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Arab kingdoms and city states grew up alongthe coast of the Peninsula, the edges of the central desert and in the adjoining northern regions of present-day Iraq and Jordan, as wellas further north in Syria.
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the dominant religion has been Islam.
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The religion of Islam
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after Muhammad’s death, Abu Bakr was elected as the Islamic head of state, known as a ‘caliph’.
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Islamic Empire reached well beyond the Arab region, from central Asia in the east to Spain in the west.
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The Islamic Empire began to fragment afterthe collapse of the Umayyads
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increasing European influences and the encroachment of other foreign powers, such as the Mongol Empire
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The Ottoman Empire, which was Turkish in origin, but essentially Muslim, ruled most of the Arab region (except Morocco and Central Arabia)
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The Ottoman Empire had lost control of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, and Arab nationalist movements were emerging in the Syrian and Iraqi provinces.
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During the First World War Britain and its Allies fought the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, and Arab forces assisted the Allies greatly.
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For the Arab political elite, their focus was on gaining independence while working with Britain and its Allies. However, most Arab states did not achieve real independence until after the Second World War
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Abbasids, broke up
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The Fifth Caliph of the Arab Abbasid Dynasty was Harun Al Rashid who ruled in Baghdad.