Transcript The Colonial and Pre-Colonial Origins of the Modern Middle East

The Colonial and Pre-Colonial Origins
of the Modern Middle East
Prof. M. Cammett
POLS1270
Feb. 2 & 7, 2012
Birth of Islam
• Why is it important to understand the origins of Islam?
• Prophet Mohammed (570-632)
• Relationship of Islam with Judaism & Christianity
• What was so revolutionary about Islam?
– Monotheism
– Unity of tribes; one god (Allah)
– Social Justice
Pre-Islamic Empires:
The Byzantine & Sassanid Empires
Spread of Islam (7th cen. onwards)
Development of Islam
• Why conversion?
Multiple motivations
• Splits within Islam: Sunnis & Shi’a
• Islamic “law” or guiding principles
Sharia: (Qur’an, Sunna, Hadith)
• Islamic Jurisprudence & Schools of Thought
The Rise and Spread of the Ottoman Empire
• Why should we
care about the
Ottoman Empire?
• Emergence and
territorial
expansion
• Ottoman
motivations for
expansion
Features of Ottoman Rule:
Key Institutions of Governance
• What is “governance”?
• Institutions and practices
of Ottoman governance
• Sources of strength for
the Empire & the Sultan:
– Devshirme
– Millet system
– Timar system
• Ottoman v. European
state formation
Why Ottoman Decline?
• Internal reasons
• Decline of devshirme,
timar system
• External reasons
• Changing technologies,
Capitulations
• Ottoman responses to
decline: Tanzimat
Ottoman Legacies
• Economic (and then political) subordination of the Middle
East to European powers
• Enduring organizational features
– Millet system
– Decentralized power  indirect rule
European Imperialism in the Middle East
Types of European Imperial Authority in the Middle East
Type of Authority
Colony
Mandate
Treaty
Country
Algeria
Egypt
Libya
Morocco
Tunisia
Yemen (South)
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Lebanon
Palestine
Syria
Bahrain
Kuwait
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
European Power
France
Britain
Italy
France
France
Britain
Britain
Britain
Britain
France
Britain
France
Britain
Britain
Britain
Britain
Years
1830-1962
1880-1971
1911-1951
1912-1956
1881-1956
1839-1967
1920-1932
1920-1948
1920-1946
1920-1943
1920-1948
1920-1946
1880-1971
1899-1961
1916-1971
1892-1971
Israel/Palestine
•
Herzl & Zionism
•
1917 Balfour Declaration
•
British Mandate of Palestine
•
Jewish immigration (aliyot) and
demography
•
1920s/1930s: Increasing violence
•
1947: British announcement of
departure  UN
•
UN Partition Plan
•
May 14, 1948: Israel declares
independence
•
Contested narratives
Lasting Legacies of Colonial Rule
• National territorial legacies
– Problems of legitimacy and national identity formation
• Creation of key political institutions
– Military, bureaucracy
– Role of minorities
• Economic legacies
• Domestic social cleavages (rural/urban)