The Sasanid Empire and the Rise of Islam, 200–1200

Ch. 8

Video: Islam (write these questions down! Leave space for the answers)

1.What does ‘Islam’ mean? 2. Why did Mohammed leave Mecca for

Yathrib? 3. What is the most sacred text of Islam? 4. Muslims are expected to make a

pilgrimage at least once to what city? 5. One major division within Islam is

between what two groups?

Create your own Comic book/ Storyboard for the Five (5) Pillars of Islam

Using a comic book format, create a story about a Muslim follower of Islam and how they should practice all 5 Pillars of Islam using the information in your textbooks.

Must be at least 5 panels – may be more.

Islam Posters Each group will be assigned a topic to create an

informative poster about and give a brief presentation to the class.

Group 1: Muhammad – basics: Life, founding of Islam, 5 Pillars of Islam

Group 2: Caliphates: basics between Umayyad and Abbasid

Group 3: Differences between Sunnis and Shi’ites Group 4: Umma and the Ulama, include reference to

the Hadith. Group 5: The Ottoman Empire at Its Height, 1566 Group 6: The Ottoman and Russian Empires,

1829–1914

Poster Presentations

Prepare to Present your group posters – everyone needs to present.

Writing Assignment

Read pp. 18-23. (skim) “Mayfair to Makkah”

Write: ½ page journal entry summarizing her experiences.

The Sasanid Empire, 224–651

Politics and Society: controlled the areas of Iran and Mesopotamia.

Sasanids confronted Arab pastoralists on Euphrates border and Byzantine Empire on west.

Relations with Byzantines alternated between war and peaceful trading.

In times of peace, Byzantine cities of Syria and the Arab nomads who guided caravans between the Sasanid and Byzantine Empires all flourished on trade.

Arabs also benefited from the invention of the camel saddle, which allowed them to take control of the caravan trade.

Iranian hinterland ruled by autonomous local aristocracy that did not pose a threat to the stability of the Sasanid Empire.

The Silk Road brought new products, including a number of crops from India and China.

Religion and Empire: Sasanid Empire made

Zoroastrianism official religion. Byzantine Empire made Christianity

official religion. Both Zoroastrianism and

Christianity were intolerant of other religions.

State sponsorship of Zoroastrianism and Christianity set a precedent for the link that developed between the Islamic religion and the Islamic state.

Byzantine and Sasanid empires were characterized by state involvement in theological struggles.

Byzantine Empire went to war with the Sasanids over the latter’s persecution of Christians.

Arabs had some awareness of these religious conflicts and knew about Christianity.

During this period, religion had replaced citizenship, language, and ethnicity as the paramount factor in people’s identity.

The Origins of Islam The Arabian Peninsula Before

Muhammad: Most Arabs were settled people.

Nomads were a minority, but they were important in the caravan trade that linked Yemen to Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. This caravan trade gave rise to and supported the merchants of caravan cities such as Petra and Palmyra.

It also brought Arabs into contact with the Byzantine and Sasanid civilizations.

The nomads were polytheists who worshiped natural forces and celestial bodies, but they were also familiar with other religions, including Christianity.

Mecca was a caravan city between Yemen and Syria. Mecca was also a cult center that attracted nomads to worship the idols enshrined in a small cubical shrine called the Ka’ba.

Muhammad in Mecca Muhammad was born in Mecca,

grew up as an orphan, and then got involved in the caravan trade.

In 610, he began receiving revelations that he concluded were the words of the one god, Allah.

Others in his community believed that he might be possessed by a spirit.

Message of Muhammad’s revelations was that there is one god, Allah, and that all people ought to submit to him.

At the final judgment, those who had submitted to Allah would go to paradise; those who had not, to hell.

Muhammad’s revelations were considered to be the final revelations, following and superceding the earlier revelations of God to Noah, Moses, and Jesus.

The Formation of the

Umma Muhammad and his

followers fled from Mecca to Medina in 622.

In Medina, Muhammad’s Meccan followers and converts from Medina formed a single community of believers, the umma.

During the last decade of Muhammad’s life, the umma in Medina developed into the core of the Islamic state that would later expand to include all of Arabia and lands beyond in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Muhammad’s father-in-law Abu Bakr took over leadership of the umma as the successor (caliph) of Muhammad.

Abu Bakr faced two main tasks: standardization of the Islamic religion and consolidation of the Islamic state.

Abu Bakr successfully re-established Muslim authority over the Arabs and oversaw the compilation and organization of the Quran in book form.

Disagreements over succession to

the caliphate emerged following the assassination of the third caliph, Uthman.

A civil war was fought between those who supported keeping the caliphate in Uthman’s clan (the Ummaya) and those who supported the claim of Muhammad’s first cousin and son-in-law Ali.

The Umayya forces won and established the Umayyad Caliphate in 661.

Disagreements led to development of three rival sects in the Muslim community.

The Shi’ites supported Ali’s claim to the caliphate and believed that the position of caliph rightly belonged to the descendants of Ali.

The Sunnis believed that the first three caliphs had been correctly chosen and supported the Umayyad Caliphate.

The most militant followers of Ali formed the Kharijite (rebel) sects. Most of the 800 million Muslims of today are either Sunnis or Shi’ites.

The Rise and Fall of the Caliphate, 632–1258

Islamic Conquests, 634–711 Conquests of areas outside

Arabia began in the 7th century. 1st wave of conquest, Arabs

took Syria, Egypt, and the Sasanid Empire.

In late 7th and early 8th centuries, Islamic forces took Tunisia, Spain, Algeria, Morocco.

Explanations for the rapidity of the Muslim advance include booty, religious fanaticism, and the weakness of the foes of Islam.

None of these explanations has a strong basis in fact. The most convincing explanation finds the causes of Muslim expansion in the talent of the Muslim leaders and the structure of Arab society.

During period of expansion, Arab forces were organized into regular, paid armies and kept in military camps and garrison towns so that they did not overrun the countryside.

The Arab Muslims became minority rulers, thinly spread over non-Muslim societies that they dominated and taxed, but did not try to convert.

The Umayyad and Early Abbasid Caliphates, 661–850

The Umayyads ruled an Arab empire, not a Muslim empire.

They administered their territory through the established Sasanid and Byzantine apparatus, gradually bringing in Muslim bureaucrats and the Arabic language.

Rebellions overthrew the Umayyads in 750; one branch of the family remained in power in Spain.

Upon the fall of the Umayyads, the family of Abbas—an uncle of Muhammad—took over and established the Abbasid Caliphate.

The Abbasids, who held the caliphate until 1258, provided renewed religious leadership, which they combined with a style of rulership and royal ceremony derived from the Sasanids.

Literature and learning, including the translation of Greek texts and secular Arab poetry, thrived under the Abbasids.

The Abbasid period also saw an acceleration of the rate of conversion of non-Muslim subjects to Islam in the ninth century.

Political Fragmentation, 850–1050

Abbasid power declined in the second half of the 9th century -- caliphs found it impossible to maintain control over vast territory.

Factor in decline of Abbasid power: difficulty of transportation, communications.

Factor: dissatisfaction of the non-Muslim populations political and economic system that was centered in Baghdad.

In 9th century, local revolts carved Abbasid realm into smaller Muslim states that did not pay taxes or homage to the caliphs in Baghdad.

In Baghdad, the caliphs had come to rely on Turkish slave troops known as Mamluks.

Late 9th century (not paid properly) mamluks took control of caliphate, choosing who they wanted to be caliph, dominating government.

In 945, the caliphate fell under the control of the Iranian Shi’ite Buyids.

As the Abbasid Caliphate declined, various provincial regimes rose to power. These included the Samanids in Bukhara and the Fatimids in Egypt.

In Spain, the Umayyads

held power over a society in which Islamic, Roman, German, and Jewish cultures combined to form a unique Iberian variant of Islamic civilization.

Muslim Spain saw substantial urbanization; the introduction of citrus crops; a diverse, irrigated, agricultural sector; and a center of Muslim and Jewish intellectual activity.

Underlying the political diversity of the fragmented Muslim world was a strong sense of religious identity preserved by the religious scholars—the ulama.

Assault from Within and

Without, 1050–1258 In Central Asia and the

Middle East, another nomad group, the Seljuk Turks, took advantage of the decline of the Abbasids to establish the Suljuk Sultanate.

The Seljuks ruled a territory stretching from Afghanistan to Baghdad and took Anatolia from the Byzantines in 1071.

Deterioration of the Tigris-Euphrates irrigation system, insufficient revenue, and insufficient food resources led to the collapse of the city of Baghdad.

The Crusades also put some pressure on the Islamic lands, but Muslims were able to unite under Saladin and his descendants to drive the Christians out.

However, Saladin’s descendants were not able to restore unity and order to the Islamic world, which was hit by another Turkish invasion in 1250 and by the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century.

Major Beliefs of Islam Five Pillars: Actions Shahada – “ there is no god except Allah, and

Muhammed is His prophet” Salat – obligatory prayers which are

performed 5 times a day Zakat – setting aside a portion of wealth for

the poor Ramadan – month of fasting Haji – (annual) pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad -- 6th Pilar: (Holy War)

Major Beliefs of Islam The Principles of Islam, Beliefs in:

One God – Allah The Angels (& Jinn) Divine Scriptures – Torah, Psalms, Gosepls of

Jesus God’s Messengers (25) – Adam, Noah,

Abraham, Moses, Jesus … Muhammed (last) Predestination The Final Day and Resurrection

Theology & Practice Early Christianity

Trinitarian Jesus is the Son of

God/Virgin Birth Muhammed is a heretic Jesus was crucified, and rose

on the 3rd day Christians live an ascetic &

Sacramental life within the “Body of Christ”

Texts: The Bible, writings of Church Fathers, liturgical texts, church canons

Iconic Evangelical

Islam Unitarian Jesus is a prophet/Virgin

Birth Muhammed is the Seal of the

Prophets Jesus was not crucified but

assumed bodily into heaven, will return on the day of judgement

Muslims follow the 5 Pillars of Islam

Texts: Koran, the “correct OT writings and teachings of Jesus; the Hadith

Iconoclast (against) Missionary (Jihad)

Islamic Civilization Law and Dogma

Islamic law—Shari’a—evolved over time in response to the Muslim community’s need for a legal system.

Most important source of law was the traditions of the Prophet (sunna) as revealed in reports (hadith) about his words or deeds.

Specialists on Islamic law collected and edited tens of thousands of hadith, discarding those that seemed to be spurious and publishing the others.

The Shari’a, developed over centuries, held that all Muslims are brothers and sisters and shared the same moral values.

Converts and Cities Conversion and urbanization

were related. During the early period of

Islamic expansion, converts to Islam needed to learn about their new religion and found that the best way to do so was to move to the urban areas where the Muslim population was concentrated.

Discrimination rural, non-Muslim villages also caused new converts to move to the cities.

Urban social life and the practice of Islam itself were varied because the Muslims had no central authority to prescribe religious dogma.

The growing cities provided an expanding market for agricultural and manufactured products and contributed to an increase in trade.

In medicine and astronomy, Muslim scholars built on and surpassed the work of the Greek and Hellenistic civilizations and developed skills and theories far more sophisticated than those of Christian Europe.

Women and Islam

Muslim women were veiled and secluded as they had been previously in the Byzantine and the Sasanid empires.

Muslim women did have rights under Islamic law.

These rights included the right to inherit, own property and to retain it in marriage, right to divorce, to remarry, to testify in court, and to go on pilgrimage.

Stories about Muhammad’s young wife A’isha illustrate what Muslims feared most about women: sexual infidelity and meddling in politics.

Muhammad’s faithful first wife Khadija and his daughter Fatima are held up as models of female propriety.

Muslims were not permitted to enslave their fellow Muslims, Jews, Christians, or Zoroastrians except when taken as prisoners of war.

Muslims could and did hold non-Muslim slaves, but the status of slave was not hereditary.

The Recentering of Islam The decline of the caliphate and

factionalism within the ulama deprived Islam of a religious center.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, two new sources of religious authority developed: the madrasas (religious colleges) and the Sufi brotherhoods.

Sufi brotherhoods were mystic fraternities whose members sought union with God through rituals and training.

The early Sufis were mystics who went expressed their ideas in poetry; the Sufi brotherhoods developed into more practical organizations of Muslim men.

Sufi brotherhoods provided their members with spiritual guidance and rules for everyday life.

The brotherhoods originated in the urban areas and then spread to the countryside.

Comparative Perspectives

Similarities Between the Sasanid and Roman Empires Both empires from the 3rd to the 7th centuries forged strong

relations between the ruler and the dominant religion. As priestly hierarchies came to resemble governmental

structures, citizens began to identify themselves more with religion than ruler.

Consequently, founders of new religions, such as Muhammad, began commanding both political and religious loyalty.

Comparing Local and Universal Islam The concept of the umma united all Muslims in a universal

community, even though the religion spread out over diverse cultures and traditions.

New religious institutions such as the madrasas and Sufi brotherhoods also provided a sense of community for Muslims as they carried Islam into new regions.

The Later Islamic Empires

The Islamic empires, 1500-1800

The Ottoman Empire (1289-1923)

Osman leads bands of seminomadic Turks to become ghazi: Muslim religious warriors

Captures Anatolia with light cavalry and volunteer infantryLater, heavy cavalry

In Balkans, forced Christian families to surrender young boys to military service: devshirmeOften grew up to be exceptionally loyal Janissaries

Mehmed II (“the Conqueror,” r. 1451-1481) Capture of Constantinople, 1453 Renamed Istanbul Transformation from warrior sultan to

emperor of “two lands” (Europe, Asia) and “two seas” (Black Sea, Mediterranean)

Planned to capture Pope, unsuccessful

Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566) Expanded into Asia, Europe Besieged Vienna, 1529 Develops naval power

Ottoman CoffeehouseThis sixteenth-century miniature depicts many activities typical of Ottoman coffeehouses: patrons enter (upper left); some sit, drinking coffee in small porcelain cups (center); the manager makes fresh coffee (right). In the center, men sit on a low sofa, reading and talking. At bottom appear activities considered disreputable: musicians playing instruments, others playing games such as backgammon, a board game where moves are determined by rolls of dice.

Ottoman Glassmakers on ParadeCelebrations of the circumcisions of the sultan's sons featured parades organized by the craft guilds of Istanbul. This illustration, from the Surnama (Book of the Circumcision Festival) of Murad III (ca. 1582), shows a float from the parade of the Ottoman guild of potters. It features glassmaking, a common craft in Islamic realms. The most elaborate glasswork included oil lamps for mosques and colored glass for the small stained-glass windows below mosque domes.

Ottoman Glassmakers on Parade

Ottoman HelmetThis mid-sixteenth-century Ottoman helmet resembles a turban: conical shaped with sides tapering toward the apex, with ear and neck guards. Made of steel, the gold-inlaid and jeweled helmet was probably made for Suleiman the Magnificent.

Suleimaniye MosqueDesigned and built (1548-1557) by Pasha Sinan (1491-1588), a Greek-born devshirme recruit who became the greatest architect in Ottoman history, the Suleimaniye Mosque in Istanbul asserts the dynasty's power, religious orthodoxy, and the sultan's position as "God's shadow on earth." Suleiman, who financed it, is buried here. (Robert Frerck/Woodfin Camp & Associates)

Suleimaniye Mosque

Muslim Empires in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Muslim Empires in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth CenturiesIran, a Shi'ite state flanked by Sunni Ottomans on the west and Sunni Mughals on the east, had the least exposure to European influences. Ottoman expansion across the southern Mediterranean Sea intensified European fears of Islam. The areas of strongest Mughal control dictated that Islam's spread into southeast Asia would be heavily influenced by merchants and religious figures from Gujarat instead of from eastern India.

The Safavid Empire

Ismail young military leader, r. 1501-1524 Orphaned, parents killed by enemies Becomes Shah, proclaims official religion of realm

Twelver ShiismTwelve infallible imams after Muhammad12th imam in hiding, ready to take powerWore distinctive red hat, called quzilbash (“red heads”)

Empire called Safavid, after Safi al-Din (1252-1334), Sufi thinker

The Safavid Empire

The Safavid EmpireIn the late sixteenth century, the power of the Safavid kingdom of Persia rested on its strong military force, its Shi'ite Muslim faith, and its extraordinarily rich trade in rugs and pottery. Many of the cities on the map, such as Tabriz, Qum, and Shiraz, were great rug-weaving centers.

Shiite Pilgrims at Karbala

Battle of Chaldiran (1514)

Ottoman Selim the Grim attacks Safavids Heavy use of Ottoman gunpowder technology

give them the upper hand Ismail escapes, two centuries of ongoing conflict Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588-1629) revitalizes

weakened Safavid empireReforms administration, militaryExpands tradeMilitary expansion

The Mughal Empire

Zahir al-Din Muhammad (Babur the Tiger), Chagatai Turk, invades northern India for plunder, 1523

Gunpowder technology gives Babur advantage Founds Mughal (Persian for Mongol) dynasty Expands through most of Indian subcontinent

Akbar (r. 1556-1605)

Grandson of Babur Wins fear and respect after throwing Adham

Khan, leader of the army, out the window twiceSecond time just to make sure he was dead

Created centralized government Destroyed Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar Religiously tolerant, promoted “Divine Faith”

Syncretic form of Islam and Hinduism

Aurangzeb (r. 1659-1707)

Expands Mughal empire into southern India

Hostile to HinduismDemolished Hindu temples, replaced with

mosquesTax on Hindus to encourage conversion

Common Elements of Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires Empires based on military conquest (“gunpowder

empires”) Prestige of dynasty dependent on piety and

military prowess of the rulerClose relations with Sufism, ghazi tradition

Steppe Turkish traditions Issuance of unilateral decrees Intra-family conflicts over power

1595 Sultan massacres 19 brothers (some infants), 15 expectant women (strangulation with silk)

Women and Politics

Women officially banned from political activity But tradition of revering mothers, 1st wives

from Chinggis Khan Süleyman the Magnificent defers to concubine

Hürrem SultanaOriginally Roxelana, Ukrainian womanConvinces husband to murder eldest son in favor

of her own child

Agriculture and Trade American crops effect less dramatic change in

Muslim empiresCoffee, tobacco important Initial opposition from conservative circles, fearing lax

morality of coffee houses Population growth also reflects territorial

additions and losses Trade with English East India Company, French

East India Company, and Dutch VOC

Population Growth

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Mughal

Safavid

Ottoman

Religious Diversity Ottoman Empire: Christians, Jews Safavid Empire: Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians Mughal Empire: Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians,

Christians, Sikhs Mughal Akbar most tolerant

Received Jesuits politely, but resented Christian exclusivity

Enthusiastic about syncretic Sikhism, self-serving “Divine Faith”

Status of Religious Minorities

Non-Muslim protected people: dhimmiPayment of special tax: jizyaFreedom of worship, property, legal affairs

Ottoman communities: millet system of self-administration

Mughal rule: Muslims supreme, but work in tandem with HindusUnder Akbar, jizya abolishedReaction under Aurangzeb

Capital Cities

Istanbul cultural capital of Ottoman empire, massive monumental architecture

Rededication of Hagia Sofia church as Aya Sofiya mosque

Ishafan major Persian city Akbar builds magnificent Fatehpur Sikri

Chooses site without sufficient water supply, abandonedTaj Mahal example of Mughal architecture

Deterioration of Imperial Leadership Ottoman princes become lazy through luxury

Selim the Sot (r. 1566-1574) Ibrahim the Crazy (r.1640-1648)

Attempts to isolate them compounds the problem Religious tensions between conservatives and liberals

intensify Role of women

Wahhabi movement in Arabia denounces Ottomans as unfit to rule Force destruction of observatory, printing press

Safavid Shiites persecute Sunnis, non-Muslims and even Sufis

Economic and Military Decline

Foreign trade controlled by Europeans Military, administrative network expensive to

maintainJanissaries mutiny when paid with debased

coinage, 1589, other revolts follow Unproductive wars European military technology advances faster

than Ottomans can purchase it

Cultural Conservatism Europeans actively studying Islamic cultures for

purposes of trade, missionary activities Islamic empires less interested in outside world Swiftly fell behind in technological development

E.g. Jews from Spain establish 1st printing press in Anatolia in late 15th century

But printing of books in Turkish and Arabic forbidden until 1729

Handwritten books preferred, but weak levels of dissemination

The Ottoman Empire at Its Height, 1566

The Ottoman Empire at Its Height, 1566The Ottomans, like their great rivals the Habsburgs, rose to rule a vast dynastic empire encompassing many different peoples and ethnic groups. The army and the bureaucracy served to unite the disparate territories into a single state.

The Ottoman and Russian Empires, 1829–1914At its height the Ottoman Empire controlled most of the perimeter of the Mediterranean Sea. But in the 1800s Ottoman territory shrank as many countries gained their independence. The Black Sea, where the Turkish coast was vulnerable to assault, became a weak spot as Russian naval power grew. Russian challenges to the Ottomans at the eastern end of the Black Sea and to the Persians east and west of the Caspian aroused fears in Europe that Russia was trying to reach the Indian Ocean.

The Ottoman and Russian Empires, 1829-1914

The Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, 1829-1914

The Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, 1829-1914At its height the Ottoman Empire controlled most of the perimeter of the Mediterranean Sea. But in the 1800s Ottoman territory shrank as many countries gained their independence--frequently with the aid of France or Russia. The Black Sea, which left the Turkish coast vulnerable to assault by the Russian navy, was a weak spot intensely contested in the Crimean dispute.

END Current unit

The creation of the Middle East after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the 1900s will be covered in the “1900s” unit.

Armenian GenocideIn 1915, when some Armenians welcomed Russian armies as liberators after years of persecution, the Ottoman government ordered a genocidal mass deportation of its Armenian citizens from their homeland to the empire's eastern provinces. This photo, taken in Kharpert in 1915 by a German businessman from his hotel window, shows Turkish guards marching Armenian men off to a prison, where they will be tortured to death. A million Armenians died from murder, starvation, and disease during World War I. (Courtesy of the Armenian Library & Museum of America, Watertown, MA)

Armenian Genocide

Delegates to Peace Conference, 1919The Arab Prince Faisal (1885-1993) (foreground)--who would later become king of Iraq--attended the Paris Peace Conference, where he lobbied for the creation of an independent Arab kingdom from part of the former Ottoman Turkish holdings in the Middle East. Among his supporters was the British office Colonel T.E. Lawrence (middle row, second from the right), on his way to becoming the legendary "Lawrence of Arabia." (Courtesy of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum)

Delegates to Peace Conference, 1919

Palestinian Arabs ProtestIn the early twentieth century, Great Britain and France had agreed to divide up the Arab lands; at Versailles President Wilson had insisted that the right of self-determination should be applied to the conquered Ottoman territories. To present their view to the Americans, Arab nationalists passed a resolution on July 2, 1919 that called for political independence, and talked of possible French rule under a League of Nations mandate and the establishment of a Jewish national home. This wasn't the view of all Arabs. In this photo, Palestinian Arabs protest against large-scale Jewish migration into Palestine. (Roger-Viollet/Getty Images)

Palestinian Arabs Protest

Turks celebrate victory at Smyrna, 1922In 1919 Greek armies carried by British ships landed on the Turkish coast at Smyrna (the ancient name Europeans used for the port of Ismir). The sultan ordered his exhausted troops not to resist, and Greek armies advanced into the interior. After three years of fighting, the Turks were victorious over the Greek and British invaders, and Mustafa Kemal ended the Greek idea of establishing a modern empire that would include part of Turkey. In this photo, the Turks celebrate victory at Smyrna, October 1922. (Liaison/Getty Images)

Turks celebrate victory at Smyrna, 1922

Europe in 1913

Europe in 1913On the eve of World War I, Europe was divided between two great alliance systems--the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Entente (France, Great Britain, and Russia)--and their respective colonial empires. These alliances were not stable. When war broke out, the Central Powers lost Italy but gained the Ottoman Empire.

The Partition of the Ottoman Empire, 1914-1923

The Partition of the Ottoman Empire, 1914-1923The decline of the mighty Ottoman Empire began in 1699, when the Habsburgs conquered Hungary, and it accelerated after 1805, when Egypt became virtually independent. By 1914 the Ottoman Turks had been pushed out of the Balkans, and their Arab provinces were on the edge of revolt; that revolt erupted in the First World War and contributed greatly to the Ottomans' defeat. When the allies then attempted to implement their plans, including independence for the Armenian people, Mustafa Kemal arose to forge in battle the modern Turkish state.

Territorial Changes in Europe After World War I

Territorial Changes in Europe After World War IThe Great War brought tremendous changes to eastern Europe. Empires were shattered, and new stations were established. A dangerous power vacuum was created between Germany and Soviet Russia.

Territorial Changes in the Middle East after World War I

Territorial Changes in the Middle East after World War IThe defeat and dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I resulted in an entirely new political map of the region. The Turkish republic inherited Anatolia and a small piece of the Balkans, while the Ottoman Empire's Arab provinces were divided between France and Great Britain as "Class A Mandates." The French acquired Syria and Lebanon and the British got Palestine (now Israel), Transjordan (now Jordan), and Iraq. Only Iran and Egypt remained as they had been.