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, appointTurkishleader 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).
