Early Civilisations The Middle East region was in advance of western Europe for all but the last five hundred of the five thousands or so years for which human history can be traced back. Hammurabi, King of Babylon in the eighteenth century BCE, formulated the first comprehensive code of law The history of the region is characterized by successive waves of settlement, dispersal and integration Sumerians from Mesopotamia dominated Syria for about 1000 years from 3500BC.

Region of multiple histories They were driven out by the Semitic Amorites, who were nomads from central Arabia. Those who settled in Syria and Palestine were known as Canaanites from about 1600BC. Phoenicians also settled on the coastal areas of the Levant from about 1400BC. The Aramaeans, who gained control of Damascus in about 1200BC, made their language – Aramaic – the lingua franca of the region. A century after the arrival of the Phoenicians, the Hebrews who had escaped from Egypt invaded the land of Canaan and seized Jericho.

In 720 BC a new power in the region, the Assyrians, emerged from northern Iraq and took control over large parts of the Middle East. In 71 BC the Roman Empire under Caesar invaded Syria and took over Jerusalem, inaugurating several centuries of Roman dominance in the region. It was into this world that Christianity was born and which, over time, became the official religion of the empire under Constantine.

Arabian Peninsula

The Rise of Islam The Prophet Muhammad lived from 570 to 632 He began to experience revelations in 610, which formed the core a new scripture, the Quran. Muhammad became concerned about the decline in moral values as the Quraysh pursued wealth at the expense of the well-being of the community (Ummah), especially the poor. Thus his teachings emphasised justice, morality, sacrifice and compassion. Muhammad and his followers were forced to leave Mecca and settle in Medina where the united various tribal groups and built a substantial following and army. From this base they were able to take control of Mecca.

After Muhammad’s death in 632, the leadership of the Muslims was taken over by Abu Bakr. Within in two years the Muslim armies succeeded in subduing and uniting the various tribes of Arabia. Muslim armies first conquered Jerusalem in 638. By 650 Muslim control stretched from Tripoli in North Africa to Cyprus. Wars of economic expansion, often under the guise of spreading religion.

Islam – the great split In the late 650s a division occurred over who should lead Islam. One group believed the leadership should fall to one of the Prophet’s relatives, his cousin Ali. They became known as the Shia (partisans of Ali). The majority supported the idea that the caliphate (particularly the Rashidun – the four main companions of the Prophet) should assume the leadership. They were known as the Sunni.

Dynastic Rulers The Umayyads, who were responsible for the assassination of both Ali and his son Hussein, became the first major dynasty that ruled in the name of Islam. In 750 they were eclipsed by the Abassyds, who ruled from Baghdad. This was, according to Karen Armstrong, the ‘the Goldern Age of Islam – one of the highest peaks of human civilization.’ The decline of the Abassyds gave way to the emergence of regionally based powers, located in Egypt, Baghdad & Damascus Only under the Ottoman Empire did there emerge some semblance of political unity for large parts of the Islamic world.