Present Saudi Arabia dates from the 1930s. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates: With the exception of Saudi Arabia, these are mostly “new States” that came into existence in the 1960s and 1970s, carved out of a region that had been under British military and naval “protection” from the 1830s onward. (Before 1918, Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon were all part of Greater Syria.) THE NEW STATES OF THE GULF AND THE ARABIAN PENINSULA Palestine: British Mandate territory after 1918. Jordan: British Mandate territory after 1918. Iraq: Occupied by Britain in World War I. Syria: Colonized by France in 1918, became independent in 1946. The Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioned the area between Britain and France. These countries had been part of the Ottoman Empire until World War I. THE LIGHTLY COLONIZED COUNTRIES OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT When Italy lost in World War II, she also “lost” Libya. Morocco: French protectorate imposed in 1912. Won war of independence from France in 1963. Independent 1956.Īlgeria: French conquest began in 1830. Sudan: From 1899 onward, under British control as part of Egyptian-Sudanese condominium. Last British troops depart from the Suez Canal Zone in 1956. Constitutional monarchy under British tutelage from 1922 onward. THE HEAVILY COLONIZED COUNTRIES OF NORTH AFRICAĮgypt:British colony from 1882. His son, the “baby” Shah was overthrown in the late 1970s. A Republic was established under Reza Shah circa 1925. Constitutional government was established circa 1905. Iran remained ostensibly independent throughout. During the 19th century it became subdivided into “spheres of influence” with Russia dominant in the north and Britain dominant in the south. Served as a bridge to the Indian subcontinent in the Moghul expansion to India. Iran: Earlier (Persian) empire became part of the Islamic Empire. The Republic was re-established under Attaturk in 1923. Turkey itself remained independent throughout. Lost its imperial domains when it was defeated by European powers in World War I after having lost (most) North African provinces by the end of the 19th century. Controlled parts of Europe, much of North Africa, all of the Fertile Crescent, none of the Gulf. Turkey: Head of the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century on. COUNTRIES WHICH HAD BEEN ANCIENT EMPIRES BUT WERE NEVER OFFICIALLY COLONIZED

A world for two with you in the middle