fMiddle Eastern Identification

Ali
607-661 C.E.
born in Mecca, and later moved to Medina
one of the first converters to Muslim
Muhammad's blood cousin, only male related directly to Muhammad, Fatima's (only living child's) husband,
and the father of Muhammad's grand sons
after the first two successors being Muhammad's father-in-laws, Ali was done waiting his turn because he
believed he was the rightful successor
eventually became the fourth caliph
Uthman and Ali fight over is the rightful successor, but eventually Ali gets assassinated in 661 CE by his own
men, because they think he is a wimp
Fatima
only living child of Muhammad (the child of Muhammad and Khadija)
husband is Ali, and produced two sons, Husayn and Hassan
second most important woman in Islam, after Khadija
First Civil War
656-661 CE
war between Uthman and Ali to see who was the rightful caliph, or successor of Muhammad
ended when Ali was assassinated by his own men because his followers began to think he was a wimp (Ali
was a very calm, negotiating person that never completely took action)
this eventually created the split between the Sunni and Shia Muslims
Hijra
622 CE
means migration
the opposition against Islam came about when merchants and the elite portion of Mecca became very upset
because they were capitalists and didn't believe in the idea of social justice
this elite group ignored and laughed, at first, but soon gained growing concern about the increasing number of
Muhammad's followers
the elite group began to threaten and there were rumors of assassination attempt of Muhammad
meanwhile, the city of Yathrib (now known as Medina) heard about Muhammad's reputation with honesty and
made him a deal (if he was to be the judge of an internal dispute in Yathrib, then they would grant him
amnesty or protection for him and his followers <- this journey came to be known as the hijra
Kaaba
a square stone building in the center of the Great Mosque at Mecca
pre-Islamic
o pre-Islamic shrine said to have been built by Abraham
o during pre-Islamic times, the Kaaba was the center of an animistic cult that attracted worshipers
o Mecca's sanctuary became the neutral ground where tribal disputes could be solved
this is the site most holy to Muslims and the direction toward which the Muslims must face when praying five
times a day
the final destination of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)
Muslims are highly encouraged to go once a life time
hajj is done once a year, the month after Ramadan, but if one can't afford it or have health concerns, its not
strictly enforced
Khadija
Muhammad started out as a shepherd, but later in life he accompanied his uncle (a merchant) around the
trading routes and even to Syria
o this allowed him to gain experience and become a merchant, himself
in his early 20s he caught the eye of a wealthy widow, named Khadija (first convert, and known as the ideal
woman and wife), whom at first he worked for, and later was proposed and married to her

had multiple kids, but the only child that survived was Fatima (became the second most revered woman in
Islamic history)
the first converter of Muhammad's
died eleven years after the hijra

Ramadan
part of one of the five pillars of Islam which is fasting
occurs during the 9th month of the Muslim calendar (Lunar calendar) which is called the month of Ramadan
participants should fast from sunrise to sunset
all adult Muslims, whose health permits, must abstain from food, drink, and sexual activity from dawn to dusk
this is done because fasting is the time of atonement and reminder of God's generosity
o this is all for the humbling experience and to feel the pain of the poor and to feel empathetic)
fun fact: this is the month when Muhammad received his revelation
Shia
believe that with the exception of Ali and his descendants, all the other caliphs were usurpers
supporters of Ali because he was the only blood related male in the family of Muhammad
mainly a dominant religion in Iran, but also Iraq
believe that the succession should go through the blood line
the official religion of Iran, and began when the Persian shah converted his empire to Shia from Sunni in the
19th century
unlike the Sunni, Shias have clerks or Imams that have special powers and are believed to be the connected
with the hidden Imam (a legitimate successor of Muhammad/ one of the twelvers) <- have more power than
the shah
Umayyads
based in Damascus (661-749 CE); the political center was moved from Mecca to Damascus
Sunni
created by the descendants of the third caliph, Uthman
transformed Arab state into a Byzantine successor state
very secular and non-inclusive of anyone that is not an Arab Muslim
internal struggle (Arab v. non-Arab) led to a revolution that eventually overthrew the government of the
Umayyads and brought in the Abbasids
Jihad
means striving the path of God or an internal struggle to be a better Muslim
Muslim writers have emphasized the need to internalize jihad in order to achieve perfect religious form
however most people have the wrong, negative notion that it means "holy war"
terrorists use "jihad" as an excuse for terrorism against non-believers
Capitulations
sultans signed contracts, called capitulations, that allowed free trade
Europeans took advantage (thousands of merchants, to be specific)
the Ottoman merchants still had to pay taxes while the foreigners didn't, which caused the Ottomans to be
upset
capitulations undermined the local economy because the local merchants have to pay taxes
the money flow was going out of the Ottoman Empire to Europe and not the other way around
this highly encouraged Europeans to come in and trade
so why doesn't the Sultan take back the contract?
o because at this point in time, the Europeans are far more military superior (time of machine guns) and
threatened to invade the empire
Janissaries
one of the two final destinations the boys in the Devshirme process are allowed to go to
the Dervshirme

1. go to Balkans 2. recruit/kidnap young boys 3. convert them all to Islam 4. make them undergo
rigorous schooling and training 5. send the smart ones to join the bureaucracy and the others that are
still elite, but not as smart into the most elite army infantry
this elite army infantry, or the Sultan's men, were called the Janissaries and their purpose was to serve the
Sultan
o a few uses: used to put down revolts, and to keep the tax flow coming in to the Sultan very smoothly
however, the Greek/Balkans stopped accepting this after while, and Janissaries began to refuse the Sultan,
which became one of the downfalls of the Ottoman Empire
Janissaries are also not allowed to settle in with a family or create a business, but Janissaries here and there
began to settle down
o

Suleyman the Magnificent/Lawgiver

1520-1566
most powerful Ottoman ruler (everyone is in
pushed Ottoman frontier further into Europe (Belgrade, Hungary, and all the way up to Vienna)
when he was the Sultan, the Ottoman Empire was at the peak and was far more superior (economically and
military) than the Europeans
he wrote a letter to the king of France basically stating "I rule the world and you rule nothing"
Shah Ismail
reigned 1868-1879
Muhammad Ali's grandson
called himself the Magnificent, even though there was nothing magnificent about him
spoke French better than Arabic, which this language barrier was a partial cause of him alienating his own
people
said "my country is no longer in Africa, it is now in Europe"
he wanted to make it European, but he didn't have enough money (overestimates the power of cotton)
set up a conscription and forced peasants away from the farm and on to the battlefield
while his people were starving, he was building boulevards and opera houses
Ismail only focuses on cotton, and no other industry
o devoted all of Egypt to the production of cotton
o this was the answer to success for about 10-20 years during the American civil war
o after the American civil war, the economy of Egypt collapses
allows Egypt to go into massive debt
Britain and France welcomes him to take out loans from them because they know he will never be able to pay
it back and eventually use this as an excuse to conquer the Egyptians
Description of Egypt
1798-1801
the full work of 160 scholars and scientists brought to Egypt by Napoleon to gather comprehensive detail
about Egypt
the full work of this title is the "description of Egypt or the collection of observations and research which were
made in Egypt during the expedition of the French Army
beginning of Orientalism
many artwork depicts the domination of French power and depicts the ruins of Egypt
o shows that modern Egyptians don't know how to respect their culture and don't want to take care of
the ancient beauty which "gives" the Europeans the right to colonize Egypt because they want to
"help" a broken society
Orientalism
an idea born in the 18th and 19th century
a negative representation of the Orient
combines all "Orients" together although it is an enormous area that covers everything from Egypt to Japan
which all have completely different cultures

"orientalism is a Western style for dominating, reconstructing, and having authority over the orient"
"the relationship between Occident and Orient is a relationship of power, of domination, of varying degrees of
complex hegemony"
a poor excuse to justify colonization

Muhammad Ali
reigned from 1805 to 1848
an Ottoman general of Albanian origin that is known to be the father of modern Egypt
he wanted (1) to kick the French out of Egypt, (2) rule Egypt and set up a hereditary dynasty, and (3) to
modernize Egypt
mamluks (the elite) were ruling Egypt before, so he wanted to destroy them all
o set up a banquet with all the mamluk leaders and murdered them all
set up conscription and forces over 100,000 peasants to join the army and when these soldiers weren't
fighting, they had to go back to work
o since Egypt was largely based on an industry that leans on agriculture, with the men gone, the women
had to start working and take care of the family
set up a state monopoly and got rid of capitulations which directly undermined European profits
dominated Sudan and created a Sudanese slave army
to obtain raw materials lacking in Egypt, Muhammad Ali invaded Syria, and defeated the Ottoman forces
there
he was taking over religious cities and getting to close to the border of the Ottoman Empire, so to stop him
imposing on the Ottomans and Europeans, he was forced to sign the Treaty of London in 1841 and Treaty of
Balta Liman in 1838
Treaty of London
created and signed in 1841
forced Muhammad Ali to withdraw from all the territories he had occupied except Sudan
he had to limit is army from 100,000 to 18,000
Urabi Revolt
1882; during the reign of Tawfiq (Ismail's son)
led by Egyptian officer, Urabi
the slogan was "Egypt for Egyptians"
at this point in time, the majority of Egypt was very poor
the majority saw the Europeans coming to Egypt and being prosperous, while the Egyptians are starving
the revolutionaries wanted foreigners are and wanted their country back
they demanded political and economical reforms
Lord Cromer
aka Evelyn Barring
Consul General during 1883-1907
perfect example of an Orientalist (mentality that is adapted by the colonial powers to justify colonization)
wants money so he continues on the path of the single cash crop (cotton)
doesn't worry about the disparity of the country, and just continues to use Egypt for the raw materials it has to
offer
created more infrastructure
does not invest in education for the Egyptians
Cromer resigns and the end of the Dinshaway Incident of 1906
o he was asked to resign and leave because nationalism came about after what the British soldiers did to
the villagers
even the people back at England were appalled
Concessions

commercial agreements signed by the Shah of Persia with individual European business men who they give
absolute business rights for i.e. infrastructure, tobacco, oil
sort of like a version of capitulations
however, this caused a lot of tension between Britain and Russia and their want for influence over Iran
concessions were used by Nasir al-Din Shah to play the two powers off against one another through the use of
granting economic concessions
Baron Julius de Reuter
1872
Nasir al-Din awarded Baron Julius de Reuter a concession that was the largest ever negotiated
the exclusive right to construct all railways, canals, and damns in Iran and extensive privileges in mining and
agriculture development
but due to the strong opposition of Russia and his people, he had to cancel this agreement
by the end of the fight to build infrastructure, less than 20 miles of functioning railway was built
Tobacco Protest of 1891
in 1890, Nasir al-Din granted an English company the exclusive right to produce, sell, and export Iran's entire
tobacco crop
the Iranian people didn't benefit at all, only the Shah did
this protest was organized and led by members of the Shia ulama
this was one of the reasons Iran went into debt and had to surrender the economic development of Iran
DArcy Oil
this concession was signed by Muzaffir al-Din Shah
gave William Knox DArcy full access to oil in all of Persia except northern Iraq for 16 % of the profits and
20,000 British pounds in cash and an additional 20,000 pounds more in stick
o this amount of money is nothing, but the Shah did not know Iran was so rich in oil
1908 DArcy discovers oil in enormous quantities
BP = British petroleum is oil for William DArcy concession
until1950 Britain was the main stockholder in Iran oil
o US and England overthrew many regimes so they could keep access to the oil
Sykes-Picot Agreement
May 1916
secret agreement between French, British, and Russians (but Russians pulled out of the war) only leaving
Britain and France
Sykes (British) & Picot (French)
the British wanted absolute control over south west of Iraq and the French wanted absolute control over the
west of the Middle East (Syria)
the French and the British decided to split up the Arab States are create artificial lines (the border drawn
between Iraq and Syria is a desert)
contradictions to previous agreement
o there will be no Arab states
o Palestine will be an international zone and will not go to the Arabs
Palestine later is given to the Jews
Sharif Husayn
prince of Mecca and Medina
descendant of the prophet
two sons: Faysal (king of Iraq) and Abdullah (king of Jordan)
the British ask Sharif Husayn for help to defeat the Turks in Damascus
Sharif Husayn agrees to fight by creating the Arab Revolt for in exchange for an independent Arab State
he gets promised any State except for the land west of Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus (France wanted it
and made b.s. excuses stating its not an Arab State anyways)

Sharif Husayn wanted Palestine which was well south of the area the French wanted, but didn't get what they
were told and instead got back stabbed
Paris Peace Conference
1919
Britain and France realize they can't give an Arab State to Faysal
where Woodrow Wilson came up with his 14 points
o biggest points: (1) pushing for people's right to create their own government = self determination
o however the Arab's are upset, because they don't govern themselves, but other countries do
was the meeting of the winners of World War 1 to set the peace terms
at this conference, the League of Nations was created
o League of Nations was created so that no more world wars would exist
Mandate System was created
o the Arab lands of the former Ottoman Empire will become their own power, but for the time being,
they need assistance and advice until they are able to stand alone
San Remo Conference
April 1920
agreement between post World-War 1 powers
mandate of Palestine, which stated that Palestine is no longer an Arab land, but a new home for the Jews
Treaty of Sevres
August 1920
enacted the agreements which were originally brought up the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1917
Britain took control over Palestine and Iraq, and France took over Syria, Lebanon, and some land in southern
Anatolia