2.  The Ottoman Empire was one of the premier countries in the Middle East by the end of the 18 th Century  However by the beginning of the 19 th Century Ottoman power began to wane.  Ultamately in the beginning of the 20 th centrury because of their involvement in WWI the Empire ultamately collapsed

3.  1876: Ottoman reformers seize the government and adopted a constitution with idea of creating a Constitutional Monarchy  Abdulhamid II is appointed Sultan  As soon as taking the throne he suspends the constitution and ruled as an absolute monarch

4.  Upset a group called the Young Turks began to protest  Forced Abdulhamid II to restore the constitution by 1908  By 1909 the deposed the Sultan  At the same time many ethnic turks pushed for independence

6.  During WWI the Ottomans had killed or had been responsible for the deaths of nearly 1 million Christian Armenians  Armenia had sought independence but were brutally attacked and deported by the Ottomans.  The Allies denounced the genocide, but did nothing to prevent it.  A similar event happened in Bosnia in 1993 and 1996

7.  After WWI Greece attacked Turkey  The newly formed Republic of Turkey placed Mustafa Kamul Ataturk in control of the defense  Under Ataturk Turkey was able to drive the Greeks back

8.  After successfully fending off Greece, Ataturk is elected President  Ataturk tried, valiantly to modernize Turkey, beginning with a democratic form of government  However Ataturk did not allow opposition

9.  Eliminated Arabic elements from the Turkish language  Adopted the Roman alphabet  Forced his people to adopt last names  Established factories and directed the economy  Tried to modernize farming, with little effect

10.  Forbade men to wear the traditional fez  Forbade women from wearing the veil  Abolished the caliphate  New laws gave women equal marriage and inheritance rights  Women were allowed to vote  Turks were also allowed to join Non-Muslim religious groups

11.  The Qajar dynasty of Persia who had ruled Persia for 130 years was having difficulty with domestic problems  The Qajar had increasingly been turning to Russia and Britain to protect itself from its own people

12.  In 1908 Oil is discovered in Southern Persia/Iran.  This is much to the delight of Britain and Russia and they created a bigger presence in the region  Foreign presence led to Persian Nationalist movements

13.  1921: Reza Kahn leads a military mutiny against the Qajar dynasty.  Seized Tehran in 1925 and proclaimed himself Shah of Iran, taking the name Reza Shah Pahlavi  Tried to follow Ataturk’s example to modernize his nation

14.  Modernized the government, military and economy  Renamed the country Iran  Major difference between Ataturk and Pahlavi was that Pahlavi did not try to separate church and state.  Encouraged western-style education and forbade women from wearing a veil in public.  To break free of British and Soviet influence, Iran grew closer to Nazi Germany. However during WWII Britain and the Soviet Union invaded forcing Pahlavi to resign,