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More than half of the world's oil comes from Persian Gulf
states. Political instability and religious strife here threaten
to interrupt the world's economic routines. This presentation
examines the history of Persia, Iran's attempt to westernize,
and the backlash of religiously fervent Moslems against the
West and against each other.
- 3400
BC-Civilizations of Sumer and Elam develop
urban life.
- 1000
BC--Camels domesticated for use in the desert.
- 550
BC-- Cyrus founds the first Persian Empire.
- 490
BC--Athenians defeat Persians at Battle of Marathon.
- 480
BC--Persians defeat Spartans at Thermopylae; they
capture Athens and burn the Parthenon. But Greeks prevail
by defeating the Persian navy.
- 331
BC--Alexander the Great sacks Persepolis
and incorporates Persia into his empire.
- 570--Mohammed
is born in Mecca (dies 632).
-
634-642--Arabs conquer Persian Empire.
- 661--Caliphs
from the Umayyad begin rule from Damascus (later becoming
Sunni Muslims). Muslims from Mohammed's Hashemite
tribe oppose Caliphs (later becoming Shi'ites).
- 732
--Muslim
conquests reach from central France to China.
- 1055--Seljuks
enter Baghbad, appoint Turkish leader as Sultan
and threaten the Christian Byzantine Empire.
- 1206-1209
--Mongols devastate northern Persia; their empire stretches
from Korea to Germany.
Kayi Turks later flee to the west and establish Ottoman
Empire.
- 1379-1405--Tamerlane
conquers Persia; after his death, empire dissolves into bickering
tribes.
- 1451--
Byzantine capital, Constantinople, becomes Ottoman
capital (renamed Istanbul) Ottoman Empire expands into
Egypt, the Balkans, and Africa (but doesn't include Persia).
Ottoman Empire weakens after 1566, but lasts until World War
I (1917).
- 1488--
Vasco
de Gama finds sea route around Africa
to the East; Persian trade is undermined.
- 18th
Cent.-- Sa'ud and Wahabi families rule Arabian
Peninsula; conquest by Saudis after 1913.
- 1898
ff-- Gulf region becomes dominated by British India.
- 1908--
Oil discovered in large quantities in Iran.
- 1914-1918
-- World
War I; Arabs ally with Britain against Ottomans,
but are betrayed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement between
Britain and France.
- 1927--
Oil is struck in Iraq. American Oil Co. (Aramco) established
in 1930s.
- 1939-1945--
World
War II. (1949) Israeli State created.
- 1956--
Suez crisis. Britain, France, & Israel invade Egypt.
- 1967--
Six day war (Israel vs. Egypt). War flares again in
1973, followed by Arab oil embargo against the USA.
- 1979--
Shah of Iran deposed. Second oil crisis follows.
- 1980-1988--
Iran-Iraq War.
- 1990--
Iraq invades Kuwait; defeated by U.S. led international coalition
in 1991 (Operation Desert Storm).
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