WorksheetsHistory of Southwest Asia
Total questions: 29
Worksheet time: 15mins
What large empire broke up after World War I?
Roman Empire
Aztec Empire
Ottoman Empire
Persian Empire
Who drew up the boundaries for the new countries formed after the breakup of this empire?
Middle Eastern governments
The United States' government
Former empire leaders
British and French politicians
Why did Great Britain put governments friendly to European powers in place in the Middle East?
To keep its influence and secure valuable oil resources
To ensure homelands for ethnic and religious groups
To punish the Ottoman Empire for its role in WWI
To protect citizens from autocratic governments
What problems did the new boundaries cause a people found themselves living in newly created countries?
All the new countries had a low standard of living
The new countries included people who did not have much in common.
Most of the new countries were formed in the desert, so it was hard to find work.
People in the new countries could no longer practice their religion.
Today, most Palestinians deny that this country exists:
Iran
Iraq
Jordan
Israel
Which places are sites of continual conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs?
Israel
Gaza Strip
Mecca
West Bank
Which European country ruled the area of Palestine after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire?
France
Great Britain
Germany
Italy
What is antisemitism?
denying rights to women
refusal to allow the practice of any religion
hatred of the Jews
hatred of the Arabs
Antisemitism spread rapidly throughout Europe when which political party came into power?
Socialist
Fascist
Communist
Nazi
Which of the following are examples of antisemitism in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s? (Select more than one)
Jewish land and businesses were confiscated.
Jews could run for local political offices.
Jews could not attend public schools.
Jews were denied employment.
During World War II, six million Jews were killed in what is called:
The Holocaust
Zionism
Apartheid
Diaspora
CAUSE: Jewish communities in Europe were destroyed during the Holocaust.
Which statement represents an EFFECT of the cause described above?
Jewish people had nowhere to go and nowhere to live in Europe.
Hitler and the Nazis tried to exterminate the Jewish population.
Jews face discrimination throughout Europe.
The United Nations denied the motion to divide Palestine into two separate states.
The international movement for the establishment of a Jewish national homeland is known as what?
Antisemitism
The Holocaust
Diaspora
Zionism
I. Israel is created as a country.
II. Hitler came to power and antisemitism spread rapidly.
III. Many Jewish immigrants flee from Europe for Palestine.
IV. More than 6 million Jews are killed in the Holocaust.
What is the correct chronological order of the events?
I, II, III, IV
II, IV, III, I
II, III, IV, I
IV, II, III, I
Why did many countries in the United Nations feel it was right to create the state of Israel?
There was no one else living on the land.
Many felt that Jews deserved help because they suffered so much in the Holocaust.
Arab countries in the area supported the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
All national groups in the former Ottoman Empire were given homelands at that time.
In what year was the new state of Israel created?
1984
1939
1991
1948
How did Arabs living in Palestine feel about the new State of Israel?
They were unaffected by the new state.
They supported it fully.
They rejected it and thought it was unfair to them.
They were unhappy but agreed to work it out.
Which groups of people have been fighting conflicts over land in the Middle East since the mid-1900s? (select all the correct choices)
Kurds
Arabs
Jews
Persians
What is the United States's main economic interest in Southwest Asia?
Oil
Trade routes
Agricultural products
Stopping the spread of Communism
In the late 1900s, the United States went to war to stop the invasion of _____ led by _____.
Iraq, Osama bin Laden
Kuwait, Saddam Hussein
Iran, Saddam Hussein
Israel, Osama bin Laden
Iraq invaded Kuwait and international forces joined to help Kuwait in this war:
Persian Gulf War
Vietnam War
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Kuwait War
Why did Iraq invade Kuwait?
To gain control of oil fields and reserves
To stop Kuwait from building nuclear weapons
To protect the Arab culture
To overthrow Kuwait's harsh dictator
When did terrorists attack the World Trade Center in New York City?
1991
2001
1983
2011
What led the US to bomb Afghanistan in 2001?
Afghanistan was building nuclear weapons and the US wanted to put a stop to it.
The US believed Afghanistan's government was offering safety to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
The United Nations asked the US to overthrow the Taliban government.
Afghanistan invaded Kuwait and threatened the US's oil supply.
I. The US helps form a new government in Afghanistan.
II. Taliban rises to power in Afghanistan.
III. Terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
IV. US ground forces land in Afghanistan.
V. Osama bin Laden is shot and killed.
What is the correct chronological order of these events?
I, II, V, III, IV
II, V, IV, III, I
II, III, IV, I, V
IV, II, III, I, V
A United Nations inspection team was in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, with the purpose of finding and destroying:
oil fields
desalination plants
weapons of mass destruction
military helicopters
Why did the US go to war against Iraq in 2003?
Iraq was threatening Israel with nuclear weapons.
They believed Iraq was going to invade Kuwait a second time.
Iraqi troops invaded Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the US.
The US believed Iraq was developing nuclear weapons and offering aid to terrorist groups like al-Qaeda.
How does the United States view terrorist groups in the Middle East?
It refuses to get involved with terrorist groups.
It is a problem that Middle Eastern nations must solve on their own.
They have very little impact on the United States's affairs.
It sees them as a threat to US security.
Which of the following situations has been a problem that Iraqis have faced since the US forces left in 2011? (select all correct answers)
Roadside bombings and civilian injuries/deaths
Battles between Sunni and Shia Muslims
Discovery of weapons of mass destruction
Unemployment
