-Picot was a secret agreement to divide the middle east between Britain and France. When the Arabs learned about the agreement after it was published by the new Soviet government, they were scandalized by it. This secret arrangement conflicted with pledges already given by the British in the McMahon Correspondence (1915–16) to the Hashemite king Husayn. Based on the understanding that the Arabs would eventually receive independence, Ḥusayn had brought the Arabs of the Hejaz into revolt against the Turks in June 1916. However, the borders that were eventually established bear almost no resemblance to the lines drawn. The actions of Arab and Turkish nationalists, the demands of minorities, the ambitions of politicians, the collapse of czarist Russia, and the bankruptcy of Britain and France in aftermaths of the war shaped a Levant quite different from the one the two diplomats had envisaged.
Questions
How did the English and French plans conflict with pledges made to Arab rulers during the war with the Ottomans in the Middle East (2)
What happened to the plans in the original agreement and why? (2)
Source 2. Selected text: Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916)
'It is accordingly understood that France and Great Britain are prepared to recognize and protect an independent Arab states or a confederation of Arab states under the suzerainty of an Arab chief. That in area (a) France, and in area (b) Great Britain, shall alone supply advisers or foreign functionaries at the request of the Arab state or confederation of Arab states.'
'The British and French government, as the protectors of the Arab state, shall agree that they will not themselves acquire and will not consent to a third power acquiring territorial possessions in the Arabian peninsula, nor consent to a third power installing a naval base either on the east coast, or on the islands, of the red sea.
Questions
What is meant by the term ‘a confederation of Arab states under the suzerainty of an Arab chief’? (2)
How useful are original government documents for an historian studying the agreement? (2)
Source 3. Learning from Sykes-Picot Agreement. www.wilsoncenter.org
‘Convinced that Arabs were not ready to govern themselves, the colonial powers also seemed to believe that they would remain passive. Instead, the high-handed approach of the European powers stirred nationalist reactions through the region, where currents of Arab nationalism had been evident for a long time. With the weakening of the Ottoman grip, nationalists gained prominence in Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad.’
Questions
Use evidence from the source to describe the Arab response to the approach taken by the European powers? (2)
Source 4. Learning from Sykes-Picot Agreement. www.wilsoncenter.org
‘The outcome of the war also made Sykes-Picot impossible to implement in the original form. Firstly, the formation of the League of Nations meant that the Arab territories Britain and France had viewed essentially as colonies or protectorates to remain under their control indefinitely became instead League of Nations mandates. The mandates, were temporary and carried the obligation to prepare the countries for independence. Secondly the British and French suffered economically after the war and this left them unwilling to invest much in the new territories. Thirdly, both countries were under pressure to demobilise troops.
Questions
Briefly describe the three factors that made the Sykes-Picot agreement impossible. (3)
How does Source 3. support Source 4.? (4)
4. Palestine after the Ottomans. 1922 - 1948
The British mandate in 7 points
Establishment: The League of Nations gave Great Britain the Mandate for Palestine in July 1922.
Dual obligation: Britain had a "dual obligation" towards both Arabs and Jews, creating an inherent contradiction in the mandate's objectives
Balfour Declaration: The mandate incorporated the Balfour Declaration, which supported the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine
Territory division: In September 1922, Britain divided the region, creating Transjordan (now Jordan) east of the Jordan River and the Palestine Mandate to the west
Immigration and land issues: The central conflicts throughout the mandate period were Jewish immigration and land purchases, with Jews attempting to increase both and Arabs seeking to halt them
Violence and unrest: The mandate period was plagued with conflicts, including the 1936-1939 Arab Revolt and the 1944-1948 Jewish insurgency
End: Following the UN Partition Plan in 1947, Britain ended its Mandate on May 14 , the same day the state of Israel was proclaimed.
To do: Write a 100 word paragraph describing the British mandate in Palestine. Include two quotes from a primary and secondary source.
Activity 4: Palestine. 1922 - 1948.
The British Mandate for Palestine (1922-1948) was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of Palestine and Transjordan. It incorporated the Balfour Declaration, supporting a Jewish national home, while obligating Britain to consider both Arab and Jewish interests. This dual obligation led to increasing conflict and ultimately British withdrawal.
To Do: Create a folio that explores the social, cultural and political upheavals of the British mandate in Palestine from 1918 to 1948.
You are encouraged to use primary sources to illustrate your folio.
Choose six (6) of the following events for your folio:
1920: Riots between Jews and Arab in Jerusalem.
Jewish migration to Palestine
Arab nationalism and demands for self-governance
1927: The Peel commission
1929: Arab attacks on Jews
1936: Palestinian general strike
1936 -1939 The Arab Revolt
1939: British white paper on an independent Palestine
The Haganah, the Irgun and the Stern Gang
1947: The UN partition plan
Activity 5. 1937 White paper working group
It is 1937 and the British government has given you the task of preparing Palestine for self-rule and creating a plan that will enable Arabs and Palestinians to live together and govern the country cooperatively.
The briefing for the project includes the following:
Britain thinks it is important that Palestine achieves self government, in the near term….
The Palestinian mandate has been enormously costly to Britain
The acceleration of Jewish immigration to Palestine in the 1930s has intensified the problems between Arabs and Jews
Britain must ensure Palestine is left in a stable condition as access to the Suez Canal and Middle Eastern oil must continue.
There are four primary issues that you need to address:
The issue of continued immigration of Jews to Palestine (how many? until when?)
What about the refugees leaving Hitler’s Germany?
How will the government be chosen? What will the composition of parliament be?
How will the land issue be resolved?
In dealing with each of these issues you need to:
State your action what you will do
Justify why this is the most appropriate decision
Remember, your plan must satisfy both Jews and Arabs and make peace and prosperity a likely outcome for Palestine. Consider all of the possible consequences of your proposal and don’t settle on something that is just ‘good enough’. Thousands of lives are at stake if you get it wrong and war erupts.
Background briefing: The War of independence / The Nakba
After WW2 and the horror of the Final Solution. The International community moved to create a Jewish state in Palestine. The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 began a period of conflict that is ongoing.
At 4 pm on the 14th of May, 1948 David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel. Almost simultaneously the five neighboring Arab countries attacked the new state with the aim of destroying it.
Within a month, lacking coordination and poorly trained the Arab amies had been stopped, with only the Jordanian military having success. The UN sponsored a ceasefire in June, however by July the Arabs resumed the attack. An armistice was signed in February 1949.
As a result of the conflict, approximately 700,000 to 750,000 Palestinian Arabs left or were expelled from areas that became the State of Israel.
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and continuing through the 1950s and 1960s, approximately 850,000 to 1 million Jews left or were expelled from various Arab and Muslim countries where their communities had existed for centuries or millennia. In many cases, these Jews were forced to abandon their properties and businesses, facing various degrees of persecution, legal restrictions, and social pressure.
To do: The 1948 War
Use a map to describe the change in Israeli territory from the UN partition plan and the 1949 Armistice.
Use 2 quotes from the sources to explain the reasons for the failure of the combined Arab armies.
Use 2 quotes from the sources to explain why the Arab states only agreed to an armistice, not a peace settlement.
Golda Meir (Israeli PM 1969 - 1974) stated that Israel’s mistake was to deal with it’s refugee problem immediately. Far greater sympathy was given to refugees in Arab countries who were excluded from those societies and given no support.
What point is Ms Meir making here and is it valid?
