PERSIAN GULF

AND THE INTERIOR

LANDFORMS & RIVERSCollision of African, Eurasian, and arabian plates has created a mixture of mountains, plateaus, valleys, narrow gulfs, and seas.

As the african and arabian plates move apart, the red sea is getting wider

there are frequent earthquakes as a result of this tectonic activity

MESOPOTAMIA

To the north of the arabian peninsula

Part of the fertile crescent

“Land between the rivers” - tigris & Euphrates

NATURAL RESOURCES

Oil - Plentiful

Persian Gulf reserves are the largest in the world

few other resources for developing industry (iran has some metallic resources)

NATURAL RESOURCES

Water - Not Plentiful (tigris & Euphrates are the main source)

In the mountains, farmers depend on rain

OTHER WAYS TO GET WATER

deep wells or an oasis

fossil water (underground and non-renewable)

desalinization - remove salt from seawater (Saudi arabia produces more desalinized water than any other country)

FIRST CIVILIZATIONSThe world’s first civilizations developed in the fertile crescent.

many animals and plants were first domesticated there.

3000 BC - Sumerians built the worlds first known cities in mesopotamia

CONQUEST - PERSIANSAkkadians conquered the sumerians in 2350 BC

People from all directions invaded and set up new empires

550 bc - empire develops in persia, where iran is today

Persians had one of the largest, richest, and most powerful empires in the world.

RISE OF ISLAMAD 570-632: PROPHET MUHAMMAD ESTABLISHED ISLAM

Islam is one of the world’s most widely practiced religions

By the time Muhammad died, Islam had spread to most of the arabian peninsula

More on islam later...

SAFAVIDSIn the early 1500s, rulers called Safavids came to power in Iran.

Historians consider their rule, which lasted more than 200 years, to be a golden age of persian culture

literature, architecture and arts flourished. persian carpets, ceramics and textiles became renowned.

OTTOMAN EMPIREIn the 1500s, OTTOMANS conquered Mesopotamia and the east and west coast of the Arabian Peninsula

Ottomans and Safavids held power until the 1800s and 1900s when the british and russian empires took over

CULTURE - ARABSPeople in the Persian Gulf and Interior Southwest Asia are ARABS and ARABIC is the dominant language

The spread of Islam influenced the spread of the Arabic language and the Arabic world, so eventually all Arabic speakers became known as Arabs

CULTURE - KURDS

Kurds live in the border-lands of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

They are Muslims, but not Arabs

Their desire for self-rule is a source of political unrest in some countries

CULTURE - PERSIANS & FARSI

Most of Iran’s people are Persians who speak Farsi

Some Kurds and other ethnic groups in the region also speak farsi.