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Crisis in the middle east
Conflict of the middle east
Conflict of the middle east
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There is no set definition for the area known as the Middle East since shifts in global power over the years have affected the topography. Now, however, the region can expansively be said to contain “the area from Libya E to Afghanistan, usually including Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the other countries of the Arabian peninsula” (dictionary.com). This geographical definition can be said to contain both the ‘Near East’, ‘Middle East’, and even farther to the East and into Africa be described as the ‘Greater Middle East’, so the Middle East can only be loosely defined, and it is important to know that these countries are separate and do not truly form one cooperative unit.
It is believed that the area was where human civilization first started with the Sumerians in the Fertile Crescent, or Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, namely modern day Iraq. Ten thousand years have passed since, and the area has seen much conflict, but the many invasions by great civilizations, such as the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman empires, have made the Middle East into the ethnically, racially, linguistically, culturally, and politically diverse culture that it is today.
The last of these huge empires was the Ottoman, only broken up around 1920, during World War I, which was a critical time in the history of the modern Arab world. This was when Great Britain really started to delve into Arabic affairs, which is actually where the name Middle East comes from; “The term's origins are seeped in controversy for having originally been a European imposition of geographic perspective according to European spheres of influence. East from where? From London...
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...hort period of ‘peace’ where tensions were rising. It was a stressful time in the history of the Middle East, yet there were no true wars during this time, and sadly, the area has not had much respite since.
From 1948 to 1950 is a more well known section in the history of the Middle East; the Arab-Israeli War, in which there were a series of attacks on the outnumbered new state of Israel which were uncoordinated since, as said before, the Middle East is not a cohesive unit at this point in time, and were actually beaten back a bit by Israel which gained more land than they were allotted by the UN partition until an armistice was signed on January 7, 1949.
However, this was not the end of conflict, which is almost synonymous with history, in the area, and it has remained divided and cannot truly be lumped together as one unit, the Middle East, but we do it anyways.
How does one region have a prolonged battle for authority, and conflict with the opposing force for eternity? After the Ottoman Empire sided the Central Powers during World War I, they didn’t foresee that they would lose their empire based off of this decision. European countries that won the war came in and partitioned the Middle Eastern region. Soon after the Sykes-Picot Agreement was established, and the Arabs felt betrayed because they weren't granted their deserved independence. The new borders set caused continuous conflict because of the artificial blending of different ethnic and religious groups. International conflicts have contributed to regional conflict in Southwest Asia by forming borders without regards to the different ethnic and religious groups, creation of the state Israel in 1948, and the U.S. being involved in the matters of the Middle
In the novel War and Peace In the Middle East, author Avi Shlaim argues that Arab nations have been unable to escape the post-Ottoman syndrome. In particular he describes how the various powers inside and outside the region have failed to produce peace. While some of Shlaim's arguments hinder the message, I agree with his overall thesis that the Middle East problems were caused and prolonged by the failure of both powers and superpowers to take into account the regional interests of the local states.
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was and is still an extremely important region for the water it provides. For this and its ability to support agriculture, it’s known also as the Fertile Crescent. It’s also been called the Cradle of Civilization for providing the earliest existence of a civilization.
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
This marked the beginning of the Palestine armed conflict, one of its kinds to be witnessed in centuries since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War 1. Characterized by a chronology of endless confrontations, this conflict has since affected not only the Middle East relations, but also the gl...
The first civilization to rise was the Mesopotamia, located in present day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and Egypt, along the Nile River. It’s split in two ecological zones. In the south Babylonia (irrigation is vital) and north Assyria (agriculture is possible with rainfall and wells). By 4000 B.C.E., people had settled in large numbers in the river-watered lowlands of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Archaeologists have shown that large-scale irrigation appeared only long after urban civilization had already developed, meaning major waterworks were a consequence of urbanism (population). Mesopotamia cities were made of people called the Summerians in the land of Sumer located on the south of Babylonia. The Summerian city was one of
Since the inception of an Israeli nation-state in 1948, violence and conflict has played a major role in Israel’s brief history. In the Sixty-One year’s Israel has been a recognized nation-state, they have fought in 6 interstate wars, 2 civil wars, and over 144 dyadic militarized interstate disputes (MIDs) with some display of military force against other states (Maoz 5). Israel has been involved in constant conflict throughout the past half century. Israel’s tension against other states within the Middle East has spurred vast economic, social, and political unity that has fostered a sense of nationalism and unity in Israel not seen in most other states. Over the next several pages I will try and dissect the reasons for why the nation state of Israel has been emerged in constant conflict and how this conflict has helped foster national unity and identity among the people of Israel.
The Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam have been feuding for hundreds of years dating back to the beginning of the Islamic religion. The deity or god of the Sunnis is Allah. The Sunni branch of Islam is the larger of the two branches with over 80% of the Muslim population. The Sunni are the majority in most of the countries that have Islamic followers. There are a few different translations of what Sunna stands for, one of which is “Habitual Practice.” The differences between the two branches can be traced all the back to the 7th century CE when the disagreements as to who should succeed Muhammad. Sunnis believe that the Muslim community should maintain the right to select who the successor to Muhammad is going to be. The Shiite branch maintains the belief that Muhammad has selected his son-in-law to be the successor. Even though the two branches agree on most matters, the Sunni put more power behind god and his determination of fate, and are more inclusive about their definition of being Muslim. The Sunni place heavy belief in the role of religion in some aspects of life and a lot of weight is put on the Islamic law known as Shariah as the standard for a vast range of social issues including marriage and divorce. (Patheos.com)
Mesopotamia was the first primordial, and influential cradle of civilization. Nestled in the valleys of the vehement Tigris-Euphrates Rivers around the time of the Lower Paleolithic period
In the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the result still has not been resolved. Palestine was a land that both Jews and Arabs inhabited. Israel, West Bank of the Jordan River, and the Gaza strip. The Arabs and Jews are still fighting now for that the land that they once felt like is theirs. The Jews had that land since the time of “Adam”. The Jews wanted their land back because they once were the rightful owners. However, the other son Ishmael feels like he is the owner. The Palestinians have been there since the Ottoman Empire, but they are arguing that the Arabs have been there for the whole time. But they both have valid reasons for why they feel that they are the rightful owners. The Conflict still goes on today. Israel is fighting for land that they feel has been taken from them. The United States is allied with Israel. Today in Israel people are getting stabbed, due to their rights being taken and President Trump said “that this conflict is easy to solve”. Ironically the issue has not been solved for thousands of years. Now the United States government shows their support to ally israel with gifts such as ammunition and bombs. “The inability of the United States to build on the obvious shared interests of Palestinians and Israelis is, at best, damning testimony to the incompetence of those Americans who have made a career of processing peace without ever delivering it.” according to
Is peace possible in the Middle East? This question weighs heavy on the minds of many individuals and international players. Turmoil and conflict in the Middle East not only affects the people inhabiting this region, but also has global consequences. To answer this question, one must analyze the sources of conflict in the Middle East, historically, currently, and in the future. The limited amount of natural resources in this region has arguably served as the most major source of conflict in the Middle East. Other contributing factors to conflict are the leadership styles of the key players in positions of power, and religious strife. History is often the best indicator for the future. Unfortunately, the Middle East has had a history of much violence and conflict. Just in the past 50 years, it has been engaged in numerous serious conflicts such as the Israel-Palestinian issues, Iraq-Iran war, and Iraq invasion of Kuwait. It may be possible for peace in the Middle East, but given it’s history, and considering the sources behind the conflict, I think it is a bleak future as far as peace goes for this region.
Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Bagdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Bagdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space / time indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, topography, and bronze-age technical innovations played a big part along with the advent of writing and the practice of social conditioning (through the use of organized religion) in this relatively early achievement of man.
There are 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa that are considered Arab countries. These countries include: Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco, and Yemen (ADC, 2014). Before the spread of Islam, Arabs were any nomadic, Arabic speaking inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. Presently, the term Arab is used to describe any individual that speaks Arabic living in the Arabian Peninsula and the surrounding areas (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013).
A conflict between Palestine and Israel began when a promise was made by Britain in 1917 to make Palestine Israel’s homeland, and their belief that the land was meant for them since biblical times. Despite their beliefs and Britain’s promise, it still does not give them the right to drive Palestinians out of their homes. They should negotiate and come up with a peaceful agreement instead of causing conflict and violence. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians still exists today, they have yet to find a way to resolve their conflict and live together in peace once again.