Modern States of Mesopotamia and the Levant: Map & History

In 1908, the Young Turks took over the Ottoman Empire, and in 1909 when a counter-coup failed, the Young Turks "secularized" the government. Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, was appointed by the previous Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and did not favor the Young Turks; his opposition to the empire grew over time, culminating in the Arab Revolt.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Hejaz · Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

With the defeat of the Ottomans in Syria, British troops, under General Sir Edmund Allenby, entered Damascus in 1918 and were accompanied by troops of the Arab Revolt, led by Faisal, the son of Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz. Faisal established the first new postwar Arab government in Damascus in October 1918, and named Ali Rikabi a military governor.

From Wikipedia: Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon · Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1921, the French already wanted to develop the agricultural sector, and a feasibility study of the Union Economique de Syrie the North-East of Syria and the Alawite State were deemed profitable for the cultivation of cotton. Investments began in 1924, but it took until the 1930s to produce more than the level that had been reached in 1925. Due to the high economic integration of the region, a trade separation would have harmed both mandates.

From Wikipedia: Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The territory of Iraq was under Ottoman dominance until the end of the First World War, becoming an occupied territory under the British military from 1918. In order to transform the region to civil rule, Mandatory Mesopotamia was proposed as a League of Nations Class A mandate under Article 22 and entrusted to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, when the former territories of that Ottoman Empire were divided in August 1920 by the Treaty of Sèvres. However, the 1920 Iraqi revolt resulted in the scrapping of the original mandate plan. Instead, the Kingdom of Iraq was recognised as a sovereign country under King Faisal I of Iraq. Not withstanding the formal sovereignty of the Iraqi king, a treaty of alliance was concluded between the Kingdom of Iraq and the United Kingdom in 1922 called the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Iraq · Kingdom of Iraq under de facto British administration (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After Faisal died in September 1933, King Ghazi reigned as a figurehead from 1933 to 1939, when he was killed in a motor accident. Pressure from Arab nationalists and Iraqi nationalists demanded that the British leave Iraq, but their demands were ignored by the United Kingdom.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Iraq · History: Political instability and army coups, 1933–1941 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1945, during the final stages of World War II, Iraq joined the United Nations and became a founding member of the Arab League.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Iraq · History: The end of the British occupation until the end of the monarchy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Syrian flag shall be composed as follows, the length shall be double the height. It shall contain three bands of equal dimensions, the upper band being green, the middle band white, and the lower band black. The white portion shall bear three red stars in line, having five points each.

From Wikipedia: Second Syrian Republic · Background: Mandatory Syrian Republic (1930–1946) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The timing and causes behind the emergence of a distinctively Palestinian national identity among the Arabs of Palestine are matters of scholarly disagreement. Some argue that it can be traced as far back as the peasants' revolt in Palestine in 1834 (or even as early as the 17th century), while others argue that it did not emerge until after the Mandatory Palestine period. Legal historian Assaf Likhovski states that the prevailing view is that Palestinian identity originated in the early decades of the 20th century, when an embryonic desire among Palestinians for self-government in the face of generalized fears that Zionism would lead to a Jewish state and the dispossession of the Arab majority crystallised among most editors, Christian and Muslim, of local newspapers.

From Wikipedia: Palestinians · Identity: Emergence of a distinct identity (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The majority of Palestinians are Muslim, the vast majority of whom are followers of the Sunni branch of Islam, with a small minority of Ahmadiyya. Palestinian Christians represent a significant minority of 6%, and belong to several denominations, followed by much smaller religious communities, including Druze and Samaritans. Palestinian Jews – considered Palestinian by the Palestinian National Charter adopted by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which defined them as those "Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion" – today identify as Israelis (with the exception of a very few individuals).

From Wikipedia: Palestinians · Demographics: Religion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Palestinian literature forms part of the wider genre of Arabic literature. Unlike its Arabic counterparts, Palestinian literature is defined by national affiliation rather than territorially. For example, Egyptian literature is the literature produced in Egypt. This too was the case for Palestinian literature up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, but following the Palestinian Exodus of 1948 it has become "a literature written by Palestinians" regardless of their residential status.

From Wikipedia: Palestinians · Culture: Literature (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Pan-Arabism and Arab nationalism were major movements in the Middle East after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1919–1925. Arab nationalism was particularly popular among intellectuals and the military. Pan-Arabists often advocated for an Arab Union that would combine all the Arabs in a single state, similar to romantic portrayals of the Ottoman Empire and the old caliphates. However, it was unclear who would lead any such proposed pan-Arab state, and major fissures grew between rivals for leadership. The Hashemite dynasty fashioned themselves as the true leaders of the Arab world, but were considered overly deferential to Western interests by other Arab nationalists, and had come to power with the assent and aid of the United Kingdom. Both Jordan and Iraq remained on largely friendly terms with the Western Bloc.

From Wikipedia: Arab Federation · Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Tension between the UAR and the Arab Federation worsened. During the summer of 1958, UAR troop movements to the Syrian border instigated the Arab Federation to mobilize troops to counter this move. Within Iraq, a group called the Free Officers plotted against the monarchy. They were inspired both by Iraq's turbulent history of coups and counter-coups in the past decades as well as Nasser's successful overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy in 1952, although they were not direct agents of Nasser. In July 1958, troops led by Abd al-Karim Qasim were transiting through Baghdad on their way to the Jordanian-Syrian border. Qasim took the opportunity, with his troops having a legitimate excuse to be in Baghdad, to overthrow the government there in the 14 July Revolution.

From Wikipedia: Arab Federation · History: Iraqi military coup (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After the end of the Iraq War, Iraq sought and strengthened regional economic cooperation and improved relations with neighbouring countries. On 12 February 2009, Iraq officially became the 186th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Under the provisions of this treaty, Iraq is considered a party with declared stockpiles of chemical weapons. Because of their late accession, Iraq is the only State Party exempt from the existing timeline for destruction of their chemical weapons.

From Wikipedia: Iraq · Government and politics: Foreign relations (CC BY-SA 4.0)

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Iraq is an oil-rich upper-middle-income country. Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. The lack of development in other sectors has resulted in 18%–30% unemployed and a per capita GDP of $4,812. Public sector employment accounted for nearly 60% of full-time employment in 2011. The oil export industry, which dominates the Iraqi economy, generates little employment. Currently only a modest percentage of women (the highest estimate for 2011 was 22%) participate in the labour force. The official currency in Iraq is the Iraqi dinar. The Central Provisional Authority issued new dinar coins and notes, with the notes printed by De La Rue using modern anti-forgery techniques.

From Wikipedia: Iraq · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Coalition Provisional Authority disbanded the Iraqi military and expelled Ba'athists from the new government. The insurgents fought against the coalition forces and the newly installed government. Saddam was captured and executed. The Shia–Sunni civil war took place from 2006 to 2008. The coalition forces were accused of war crimes such as the Abu Ghraib torture, the Fallujah massacre, the Mahmudiyah rape and killings and the Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre. Following the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, the occupation ceased and war ended. The war in Iraq has resulted in between 151,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis being killed.

From Wikipedia: Iraq · History: Insurgency and Civil war (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The architecture of Iraq has a long history, encompassing several distinct cultures and spanning a period from the 10th millennium BC and features both the Mesopotamian and Abbasid architecture. Baghdad and Mosul have plethora of cultural and heritage buildings. There are numerous historic mosques in Baghdad and Basra, old churches in Mosul and synagogues in Baghdad. Modern prominent architects include Zaha Hadid, Basil Bayati, Rifat Chadirji and Hisham N. Ashkouri among others.

From Wikipedia: Iraq · Culture: Architecture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Ba'ath Party, and indirectly the Syrian Regional Branch, was established on 7 April 1947 by Michel Aflaq (a Christian), Salah al-Din al-Bitar (a Sunni Muslim) and Zaki al-Arsuzi (an Alawite). According to the congress, the party was "nationalist, populist, socialist, and revolutionary" and believed in the "unity and freedom of the Arab nation within its homeland." The party opposed the theory of class conflict, but supported the nationalisation of major industries, the unionisation of workers, land reform, and supported private inheritance and private property rights to some degree. The party merged with the Arab Socialist Party (ASP), led by Akram al-Hawrani, to establish the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Lebanon following Adib Shishakli's rise to power. Most ASP members did not adhere to the merger and remained, according to George Alan, "passionately loyal to Hawrani's person."

From Wikipedia: Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region · History: Founding and early years: 1947–1963 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Military Bureau, which succeeded the Military Committee, oversaw the Syrian Armed Forces. Shortly after the 8 March Coup, the Military Committee created National Council for the Revolutionary Command (NCRC) and became the supreme authority in military affairs. The party had a parallel structure within the Syrian armed forces. The military and civilian sectors only met at the regional level, as the military sector is represented in the Central Command and sends delegates to general congresses. The military sector was divided into branches, which operated at the battalion level. The head of a military party branch was called a tawjihi, or guide.

From Wikipedia: Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region · Organization: Military Bureau (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The head of state in the overseas territories is the British monarch, currently King Charles III. The monarch appoints a representative in each territory to exercise the executive power of the monarch. In territories with a permanent population, a governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. Currently (2019), all but two governors are either career diplomats or have worked in other civil service departments. The remaining two governors are former members of the British armed forces. In territories without a permanent population, a commissioner is usually appointed to represent the monarch. Exceptionally, in the overseas territories of Saint Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands, an administrator is appointed to be the governor's representative.

From Wikipedia: British Overseas Territories · Government: Head of state (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ascension Island (part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha) – the base known as RAF Ascension Island is used by both the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force.

From Wikipedia: British Overseas Territories · Relations with the United Kingdom: Military (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Hamas government of 2016 is the third de facto Hamas government in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007. On 17 October 2016 it as announced that the Supreme Administrative Committee, which is in charge of the conduct of Gaza's ministries, had carried out a Cabinet reshuffle in active ministries and a change the positions of 16 deputy ministers and directors general in government institutions. The new administration was composed of Deputy Ministers, Directors General and other high-level officials, not directly bound to the Ramallah administration. It was initially speculated that the 2016 Hamas government was an attempt to return Ismail Haniyeh to full control of the Gaza Strip. As part of the government changes, the Ministry of Planning was abolished.

From Wikipedia: Gaza Strip under Hamas · History: 2016 Hamas administration (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Gaza generally obtained its diesel fuel from Israel but, in 2011, Hamas began buying cheaper fuel from Egypt, bringing it via a network of tunnels, and refused to buy it from Israel.

From Wikipedia: Gaza Strip under Hamas · Finance and economics: 2012 fuel crisis (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war and the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in early November 2023, Hamas' complete control of the Gaza Strip was weakened as Israeli forces kept advancing. On 6 January 2024, the Israeli government stated that actual Hamas rule in the northern part of the Gaza Strip was eliminated due to Israeli military advance. By 18 January, the IDF stated that Hamas had begun to rebuild its armies in the occupied parts of Northern Gaza. The IDF had previously stated these armies were stripped of military capabilities but by 18 January the fighting strength of many battalions had been significantly restored. Some change occurred from late January 2024 onward, as it was reported that Hamas managed to revive some of its governing abilities in parts of Gaza city from which Israeli forces withdrew.

From Wikipedia: Gaza Strip under Hamas · History: Gaza war (CC BY-SA 4.0)