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The Arabian Peninsula

Most countries of the Arabian Peninsula share three main characteristics: Islamic religion and culture, monarchy as a form of government, and valuable oil resources.

​Saudi Arabia

​Saudi Arabia is by far the largest of the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. It is also a major religious and cultural center and has one of the region’s strongest economies.

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​People & Customs

​Nearly all Saudis are Arab and speak Arabic. Their culture is strongly influenced by Islam, a religion founded around AD 622 in Arabia by Muhammad. It is based on submitting to God (Allah) and on messages Muslims believe Muhammad received from God. These messages are written in the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam.

Multiple Choice

What major religion began in Saudi Arabia?

• Christianity

• Islam

• Judaism

• Buddhism

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the central teaching of Islam?

• Allah will grant life in paradise to all who obey him

• Allah is the only God and Muhammad is his prophet

• On the final day, Allah will judge all people

• Muslims must wash before praying to be pure before Allah

Multiple Choice

What is the holy text of Islam that is written in Arabic?

• Qur'an

• Bible

• Torah

• Vedas

​Nearly all Saudis follow one of two main branches of Islam. Shia Muslims believe that true interpretation of Islamic teaching can only come from certain religious and political leaders called imams. Sunni Muslims believe in the ability of the majority of the community to interpret Islamic teachings. Approximately 85 to 90 percent of Saudi Muslims are Sunni.

Multiple Choice

Where did Islam originate?

• The Arabian Peninsula

• The Balkan Peninsula

• The Italian Peninsula

Multiple Choice

Which branch of Islam do the majority of people in Saudi Arabia follow?

• Shia

• Sunni

• Jewish

• Catholic

​Muslim Contributions to Math

​Our familiar system of numerals, which we call Arabic, was first created in India. However, it was Muslim thinkers who introduced that system to Europe. They also developed algebra and made advances in geometry. Muslims used math to advance the study of astronomy and physics. Muslim geographers calculated distances between cities, longitudes and latitudes, and the direction from one city to another. Muslim scientists even defined ratios and used mathematics to explain the appearance of rainbows.

Multiple Choice

In what area did Muslim scholars make advancements?

• algebra

• aqueducts

• alphabets

• anatomy

​Islam influences Saudi Arabia’s culture in many ways. In part because Islam requires modesty, Saudi clothing keeps arms and legs covered. Men wear a long, loose shirt and a cotton headdress held in place with a cord. Saudi women wear a black cloak and veil in public, although some wear Western-style clothing.

​Saudi laws and customs limit women’s activities. For example, a woman rarely appears in public without her husband or a male relative. However, women can own and run businesses in Saudi Arabia. Only recently, Saudi women gained the rights to drive cars and to attend events in sports stadiums.

Multiple Choice

In Saudi Arabia, traditionally which group had very few rights?

• Men

• Women

​Saudi Arabia's Economy

​Saudi Arabia’s economy and foreign policy is influenced strongly by one geographic factor: oil. Saudi Arabia has almost one-fifth of the entire world’s oil reserves, or supplies. It is the world’s leading exporter of oil. Because it has so much oil, Saudi Arabia is an influential member of OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC is an international organization whose members work to influence the price of oil on world markets by controlling the supply.

​Oil also shapes the country’s domestic policy. In the 1970s, oil industry profits helped Saudi Arabia build roads, schools, hospitals and universities. Today, Saudi Arabia has a sizable middle class and provides its people with free health care and education.

Multiple Choice

Of which resource is Saudi Arabia the largest producer?

• oil

• cotton

• steel

• wheat

Islam

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Arabs are people who speak the Arabic language. They share the same history and culture. Early Arabs lived in a large peninsula between Asia and Africa. It is the Arabian Peninsula.

Multiple Choice

Where did early Arabs live?

• Africa

• Asia

• Arabian Peninsula

The Arabs were nomads and camel herders. They moved a lot to find water and food for their animals. They lived in tribes. Each tribe was ruled by a sheik.

Multiple Choice

Why did Arabs move a lot?

• They liked seeing new places

• To find water and food for their animals

• Their houses burned down

About 400 BC, there were several small states in the Arabian Peninsula. They were centers for trade. Traders usually travelled in groups called caravans. It was safer to travel with a group.

Multiple Choice

What was the name of the groups that traders travelled in?

• Flock

• caravans

• Herd

Muhammed was born about 570 AD. He was an orphan. Muhammed went to work as a caravan leader when he was a teenager.

Multiple Choice

Where did Muhammad work as when he was a teenager?

• Chef

• Doctor

• Caravan leader

An older woman owned the business Muhammed worked for. He made his boss rich. Later she asked Muhammed to marry her.

Multiple Choice

Who asked Muhammed to marry her?

• His friend

• His boss

• His neighbor

After Muhammed married his boss, he was rich. He had a lot of free time, so he went to the hills to think. He felt that he got messages from God while in the hills.

Multiple Choice

Where did Muhammed go to think?

• Church

• The hills

• The pool

He told people about the messages. People began following Muhammed. Soon, his group controlled much of the Arabian Peninsula. He controlled the oases and markets, so other people had to buy and sell goods from him.

Multiple Choice

Why did people have to buy and sell goods from Muhammed?

• He controlled the markets

• They were scared of him

• They liked him

Muhammed died in 632 AD. His teaching were written in the Quran, the holy book of Islam.

Multiple Choice

Where were Muhammed's teachings written?

• Bible

• Quran

• Book

The Middle East: Arabian Peninsula (Review)

Poll

Which picture do you relate the most to?

Multiple Choice

What is a peninsula?

• The land of pens

• A piece of land that is almost entirely surrounded by water and is attached to a larger land area.

• A peninsula is a country in the Middle East.

Multiple Choice

What did Arab traders use to carry goods from through the desert?

• Wagons

• Horses

• Camels

Turkey

• Religion: More than 9/10ths of the population in Turkey is Muslim and follows the Islamic religion

• Agriculture: about 1/3 of Turkey's land is used for agriculture wheat, with smaller areas of barley, rye, oats, corn (maize), and rice.

• What do you notice about Turkey's location?

Iraq

• Religion: Iraq is a predominantly Muslim country while a very small portion of the population is Christian.

• Agriculture: Iraq is a very hot and arid country, so not very much vegetation aside from shrubbery grow there.

• Review: During ancient times, the area which makes up Iraq today was known as Mesopotamia

Iran

• Religion: Muslim

• Agriculture: 1/10 is forested, especially within the Caspian region

• Geography: Most of Iran's geography consists of a central desert plateau

Arabia in the 6th Century

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Islam has its roots in Arabia, where Muhammad was born. To understand Islam's beginnings, it is important to first look at the time period in which Muhammad grew up.

The town of Mecca, Muhammad's birthplace, was located in a dry, rocky valley in western Arabia. Mecca did not have agriculture, but instead gained wealth as a center of trade. Merchants traveling along caravan routes stopped at the city's market, where they bought spices, sheepskins, dates, and other wares from townspeople and nomads.

By the time Muhammad was born, Mecca was a prosperous city.  Merchant families brought goods into Mecca from faraway places, growing wealthy through trade with Yemen (southern Arabia), Syria, and kingdoms in Africa.  Over time, a handful of clans, or families, had come to rule the city.  These families refused to share their fortune with the weaker, poorer clans who lived there.

Mecca was also a religious center.  According to the Qur'an (koor-AHN), the holy book of Islam, Abraham had built the cube-shaped shrine, the Ka'bah, centuries before to honor God.  In Muhammad's day, according to Islamic teaching, most Arabs followed  polytheism , and the Ka'bah housed hundreds of statues of different gods.  Pilgrims from all over Arabia came to worship at Mecca.

polytheism:

belief in more than one god

Many Arabs lived a nomadic life in the desert environment.  But some Arabs led a more urban and sedentary lifestyle in towns like Medina.  However, there was no central government in Arabia.  Instead, Arabs pledged loyalty to their clans and to larger tribes.  These tribes sometimes fought each other to capture territory, animals, goods, watering places, and even wives.  When someone from one tribe was killed during a raid, his family was honor-bound to avenge that death.  This led to long periods of fighting among tribes.

Although Arabs on the peninsula were not united as a nation, they shared cultural ties, especially language.  Arabic poetry celebrated the history of the Arab people, the beauty of their land, and their way of life.  Poets and singers from different tribes competed at gatherings held at the markets and during pilgrimages.  This was the culture into which Muhammad was born.

The holy city of Mecca is located on the Arabian Peninsula and is the birthplace of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. The Qur’an describes Mecca as a flourishing settlement that also served as a religious center.

Multiple Choice

Before the founding of Islam, most Arabs followed

• Buddhism.

• Judaism.

• polytheism.

Multiple Choice

polytheism is...

• the belief in one god

• the belief in many gods

Multiple Choice

Around the time of Muhammad's birth, Mecca was a prosperous desert trading city on the Arabian Peninsula where many merchants had become wealthy.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Mecca was also a religious center, and pilgrims from all over Arabia came to worship at the Ka'bah.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The Ka'bah was built by James, for God,

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The Ka'bah housed statues of one god.

• true

• false