Across three continents, the strategy is to hold the throat;
The underground treasure is unparalleled in the world, and the black gold is rolling like a stream.
In the center of the world's eastern hemisphere, at the junction of Europe, Asia and Africa, there is a vast and rich zone, which is the Middle East. It is the wing of Europe, the transportation hub of Europe, Asia and Africa, and the Suez Canal connecting the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean is strategically important.
16 and 17 century European colonists used the name "Middle East" when they invaded and expanded eastward. They took Europe as the center, and called all parts of the East "Near East", "Middle East" and "Far East" according to their distance, and later became the customary names for these geographical areas. The scope of "Near East" and "Middle East" is not clearly defined. At present, the Middle East generally refers to the region where Asia, Africa and Europe are connected, mainly in western Asia. It starts from the Iranian Plateau in the east, reaches Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean in the west, reaches the Black Sea and Caucasus in the north, and borders the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea in the south. Except Iran and Egypt, which are connected with the mainland, the rest are located between the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea. Therefore, the Middle East is also called "the land of five seas".
Geographically, the Middle East is located in the center of the Eastern Hemisphere continent, flanked by Europe, and is the meeting point and transportation hub of Asia, Africa and Europe. From this, it can connect the Indian Ocean, South Asia and Southeast Asia to the east, enter the Mediterranean Sea to the west, reach African countries to the southwest, and connect eastern and western European countries to the northwest. 1869 The opening of the Suez Canal not only connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, but also shortens the voyage from western Europe to the Indian Ocean by 8,000 to/kloc-0.000 km compared with bypassing the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. In addition, the Turkish Black Sea Strait, Cyprus and its surrounding waters, the Gulf of Aden and its Mande Strait, the Persian Gulf and its the Strait of Hormuz, etc. It is the main traffic artery connecting the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea respectively, and it is an important oil channel from the Middle East to Europe. Therefore, it has always been called "lifeline" by western imperialism, and it has always been a place where colonialism and imperialism compete fiercely.
On the land of more than 7.4 million square kilometers in the Middle East, there are more than 65.438+500 million people living in 654.38+0.7 countries. They are: Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Palestine and Israel. The ethnic composition of these countries is quite complex, with more than 20 ethnic groups, the most important of which is the Arab people who believe in Islam and speak Arabic, accounting for more than half of the total population in the Middle East. In many countries, the Arab nation accounts for the overwhelming majority. Turkey is dominated by Turks, Iran is dominated by Persians, Cyprus is dominated by Greeks and Turks, and Turkish, Persian and Greek are designated as national languages or official languages respectively. In addition, there are Kurds, Turkmen, Jews, Armenians, Azerbaijanis and a few immigrants such as Indians, Pakistanis, Africans and Europeans.
The Middle East is the birthplace of Islam in the world, and Mecca in Saudi Arabia is the "holy land" of Islam. Every year, more than 654.38+0.5 million people come here to worship. More than 80% residents in the Middle East believe in Islam, the rest believe in Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism and Orthodox Church, and a few believe in Zoroastrianism. Jerusalem is an ancient historical city in the Middle East. There are Jewish temples and the famous Al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam. Christianity also regards it as a "holy land". It can be seen that religious belief plays an important role in the spiritual life and politics of Middle East residents. Many countries regard Islam as the state religion, write it into their constitutions, and even become the basis of political organizations.
The Middle East is rich in natural resources, and the Persian Gulf and its surrounding areas are rich in oil resources, which is known as the "oil ocean". According to statistics, its reserves account for more than 2/3 of the world. In recent years, the oil production in the Middle East accounts for about 2/5 of the world's total output, and the export volume accounts for about 2/3 of the world's export volume.
Known as the "economic lifeline" of the western world, the Gulf region is the largest oil supply base in the world today. By the end of 199 1 year 1 year/month 1 year, the proven oil reserves in the Gulf region reached 656.9 billion barrels, accounting for about 65% of the world's proven oil reserves 1 trillion barrels. From 1980 to 199 1 year, the world's proven oil reserves increased by 350.6 billion barrels, of which 87.6% were proved in the Gulf region.
So far, the five countries with the largest proven oil reserves in the world are all concentrated in the Gulf region. They are: Saudi Arabia, 257.5 billion barrels; Iraq, 654.38+00 billion barrels; United Arab Emirates, 97.8 billion barrels; Kuwait, 94.5 billion barrels; Iran, 93 billion barrels. According to the mining speed of 1990, Saudi Arabia can mine 100; Iraq can mine for about 150 years; The UAE can be mined for about 126 years; Kuwait can be mined for about 173 years; Iran can mine about 8 1 year.
1990, the average daily oil production in the Gulf region reached160,000 barrels, an increase of 2.7% compared with 1989, accounting for 26.5% of the average daily oil production in the world. Among them, the average daily output of Saudi Arabia reached 6210.5 million barrels, up 24.4% year-on-year; The average daily output of UAE is 210.3 million barrels, increasing by10.2%; The average daily output of Iran is 310.2 million barrels, an increase of110.4%. Due to well-known war reasons, the output of Iraq and Kuwait decreased by 28. 1% and 32.2% respectively.
In the Middle East, especially in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia ranks first in terms of oil reserves and output. This country is located in the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the Persian Gulf in the east and the Red Sea in the west, and borders Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and other countries. The coastline is 2437 kilometers long. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east. In the west is the Hijaz-asir Plateau. The Hijaz Mountains at its southern end are more than 3,000 meters above sea level. In the middle is Najid Plateau. The east is a plain. The coastal area of the Red Sea is a Red Sea lowland with a width of about 70 kilometers. Deserts make up about half of the country. According to geologists, the conditions in Saudi Arabia are very suitable for oil generation: in the geosyncline of the ancient Mediterranean, it experienced a long period of continuous deposition, resulting in oil generation in several rock formations of different ages and properties; The ancient Mediterranean is a warm ocean, so it has rich animal life; The further fact is that despite the extensive folding movement, due to the existence of the crystalline platform below, the strength of the vast crust is weakened, and porous strata often appear, forming a rich oil storage structure. As early as the beginning of 1988, this country had proven oil reserves of more than 35 billion tons, accounting for more than 1/4 of the world's total reserves. At the beginning of 1990, another large oil field was discovered, with an oil storage capacity of at least 30 billion barrels. Natural gas reserves are 7 1, 64 1 100 million cubic meters, ranking first in the world.
International oil experts believe that 65-70% of the world's surplus oil production capacity exists in the Gulf region. In the next five years to 10, the oil production capacity in the Gulf region can be increased to 25-28 million barrels per day. By then, the share of oil production in this region in the world's total oil production will rise to 35-40%. According to the US government's forecast, by the end of this century, the daily oil exports of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will increase from 1989 to13.6 million barrels.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is the world's largest oil consumption organization and the largest supplier of Gulf oil. The daily demand of 1989 was 37.5 million barrels, and that of 1990 rose to 37.7 million barrels. With the increasing demand for oil, the oil imports of the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development from the Gulf region have greatly increased. The United States, the largest oil importer in the world, imported crude oil from the Gulf region from 1985 to 246,000 barrels per day in 1989. Among them, the crude oil imported from Saudi Arabia increased from 132000 barrels per day in 1985 to 198919000 barrels per day.
Due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the adjustment of Russia's oil export strategy, a considerable part of the oil demand of eastern European countries will have to be imported into the Gulf region in the future. According to far eastern economic review magazine, 67% of the oil imported from the Asia-Pacific region in 1985 came from oil-producing countries in the Gulf, which rose to 73% in 1990, 83% in 1995 and 90% in 2000.
Many observers believe that, from the strategic point of view throughout the 1990s or beyond, with the oil production of some old oil-producing countries such as Russia and the United States having passed the peak period and showing a downward trend year by year, the new world oil demand in the future will mainly depend on the Gulf region. Soebroto, Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, predicted that by the end of this century, the world oil demand will increase from 510.80 million barrels per day in 1989 to 56 million barrels per day and 58 million barrels per day in 1995. George kowalski, chief economic adviser of the International Energy Agency, said that by 2005, the oil production of the member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization will be reduced by 4 million barrels per day. The increase in world oil demand and the decline in non-OPEC oil production have increased the world's dependence on Middle East oil. From 1988 to 2005, the oil supply share in the Middle East will increase by 10 percentage point, that is, from 24% to 34%. In this way, the importance of the strategic position of the Middle East has increased.
In addition to oil, the Middle East is also rich in natural gas resources, with proven reserves of 21300 billion cubic meters, of which Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar have the largest reserves, all of which are above 178 billion cubic meters. Other mineral resources are also abundant, such as chromium, copper, iron, phosphate, manganese, tin, nickel, zinc, tungsten, aluminum, gold, graphite, salt, asbestos and mica. It is estimated that there are more than 42 billion tons of chloride in the Dead Sea, including 22 billion tons of magnesium chloride, 65.438+0.2 billion tons of sodium chloride, 6 billion tons of calcium chloride, 2 billion tons of potassium chloride and 65.438+0 billion tons of magnesium bromide. The available hydropower resources in the Middle East reach 654.38+000 billion kWh. Grassland13.78 million hectares, forest land 39.2 million hectares. In addition, the Persian Gulf is rich in many kinds of fish and pearls.
The Middle East is also the cradle of mankind, with a long history and ancient civilization. The famous Nile valley, Tigris river valley and Euphrates river valley in history are all one of the earliest cradles of human civilization. The industrious and brave Arab people, together with other nationalities, created splendid culture very early. They have left a rich historical legacy to mankind in medicine, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, literature and arts, handicrafts and so on, adding indelible brilliance to the treasure house of world civilization.
Egypt, located in the Nile valley, is one of the ancient civilizations in the world, with a long history of more than 6,000 years and splendid ancient culture. As early as 3500 BC, the Egyptian people invented writing and created literature. They have accumulated astronomical knowledge around the Nile flood and the struggle to control the river. As Marx pointed out: "It is necessary to calculate the fluctuation of the Nile water level, thus producing Egyptian astronomy." The Egyptian people also created an ancient calendar, setting the beginning of the Nile flooding as the beginning of the year. They also developed mathematics, especially geometry. In more than 2,000 years BC, they were able to find out the areas of rectangles, triangles, trapezoids and circles, determined the pi as 3. 16, and created the decimal calculus method. At the same time, it has made outstanding achievements in water conservancy engineering technology and medicine.
What is particularly worth mentioning here is the architectural art of ancient Egypt. The famous pyramids are the grand projects of ancient world architecture. As early as 2800 BC, there were pyramid buildings in Egypt. There are more than 70 pyramids in Egypt, large and small, the most famous of which are three in the suburbs of Cairo. The second king of the fourth dynasty, Khufu, has the largest pyramid, reaching 146.5 meters, which is equivalent to a skyscraper with 50 or 60 floors. Each side of the bottom is 230 meters long and covers an area of 56,900 square meters. This pyramid consists of 2.3 million boulders of different sizes, each weighing 2.5 tons on average. The whole building is meticulous, precise, solid and firm, and it has stood on the banks of the Nile for nearly 5000 years, which is spectacular. Such a huge building vividly embodies the outstanding wisdom and creativity of the working people in ancient Egypt.
Iran, called Persia in ancient times, is also an ancient civilization with a long history of four or five thousand years. The ancient Persians lived in the south of the Iranian plateau. In 550 BC, Ju Lushi, a larger Iranian tribe, unified the tribes into the Persian Empire and established the Amid Dynasty. During the reign of Darius (522 BC-486 BC), the Persian Empire reached its heyday, and its culture, architecture, art and handicrafts were highly developed.
The script used by Persians at that time developed from the cuneiform script of Tigris River and Euphrates River. In architectural art, a 100-column hall with a height of 18 m to 20 m has been built, and the building is decorated with stone carvings, glazed tiles, murals, wood carvings and ivory carvings. From 224 AD, Iran entered the Sassanian era, and its culture became more developed. At this time, most handicrafts have been separated from agriculture and developed to a high level. Arts and crafts works are very famous. For example, in the textile industry, Sassanian silk products are regarded as particularly precious works of art and exported to foreign countries. In addition, products such as dyes, carpets, flax, woolen cloth and silk are also sold to Mediterranean coast and Asian countries.
By the 9th century to10th century, all ethnic groups in Iran, especially those in eastern Iran, had reached a new level in culture, science and even medicine. At that time, many famous eastern historians, philosophers and geographers were Iranians, the most famous of which were Avicenna and Babylonia. Avicenna's philosophical works and medical works reached the peak of medieval science in the Middle East. Avicenna's classic medical canon has been regarded as an authoritative work by western medical circles from12nd century to16th century. At that time, Babylon was called one of the greatest scholars in the Middle Ages in the East and even in the world. He put forward the hypothesis that the earth moves around the sun. His observation of astronomy, especially the formulation of longitude and latitude lines, is more accurate. The above facts fully illustrate the great contribution of the people in the Middle East to human civilization.
The important strategic position and rich natural resources in the Middle East make it the target of colonialism and imperialism and the place of fierce competition. As early as July 1798, French Napoleon led an expeditionary force to land in Alexandria, Egypt, and seized Cairo in an attempt to use it as a base to compete with Britain. 180 1 year, after the French army was forced to withdraw from Egypt, British colonists took advantage of it and stepped up economic penetration, making Egypt the main supplier of British cotton. 1In the 1920s, the influence of the British East India Company began to extend to the Persian Gulf, bringing many Arab Emirates under its control. 1839, British colonists occupied Aden and expanded to nearby areas, forcing more than 20 Sultanates and Emirates around to sign so-called "protection treaties" and form "Aden Protected Area". At the same time, Britain, France and Russia also fought fiercely in Turkey and Iran.
After 19 70, capitalism began to transition to imperialism. As Lenin said, capitalist countries "began the climax of seizing colonies, and the struggle to carve up world territory reached an extremely sharp level." At this time, the countries in the Middle East have become the targets of western powers such as Britain, France, Russia and Germany. 1869 After the opening of the Suez Canal, in order to control the Suez Canal and ensure an important passage to India and the Far East, Britain occupied the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean in 1878, and then occupied Egypt with its powerful ships and guns in 1882, gradually squeezing out the French forces and making Egypt a British colony.
19 At the end of the 20th century, the capitalist powers also fought fiercely for the Persian Gulf and its coastal emirates. Britain is ambitious, and France, Russia and Germany are not to be outdone, all trying to get involved in this field. As a result of the struggle, Britain forced Oman, Bahrain, Mashhad Oman (now United Arab Emirates), Kuwait and Qatar to conclude a series of agreements to ensure Britain's monopoly privileges, and turned the Persian Gulf emirate into a British colony or protectorate, and regarded the Persian Gulf as "the heart of Britain".
Until the First World War, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine were still part of the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. However, due to the gradual collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey, Turkey became a semi-colony, and imperialists such as Britain, France and Russia tried their best to carve up Turkey's "heritage", making Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine also become imperialist colonies. Iran, another big country in the Middle East, became a semi-colony of Russia and Britain.
Britain is certainly ambitious and stretched out its hand everywhere in the frenzy of the powers to carve up and plunder the Middle East colonies. However, Tsarist Russia, which Lenin called the "world gendarmerie", was no less ambitious than Britain. /kloc-at the end of 0/7, tsarist Russia was basically a landlocked country. As Marx said, "Peter I had long planned to put his throne on the ruins of Turkey." In order to capture the sea from the south and establish world hegemony, the czar waged wars against Turkey for many times, vying for the fortress of Azov, so as to open the gateway to the Black Sea. After Tsar Catherine II came to power, he actively pursued the policy of dividing up the Turkish Empire. 1768, the czar sent troops south to attack Turkey and sent the Baltic Fleet Chen Bing to the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey suffered repeated wars and defeats, and Tsarist Russia opened the passage into the Black Sea.
In order to further open up the passage from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, several generations of czars dreamed of capturing the Bosporus Strait and the Da Daniil Strait. From 185 1 to 1853, Russia used the so-called guardianship of the Christian "holy land" (Palestine) as an excuse to put pressure on Turkey, and repeatedly put forward ultimatums to Turkey, demanding that Turkey sign a treaty, recognizing that Russia has the so-called right to protect Christians under Turkish rule, in an attempt to interfere in Turkey's internal affairs, and then achieve the occupation of two Turkish straits.
With the support of Britain and France, Turkey rejected the czar's unreasonable demands. Thus, in 1853+00, the czar launched an attack on Turkey. Under the guise of maintaining Turkish independence, Britain and France sent a fleet into the Daniil Strait to declare war on Russia for their private publications. The Crimean war broke out. Tsarist Russia failed, and its attempt to expand its power to the Mediterranean and the Balkans was dealt a heavy blow. Tsarist Russia was unwilling to fail and waited for an opportunity to fight back. 1In April, 877, Russia used the Balkan Slavs' anti-Turkey uprising to wage war against Turkey again. Russian troops crossed the Danube and approached Constantinople. 1878 in March, Turkey was forced to sign the Peace Treaty of Saint Stifano with Russia.
This peace treaty affected the vested interests of Britain, France and other western European powers, and was strongly opposed by these countries, and Russia was forced to retreat. 1in June, 878, Berlin conference was held to revise the peace treaty of St. Stifano. This is a meeting where big countries sit on the floor and share stolen goods. Although tsarist Russia did not fully realize the goal of going south to seize the strait and enter the Mediterranean, it plundered the most land and gained the most rights and interests. As a result of the Russian-Turkish war, Turkey was completely reduced to a semi-colony. Between the great powers, because the ambition of tsarist Russia failed, the contradiction gradually deepened, and the war that broke out in the First World War was buried.
The Tsar's plan to go south will not only carve up Turkey, but also occupy Iran, which will be its investment place, commodity market and raw material supply place, and regard Iran as an important step to set foot in the Persian Gulf, control the Indian Ocean, seize British colony India and realize world hegemony. Tsarist Russia invaded Iran for the first time in the era of Peter the Great. 1722 In August, Peter I personally commanded the Russian army to attack the territory from Talke to Shahmhar, then occupied Baku and advanced to the Iranian border. 1723, Iran was forced to sign a peace treaty in Petersburg, ceding the entire Caspian Sea coast, Derbint, Baku, Ji Liang, Mazandaran and astrakhan provinces to Russia. From the end of 18 to the beginning of 19, western powers such as Russia, Britain and France stepped up their competition for Iran, which gradually reduced Iran to a semi-colony.
/kloc-at the end of 0/800, Tsar Paul I and French Napoleon reached an agreement, and Russia and France jointly marched into India via Iran. 180 1 At the beginning of the year, the Tsar sent 225,000 Tangcossack troops to March into Iran and occupy Georgia. After Alexander I succeeded to the throne, he continued to send troops to invade Iran and capture many places south of the Caucasus mountains. 18 13 10 In June, Iran was forced to sign the Gulistan Treaty, which enabled Russia to acquire a large area of land belonging to Iran south of the Caucasus Mountains and to obtain various privileges in Iran.
1826, Tsar Nicholas I sent troops to occupy the Gokcha area near Sefan Lake in Iran, and unreasonably demanded that Iran give up Kafan in exchange for Russian withdrawal. This was rejected by Iran. As a result, Russia once again launched a war against Iran. 1828 In February, Iran was forced to sign the Treaty of Turkmenistan and a special trade treaty. According to this treaty, Russia seized two more Iranian provinces, Iran paid Russia 2 million pounds in compensation, banned Iranian ships from sailing in the territorial waters along the Caspian Sea, and Russia set up consulates in major Iranian cities and enjoyed political and economic privileges such as extraterritorial jurisdiction. As Engels said: "The Treaty of Turkmenistan made it (referring to Iran) a vassal state of Russia." Marx also pointed out: "Russia ... gained as much territory in Persia as Britain."
The signing of the Treaty of Turkmenistan greatly strengthened Russia's aggression in Iran, and seriously hindered Britain from seizing Iran's aggression. In order to fight back, on the one hand, Britain encouraged Iran to resist Russian expansion, on the other hand, it forced Iran to sign a enslaved treaty with Britain in 184 1 year. 19 At the end of the 20th century, Iran was divided between Britain and Russia. Iran's succession to the throne should be decided by Russia, and the rulers of the northern provinces should be appointed from among those whom the Russian government likes; In the south, British officials give orders like rulers. Subsequently, the emerging German imperialism also began to intervene in the Middle East. Since then, Britain, Russia and Germany have stepped up their plunder and partition of Iran, further deepening its semi-colonization.
However, people in the Middle East do not want to be invaded and enslaved. From the day when the western colonialists set foot on the territory of the Middle East, the resistance struggle of the Arab people and people of other nationalities never stopped. Riots and uprisings broke out one after another, and the people in the Middle East defeated the invaders and wrote a magnificent chapter in the history of the national liberation movement in the Middle East with blood.
In modern history, the Egyptian people's struggle against French and British colonial aggression played an important role. 1798 In July, the French army invaded Egypt, and the Egyptian people bravely resisted the French invasion. On June+10 in 5438, an anti-French armed uprising of15,000 people broke out in Cairo. Farmers in the suburbs and nomads in desert areas also fought. The rebels killed the French commander and dealt a heavy blow to the French invaders. 1800, the people of cairo once again held an anti-French uprising and launched guerrilla warfare, which finally forced the French army to withdraw from Egypt in 180 1. 1882, when the British invaders shelled Alexandria and invaded Egypt, Araby and other Egyptian patriotic officers were determined to defend the motherland and lead the British invaders to carry out loyal resistance.
After the British armed occupation of Egypt, it carried out bloody terror rule, wantonly destroyed Egypt's original national industry, tried its best to destroy Egypt's national culture and brutally suppressed the people's anti-British struggle. However, Britain's brutal colonial rule could not extinguish the burning fire of the Egyptian people demanding freedom and striving for national independence. 19 At the end of the 20th century, the Egyptian national bourgeoisie and its intellectuals demanded the development of national industry and commerce and the implementation of parliamentary democracy. They set up various publications to carry out anti-British propaganda. With the development of the national liberation movement, the "Danshawi Incident" became the new fuse of the anti-British movement in Egypt.
1in June, 906, a group of British officers went to Danshawai village to hunt pigeons. They trampled crops, burned farmhouses and shot farmers. The local farmers couldn't bear it, stood up with sticks to defend themselves and drove away the British officers. An officer escaped and died of heatstroke. The British colonial authorities unjustly declared the farmers in the village guilty. After hearing the news, the people all over Egypt were indignant and held meetings and demonstrations in succession to protest against the crimes of the British colonists. Under the strong pressure of mass movements, Britain was forced to make concessions, pardoned the sentenced peasants and removed cromer, the "Oriental tyrant" who ruled Egypt for 25 years.
The people of the Emirates along the Persian Gulf also occupy a glorious page in the struggle against colonialism and imperialism. /kloc-At the beginning of the 6th century, when Portuguese colonists invaded Oman, Bahrain, Iraq and Iran, they met with strong resistance from the local people. Chief Oman led the people in the anti-Portuguese struggle and finally drove the Portuguese colonists out of the country. The people of Bahrain have also launched large-scale armed uprisings many times, killing and hanging two "governors" sent by Portugal. From 1892 to 1894, Britain forced the emirate of Bahrain to sign an agreement to lose its independence, and the people of Bahrain held many uprisings and won the support of the people of Qatar. 1905, Bahrain's patriots developed from disobedience to armed uprising with the support of neighboring Emirates. 19 13, the tribes in Mount Oman also held an uprising under the leadership of the imam; After a long struggle, Britain was finally forced to sign the Sib Treaty in 1920, recognizing Oman's internal independence.
In Iran and Turkey, the invasion and partition of colonial and imperialist powers also aroused strong resistance from the two peoples. 189 1 year, there was a movement against tobacco concessions in Iran (that is, the right to buy, process and sell Iranian tobacco was leased to British companies), forcing the king to announce the abolition of tobacco concessions at the end of the year. In Turkey, in order to oppose the surrender of the feudal ruler Sultan to Russia, the broad masses of the people held the Istanbul Uprising in May 1876. Students, citizens, craftsmen and small officials took part in the uprising. They demonstrated around the Sudanese court to protest against Sudan's traitorous policy. Driven by the mass movement, some patriotic officers staged a coup and deposed Sudan. Since then, the struggle of the Turkish people against aggression, interference and feudal dictatorship has continued.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Iran was divided between Britain and Russia. Relying on imperialism abroad, the King of Iran brutally suppressed and exploited the people at home, causing dissatisfaction among people from all walks of life in Iran, and all kinds of contradictions are intensifying day by day. Finally, the 1905 revolution broke out. This is an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal bourgeois revolution. Although the leadership is in the hands of the bourgeoisie and monks, the main driving force of the revolution is the broad masses of peasants, workers, urban poor and petty bourgeoisie. At first, their program was to oppose absolute monarchy, convene parliament and formulate a constitution; Later, with the in-depth development of the struggle, the slogan of overthrowing the king and driving away foreign invaders was clearly put forward. This dealt a heavy blow not only to the feudal ruling class in Iran, but also to the aggressive forces of British and Russian imperialism in Iran at that time.
British and Russian imperialism colluded with each other from their respective counter-revolutionary interests. First of all, after bargaining, they reached a tacit agreement to further carve up Iran in August 1907, and then carried out large-scale armed intervention to suppress Iran's revolutionary movement. Tsarist Russia sent troops into northern Iran and Britain sent troops into southern Iran. Facing the joint attack of internal and external reactionary forces, the Iranian people are fearless and put forward the battle slogan of "independence or death", which once again set off the climax of the struggle against imperialist interference. However, while the Iranian people fought bravely, Russia staged a coup in the Iranian capital in February, 19 165438, supporting the pro-Russian regime, dissolving the parliament, implementing reactionary terrorist rule, and strangling the Iranian revolution.
19 At the end of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire, which extended from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf, collapsed rapidly due to the struggle and division of imperialist powers. Turkey itself has become a semi-colony of imperialism. Under the oppression of imperialist and feudal forces, the Turkish people are in a state of hunger, cold, poverty and backwardness. At this time, the people's revolutionary movement flourished in Turkey, and peasant uprisings and national uprisings broke out one after another. 1903, a peasant uprising broke out in Macedonia. Uprising peasants persisted in guerrilla warfare for three years, laying the foundation for the 1908 revolution.
After the First World War, under the influence of the October Revolution in Russia, the people in the Middle East set off a new climax of struggle. Egypt was the first to light an anti-imperialist bonfire. From 19 19 to 192 1, the Egyptian people waged two vigorous mass struggles and armed uprisings against Britain. In Iraq, following the anti-British struggle in 19 18, a nationwide large-scale anti-British uprising broke out in 1920, which dealt a heavy blow to mandate system in Britain. Britain spent 654.38 billion pounds in the war and killed thousands of soldiers before it stabilized its position. In the Persian Gulf region, people's anti-imperialist struggles are also one after another. 19 19, Britain forced Iran to sign the humiliating Britain-Iraq Treaty, which aroused the anti-British anger of the Iranian people. From 1920 to 192 1, the Iranian people's movement for independence spread all over the country. From 19 19 to 1922, thousands of Turkish workers and peasants armed themselves, severely attacked the invading armies of Britain and Greece, shattered the predatory Sevres Treaty and safeguarded Turkey's territorial integrity. At the same time, ethnic struggles are surging in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and other countries and regions.
During the Second World War, the Middle East was one of the battlefields against fascist aggression, and the people in the Middle East made contributions in the war against aggression. The war educated the people and the people won the war. The end of World War II has opened up a broader possibility and a more realistic road for the liberation of oppressed peoples all over the world. The great victory of the China Revolution greatly inspired and promoted the struggle for national independence of the people in the Middle East. Since then, the national liberation movement in the Middle East has been rising like a prairie fire and won great victories.
In the early post-war period, many countries in the Middle East fought against the British and French occupation forces, demanding the abolition of unequal treaties and striving for national independence. 1In the autumn of 945, the Syrian and Lebanese governments demanded that Britain and France withdraw their troops, and the armed struggle against the British and French occupation forces spread all over the country. Finally, 1946 In April, the British and French occupation forces were forced to withdraw from Syria, and Syria gained independence. 1946 In August, the British and French occupation forces were forced to withdraw from Lebanon again, thus safeguarding Lebanon's independence. The Jordanian people also gained independence in March 1946. On the other hand, in May 1948, the Palestinian people and the Arab people forced Britain to cancel the mandate of Palestine. 195 1 year, in order to safeguard the national rights and interests, the Iranian people launched the oil nationalization movement, which dealt a heavy blow to the imperialist colonial forces. To be exact:
The disintegration movement has developed greatly,
The colonial shackles were broken;
The people are the masters of the country,
Great changes have taken place in the Middle East.