History

Hammurabi ruled Bablyon from 1800 B.C. to 1750 B.C. He united the region along the Tigres river and the Euphrates river. He called the new city Mesopotamia. The people of Mesopotamia developed a system of writing and law. The laws they made are still in use today. They thought that all citizens should obey the same set of laws. The people of Mesopotamia lived in Mesopotamia even before Hammurabi ruled. By 3500 B.C, The area became a trade center and was fulled with farmers. The two main rivers were helpful for farming because of the fertile soil. During WWII The Nazi's killed more than 6 million Jews, which was known as the **holocaust.** Many of the Jews who survived decided to go to Palestine, and on May 14, 1948 the Jewish people claimed Israel as their state. They didn't want to cooperate with the UN organization. In March 2003, the US forces attacked Iraq supported by other nations. Iraq lost and Saddam went into hiding. In December 2003, the US troops captured Saddam.

The history of Islam begins in 2000 b.c. The people who follow the religion Islam are called Muslims. Muslims pray at least 5 times a day in a temple called mosques. One of the most famous mosques in history is called the Dome of the Rock. There are muslims everywhere in the area of Southwest Asia. Judaism began about 2000 b.c. and made the Torah. The Torah are the five books that make up the J ew's sacred texts, and it is also the first books in the Christian bible. The Torah also contains the Ten Commandments, the story of Adam and Eve, and the Jewish Exodus. The Jews established religious duties toward God as well as rules for moral and ethical behavior. Christianity was first devloped around A.D. 30. The religion is based on the teachings of Jesus, a Jewish man who traveled throughout the Palestine. The Christians later adopted the Torah as the five books of the old testament.

In the late 1800's British started taking control of Middle east and India. Then, the British invaded Mesopotamia and occupied Baghdad in 1917. Middle East has a lot of oil. Since they have a lot of oil, a lot of countries fought over the oil. Mossadigh took power in Iran and declared that they will control their own oil in 1951. Iraq was added to a terrorist country list, but later it was removed later.