Currently exist in the Middle East around 15 internationally recognized countries: Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria and Turkey. However, this was not always the case. This region was the cradle of great civilizations (Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian) and was conquered by several other peoples (Greeks, Romans and Europeans), thus having different spatial configurations throughout their story.
For many centuries, this region belonged to two Empires, the Persian Empire, which stretched from the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea region to the Indus River, and the empireOttoman-Turkish, which owned a large territory in the western portion. For years, these two empires disputed among themselves and with the European countries for the hegemony of this region. However, with the development of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution, European countries acquired a great economic, social and military superiority in relation to all countries in the world.
Seeking to obtain raw material, cheap labor and a consumer market to continue its industrial development after the independence from the American countries, Europe started to colonize Africa and Asia, starting the process that became known like neocolonization. With this, the two empires that occupied the area that is now known as the Middle East began to suffer great territorial losses.
To stop European expansion in its territory, the Turkish-Ottoman empire allied with Germany during the First World War. In return, the French and English began to encourage the various Arab tribes that lived in the territory Ottoman Turks to fight it during the war in exchange for authorization to set up their own states, if won the war. Therefore, it was common for Europeans to promise the same territory to different peoples.
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At the end of the first world conflict, however, instead of allowing the formation of national states as promised, France and England divided the territory of the Middle East between them, constituting, instead of independent States, several protectorates. So, the creation of most of today's Middle Eastern states it only occurred through the permission of France and England during the course of the 20th century as a result of the weakening of these great powers and pressure from the United States, which were already the greatest world power at the time and did not participate in the division of either Africa or of Asia.
Middle Eastern countries that were created after authorization from the European powers
The only countries that did not emerge from the authorization of European countries were the Turkey, a remnant of the Turkish-Ottoman empire, the Will, descendant of the ancient Persian empire, and Israel, that was created after the Second World War to be the territory of millions of Jews who were spread around the world since the Jewish diaspora, in the year 70 d. a., and that underwent persecution in several countries, mainly in Germany.
By Thamires Olimpia
Graduated in Geography