...Understanding the Modern Middle East What have I learned this semester about the modern Middle East? First I must start with the conflict between Israeli and Palestinian conflict as well as my understanding of what a modern nationalism is and the advocacy toward the Middle Eastern region. In order to truly understand the nation states one must have knowledge about modernity. Modernity which seeks accuracy and representation is a hybrid of nature and culture differences. (Lecture 1/26) History assists us with defining modernity because history is the hybridization of current, past and future, which is the “unknown known”. We can tell the future because of the past, history has its way of repeating itself. The past is what we study, historiography. Modernity also goes hand in hand with control the surround regions, relationships and objects tell which regions have the control over the nation-states. Modernity aids economics and provides the particulars of the evolution of history. (Lecture 2/1) Politics are central to history. Geography matters, it is important to the evolution of history. A religion is traditional and provides prologue. The role of ideology plays a huge part in my understanding of the modern Middle East. Saddam Hussain wanted a secularized government. The issue with his ideology is that secularism is modern, however religion is traditional. Palenstine historically a struggled with existed between secular and theocratic values. Secularism clashes orthodox...
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...suspicious of the reforms, the Janissaries. The Janissaries were the most efficient military unit in the empire. The Janissaries were a slave army that numbered around 40,000 troops. They are known for their discipline, morale, and professionalism. And during times of peace they were used to maintain domestic law and order. So to appease the Janissaries and convince them to accept the new methods, Selim raised their salaries and rebuilt their barracks. However, that just made them more suspicious, and they “successfully resisted his moves toward reform”. Frustrated by this, the sultan tried to sidestep them by creating a new military unit called the Nazam-i Jedid to replace the Janissaries. They were trained by Europeans, and supplied with modern weapons and given French-style uniforms. And by 1806 the new army numbered around 23,000 troops and it performed effectively in minor actions. His reforms in the military led to reforms in other areas as well. For example diplomacy, the Ottomans established embassies in European capitals, the first one was established in London. This led to more...
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...Cooperider Intro. to the Modern Middle East Professor Barnwell 11/1/15 Summary 2 At the conclusion of World War I, the Middle East was still in chaos. There was not really a stable government to be found, and people were starting to grow tired of it. This brought a group of countries together to see what could be done in order to make sure that the Middle East could make it on their own. Thus, there was a system put in place, called the mandate system, to try and counteract the lack of government there. The mandate system was a way to have other countries basically teach the Middle East how to govern themselves and what to do in certain situations. This did not really go as planned, and this is why some historians consider the mandate system a failure, due to Britain and France abusing their powers and trying to take over the countries rather than helping them. When World War I concluded, the Middle East was in total chaos. The powers that were supposed to govern were no longer there due to the war. The Ottoman Empire was defeated and ceased to exist. It was broken up, and with that became countries filled with chaos. The formation of the League of Nations led to some solution to the problem, which was to establish a mandate system...
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...however, these fabrications still tell us much about a society's beliefs and dreams. In reality, the best histories are the best stories. History is anything but an endeavor that should be consigned to some dusty shelf on the top floor of a library nobody ever visits. It's, ironically, the most modern, most relevant, most incendiary discipline there is, to judge by nothing more than the number of car bombings, shootings and other atrocities committed in the name of warring pasts. Edward Said’s “Orientalism” has reverberated in each of the disciplines that collectively constitute Middle East Studies, including history. The book had positive effects. It forced us to take seriously the reality of the power relations produced and reinforced by British and French colonialism, and to detect the way in which those power relations are reflected in texts. As a result of Said’s work, most historians of the Middle East have produced scholarship that is strongly critical of the British and French colonial projects in the region. These are works that have exposed the power of colonialism to destroy not only lived lives but also imagined futures. Most recent historians of the Arab Middle East have drawn the lesson that...
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...Hall, 310 TEXTBOOK: o Arthur Goldschmidt Jr., A concise history of the Middle East, Westview Press, 2002. o Marvin E Gettleman & Stuart Schaar, The Middle East and Islamic world reader, New York, 2003. o Additional primary source readings will be posted on Blackboard. o Also see: Internet Islamic History Sourcebook (compiled by Paul Halsall) COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of the history of the Islamic civilization. In this course, we will study social, economic, and cultural aspects of the history of the Middle and Near East region, from the dramatic arrival of Mongol armies in the mid-thirteenth century up to the present era. The treatment of the subject will be roughly chronological, though social and economic life, culture, and arts will be discussed thoroughly throughout the course. In addition to lectures, the course will heavily draw upon discussion sessions, which will give students a hands-on approach to history. In these sessions, we will discuss in detail various historical problems presented in the text, lectures, and audio-visual materials. 1 2 COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: - name and identify individuals, events, themes, and issues of major importance in the History of the Middle and Near East, - demonstrate a basic level of competence in differentiating the major periods of the History of the Middle and Near East and the significance of historical context, - recognize the importance...
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...government and a free market economic system. The under-developed countries, including Russia and east Europe countries, India, China, Mexico, South America and Africa, are relative poor, where capitalism has not yet developed into a healthy form. In Middle East, Israel belongs to welldeveloped camp but the rest goes to under-developed category. In this essay I will discuss the history, the present and the future trend of politic and economic relationship between developed and under-developed countries. My purpose is to develop an intellectual framework, through which one could acquire a comprehensive understanding on basic characteristics of various human societies and their interaction in today’s world: where they were from; where they are now; and where they are likely heading to in future. I will illustrate that there are three different systems in under developed world: the under-developed capitalism, the totalitarian capitalism and the military imperialism of developed countries in Middle East. Developed countries, in dealing with under developed world, are in a very much favored position. They are with full strategic initiatives in the on-going global politic and economic game. The most serious threat to capitalist civilization remains to be the haunting ghost of Malthus, that is, the constraint of nature resources imposed on human activities and its ultimately disastrous consequence. Modern technology has based material productivity of human societies on consumptions of certain...
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...dynasties in the Middle East according to Ibn Khaldun?- According to Ibn Khaldun the rise and fall of the dynasties in the middle east can be directly correlated to the different social structures that tribes would embrace. Which will lead to a better military structure. Compare and contrast the organization of the Arabian tribes with that of the Turko-mongolian tribes of inner asia? The Arabian and turk0- monoglian had some similarities but they also had many differences I will first start with their similarities. Both the Arabian tribes and turko-mongolian consisted of nomadic people, they were a stateless society, with no formal government. Now let me talk about their differences the Arabian tribes were endxomous meaning they were intermarried this made the tribe very cohesive and insulated. Through this intermarriage created their social stricter which was called egalitarian meaning there was little difference among people no matter rich or poor everyone was on the same level. This made it very difficult to have a ranking system in the military. The Turko-Monoglian tribes were exgoumous meaning they married outside of the family this was very important especially with building political alliances. There social structure was hierarchical which made a ranking system in the army very important. How did this difference affect the patter of state formation in pre modern middle east-? These difference affect the pattern of state formation in the pre modern middle east because...
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...webs.bcp.org Early Modern Empires (1500-1800) Introduction Before we learn about the unlikely and apparently rapid rise of The West during the 19th and 20th centuries, it’s important to understand the powerful empires of the early modern world between 1500 and 1800. Some readers may be surprised to learn about the wealth, thriving global trade, and dominant manufacturing production in Asia that held sway until at least the end of the 18th century. Throughout much of this era, Europe was, in contrast to Asia, an unimpressive backwater of small countries and kingdoms. But Europe’s “discovery” of the Americas and an ocean route to Asia, just before the year 1500, changed all that. The West gradually worked its way into the global economy and planted the seeds for its imperial rise and eventual dominance over most of the modern world. After 1500, world regions—such as West Africa, East Asia, and South America—fused together into one global trade system. For the first time in history, each region of the world now interacted with the others. For example, enslaved African labor was used in South American plantations to sell cheap sugar to Europe. Silver from Mexico bought loans for Spain, and that same silver ended up in China to buy silk or porcelain for Europeans. And so on. A new global system emerged, forged of uneven relationships, in which a small part of the world, Europe, successfully exploited the world’s human and natural resources to its advantage. This was Globalization...
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...An Analysis of the Changing Identities Influencing Iran’s Development The multifaceted political and socio-cultural context of the Middle-East often leads to misunderstandings about the nature of its society. In order to be fully aware of the reasoning as to why states in the Middle-East do what they do, an in depth analysis linking both the past and present is necessary. The continuous disorder portrayed in the news has created a negative image of the Middle-East. In the case of Iran, this is especially true. Similarly to many other states in the Middle-East, Iran’s past can be characterized by perpetual ideological conflict, rivaling tribal factions and a difficulty in sustaining a lasting identity. In contrast, however, Iran was among several developing nations to escape direct colonialism.[1] Nevertheless, “economic domination and imperial manipulation describe Europe’s relationship with Iran for much of the century leading up to 1950.”[2] In understanding Iran’s flux of identities throughout the 20th century, several notions must be clarified. Firstly, Iran is not an Arab nation nor have they adopted Arabic language or culture. Secondly, the Shi’a minority in Iran, and their lingering divergence in beliefs compared to that of the Sunnis and the West has always been an issue with respect to their distinctiveness as a nation. That being said, Iran’s inability to sustain a lasting individuality is directly related to the differing...
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...The history of the world is the history of humanity, beginning with the Paleolithic Era. Distinct from the history of Planet Earth (which includes early geologic history and prehuman biological eras), world history comprises the study of archeological and written records, from ancient times on. Ancient recorded history begins with the invention of writing.[1][2] However, the roots of civilization reach back to the period before the invention of writing. Prehistory begins in the Paleolithic Era, or "Early Stone Age," which is followed by the Neolithic Era, or New Stone Age, and the Agricultural Revolution (between 8000 and 5000 BCE) in the Fertile Crescent. The Neolithic Revolution marked a change in human history, as humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals.[3][4][5] Agriculture advanced, and most humans transitioned from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle as farmers in permanent settlements. Nomadism continued in some locations, especially in isolated regions with few domesticable plant species;[6] but the relative security and increased productivity provided by farming allowed human communities to expand into increasingly larger units, fostered by advances in transportation. World population[7] from 10,000 BCE to 2,000 CE. The vertical (population) scale is logarithmic. As farming developed, grain agriculture became more sophisticated and prompted a division of labor to store food between growing seasons. Labor divisions then led to the rise of a leisured...
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...Prior to the early modern world, European Nations and Far East countries were very isolated and had minimal interaction between each other. The fact of the matter was that before Vasco De Gama’s voyage from Portugal to India at the end of the 15th century, travel from Europe to the East was far too treacherous. However, things started to change during the 16th century. The early modern world was able to become more interconnected through the exchange of goods, slave trade, and the exchange of military tactics, which in turn presented nations with the opportunity to grow and prosper. The exchange of goods between the European Nations and the East exhibited the interconnectedness present during the early modern world. Fashion had always been a significant part of European society, but the calico craze that existed at the end of the seventeenth century and throughout the eighteenth century forced European Nations to interact heavily with these Eastern countries that possessed such resources: New consumer forces were at work in England in the late seventeenth century; these forces were manifested in the craze for calicoes and other sorts of cottons wrought in the East Indies. The arrival of cotton textiles in the English market brought to a comparatively prosperous population a new sort of commodity, another of the lighter fabrics so much in demand in the early industrial period (Lemire, 3) The Indian cloth was so fashionable for a couple of different reasons. For one, it...
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... as well as due to a perceived dual role of western states by Arabic countries (modern imperialism, e.g. Iraq war, Afghanistan, Libya). However, it seems too simplistic to confuse a religion with interest of all its participants and countries with an immutable kinship of its historical confederates. Furthermore, Huntington does not offer any explanation on how to define civilizations, but instead proposes broad generalizations what current civilizations might be, and does not acknowledge the interdependence between multi-religious and cultural countries, such as the USA is one. With regards to Bin-Laden’s letter, it is worth while reflecting upon its message and the historical evidence he provides to justify Al-Qaida’s actions. It is true, that many of the conflicts of the middle-east are related to US-interventions, but for me his hypocritical assessment of Islam does not differ from IS-propaganda to recruit young, frustrated Europeans. IS-leaders are exploiting their religion to gain earthly interests (territory, army expansion etc.), which makes it a rather geopolitics related conflict, than a cultural dispute. -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Chomsky, N. (2008): Modern-Day American Imperialism: Middle East and beyond [ 2 ]. Cronin, A.K. (2008): Ending Terrorism: Lessons for defeating al-Qaeda, p. 20 [ 3 ]. Iganatius, D. (2015): How Isis spread in the middle east, The Atantic Magazine, URL: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/how-isis-started-syria-iraq/412042/...
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...I was not able to spend the summer before my senior year goofing off with friends or taking a road trip. Rather, I had a job babysitting two kids five days a week. I spent most of this time sitting at the pool or sitting at their house. After the second week of this I was bored out of my mind. While sitting on their couch bored while they were reading, I decided I was going to use my time productively. I wanted to research a topic that interested me but I would not necessarily be able to learn about during school. Thus I started my independent study project on the Middle East. Since history impacts modern problems, I started out by reading a book about the history of the Middle East. I read stories by journalists working in Iran and Syria,...
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...The Iranian Revolution and its contribution to Islamic Political Revival Sisy M. Orobitg INR3274: International Relations of the Middle East Professor Alla Mirzoyan December 8, 2008 The Iranian Revolution and its contribution to Islamic Political Revival The Pahlavi Dynasty was for many Iranians a constitutional monarchy turned corrupt that plagued them with economic frustrations, rising unemployment and an overwhelming feeling of anxiety that began during 1975s oil crisis. Lack of government accountability and increasing political unrest among the middle class exacerbated the crisis and allowed the religious clergy to take advantage. Thus, this disillusionment with the governing monarchy paved the way to a revolution that has proven to be unprecedented. The advent of a new Islamic revival proved successful upon the birth of the Iranian Revolution and with the overwhelming consent of its people came the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as its ruler. With a new political mind-frame, came an authoritarian regime, which volubly conceded to no one, and consolidated itself through each governing tenet. The resilience of this regime brought about terror.( Mehran Kamrava; A Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War (2005)) The author of this new political revival which has impregnated into other areas of the Arab World is The Iranian Republic. All Western world influences that attempted...
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...The Middle East had numerous religions that persisted and changed during the time period of 600 C.E. to 1450. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are some of the main religions that continued during that time period. Many of the Middle Eastern people’s beliefs in religion have not changed since 600 C.E. to 1450. The religion that is still continued and the majority of people practice is Islam. In early 600 C.E. the religion of Islam originated in the city of Mecca. Mecca was chosen as the holy city because of the Ka’ba, which is a holy shrine dedicated to Allah and Muhammad. Islam follows the teachings out of the holy book, called the Qur’an. The followers of Islam include the believed that there was a prophet and he was named was Muhammad. They believed in an afterlife and that angels are real. Islam was and continues to be a monotheistic religion, that worships one god, Allah. There are the Five Pillars of Islam which are rules that the practicing people must follow. The religion is based on the Five Pillars are testimony of faith, praying five times a day, giving a zakat, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca. The beliefs of the Islamic society did not change drastically between 600 C.E. to 1450. The Islamic world has changed over time as it has expanded beyond its cultural territories. The expanded Islamic world also improved their trade system and education system. The changes and continuities are largely due to its religion, trade system...
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