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3100 BCE
Ancient Civilization
Mesopotamia was a region in the fertile crescent now modern day Iraq. Mesopotamia means "between two rivers", the Euphrates and Tigris. This civilization is considered the most advanced civilization of the ancient world and was the first society to invent a written and spoken language. They were also the first to invent a written set of laws in several different languages known as the Rosetta stone. The Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and Babylonians) mostly ruled this region. -
570 BCE
Beginning of Islam
In the year 570, a boy named Muhammad was born who would soon lead the new religion of Islam as its prophet. Muhammad had a normal life living in the city of Mecca and became a merchant as most other people did. After marrying and having four children, he retired and began to meditate and study in a cave just outside the city where he would experience his first revelation. -
530 BCE
The First Revelation
When Muhammad was in his late forties he experienced a voice calling to him when he was meditating in a cave. The voice was that of archangel Gabriel who commanded that Muhammad recite the first lines of chapter 96 of the Quran. After multiple tries at reciting the scripture he left the cave and preached his teaching to all of Mecca and Babylonia of nearly a decade. -
632
Gain Way for Islam
As Islam increases in popularity and following, more and more oppose Muhammad and begin to fight and skirmished happen all over Iraq and Arabia. After the fighting nearly all of the middle east was tolerant of Islam and plenty converted with its reach going as far as east Asia and central Africa. Soon after Muhammad died from and illness leaving a power vacuum where the next caliphate (successor) would be chosen from Islams many followers. -
632
The Schism
After Muhammad's death a successor had to be appointed to lead the growing religion and movement. The possible successors or "Caliphates" were Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq or Abu Bakr, who had not only accompanied Muhammad to Medina ten years before but was his best friend through out his adult life. The next possible successor was Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law. The religion then split into multiple different sub groups, the major ones being the Sunni and Shiites. -
1299
Ottoman Empire
The empire was created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) that grew to be one of the most powerful states in the world during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Ottoman period spanned more than 600 years from 1299 and came to an end only in 1922, when it was replaced by the Turkish Republic and various successor states in southeastern Europe and the Middle East. This Empire was able to unite all tribes and religions under one banner, that of the Ottomans. -
Broken Borders
After World War 1 Ottoman Empire was dissolved and all of its territories were taken or conquered by bigger European empires. Since the Ottomans were defeated the victors of the war get to decide the outcome for the losers that being the Ottomans. Mark Sykes and Francois Picot were diplomats from France and Britain deciding what territories were divided into new countries and what states the British and French got to keep. The Outcome did not work out in the long run. -
Geopolitical fumble
The Sykes-Picot agreement resulted in a lot of frustration for the middle east. Some of the problems presented from Sykes-Picot agreement was that the Arabs were promised that they would gain independence if they rebelled against the Empire. When that independence did not materialize after World War One and as these colonial powers continued to exert immense influence over the Arab world. This was a main factor in why these nations turned into militaristic regimes. -
The 9/11 Attacks
The 9/11 attacks is what really put the middle east under the world spot light. These terror attacks truly told the world that they were ready for war and that they wanted it. The middle east territories are as of now very complicated with the different rebellions, dictator regimes, terrorist organizations, and militaries. Al qaeda was the terrorist group that attacked the twin towers on September 11. -
A long and unsuccessful war
Since the 9/11 attacks the U.S has deployed nearly 2.5 million troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. So far there have been many dictators ruling over their nation with an iron fist in the east. Some of these being Bashar al-Assad, Saddam Hussein, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, Muammmar Gadhafi, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Most have died other are on the loose. Since the last U.S election the U.S has done a lot more on cracking down on terrorists in the middle east.
