build an aqueduct to carry water across a
valley to their capital, Nineveh.
Ancient Rome had a complex system of
11 aqueducts built from 312 BC to AD
226. The system used both bridges and
underground pipes. Some of the aqueducts
are still used today. The Romans
also built aqueducts in other parts of
their empire.
Most engineers today use powerful
pumps to force water upward when necessary.
This allows modern engineers to
design aqueducts in ways that ancient
engineers could not. Instead of building
a bridge over a valley, for example, modern
engineers can simply run pipes
down one side of the valley and up the
other. Pumps powered by steam were
first used in the late 1700s. Later pumps
were powered by electricity.
#More to explore
Bridge Canal Rome, Ancient
Arabian
Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, or Arabia, is a
piece of land in southwestern Asia. It is
the original homeland of the Arab
people. It is also the birthplace of the
religion of Islam. The country of Saudi
Arabia takes up about four fifths of the
peninsula. The peninsula also includes
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab
Emirates, Yemen, Bahrain, and parts of
Jordan and Iraq.
Geography
The Arabian Desert covers almost all of
the peninsula. Some parts of the desert
get enough rain for grass and shrubs to
grow. In general, however, the climate is
very dry and hot. At least one third of
the desert is sandy. Other parts are cov-
The Inca
people of
South America
built a system
of aqueducts
to carry water
down from the
Andes Mountains.
One
Inca aqueduct
was 360 miles
(579 kilometers)
long.
156 Arabian Peninsula BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
ered by bare rock. There are some hills
and mountains.
The Arabian Peninsula has almost half
of the worlds supplies of petroleum
(oil). Most of the oil is in or near the
Persian Gulf, the body of water east of
the peninsula. The countries of the
region sell the oil to other countries.
People
Arabs make up most of the population
of the peninsula. Nearly all Arabs speak
the Arabic language. Most Arabs are
Muslims, or followers of Islam. Muhammad,
the founder of Islam, was born in
what is now Saudi Arabia.
History
In ancient times the Sabaeans, the
Minaeans, and the Himyarites built up
powerful kingdoms in southwestern
Arabia. These Arab peoples traded with
Egypt, China, and India.
In the 600s Muhammad started Islam.
Soon all of Arabia was united under the
religion. Then the Arabs spread Islam
beyond the peninsula by conquering
other lands. The Muslim leaders who
followed Muhammad ruled a large
Islamic empire. At first they ruled from
Arabia. Later, however, they ruled from
other parts of the empire.
In the 1500s the Ottoman Turks made
Arabia part of their empire. However,
they never gained firm control of the
peninsula. The Arabs revolted
repeatedly against the Ottomans. The
Sa!ud family controlled the middle part
of Arabia.
Meanwhile, the British took control of
most of the southern and eastern coasts
of Arabia. The local Arabian rulers
united with the British against the Ottomans.
They defeated the Ottomans in
the early 1900s. Then the peninsula
gradually became free from British rule.
By 1971 the peninsula was made up
entirely of independent countries. In
1990 the countries of North Yemen and
South Yemen were united to form the
Republic of Yemen.
#More to explore
Arabs Islam Petroleum Saudi
Arabia
Arab-IsraeliWars
Since the creation of Israel in 1948, the
Jewish state has gone to war with its
Arab neighbors on several occasions.
The differences between the groups continued
into the 21st century.
The Arabian Desert features large areas of
mountains and raised flat areas called
plateaus.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Arab-Israeli Wars 157
Background
The Middle Eastern region known as
Palestine was the ancient home of the
Jewish people. It became part of the
Islamic world in the AD 600s. From
1923 to 1948 the British ruled the
region. During this time, many Jewish
immigrants from Europe settled there.
Arabs also lived in Palestine, and both
groups wanted to control the land.
When Britain gave up Palestine, the
United Nations (UN) divided the land.
Each group got the same amount, but
the Arabs were unhappy because the
Jews were given some land that was
owned by Arab Palestinians.
The War of 194849
On May 14, 1948, as soon as Israel
came into existence, Arab Palestinians
and neighboring Arab countries declared
war on Israel. Arab forces occupied parts
of Palestine, but by the time the war
ended Israel ended up with more land
than it had before the war.
In 1949 Israel and the Arab states signed
border agreements. There was no peace
treaty, however. The many Palestinians
who had left their homes ended up in
refugee camps in Arab countries.
The Six-DayWar
In the spring of 1967, fighting between
Syria and Israel led to the Six-DayWar.
Israel saw that Egypt was preparing for
war in order to aid Syria. On June 5
Israel struck quickly and wiped out
nearly the whole Egyptian air force on
the ground. In six days time Israel
seized the Old City of Jerusalem, the
Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Jordanian
territory west of the Jordan River
(known as the West Bank), and the
Golan Heights, on the Israeli-Syrian
border.
The Yom KippurWar
On October 6, 1973, on the Jewish holy
day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria
both attacked Israel. In the Yom Kippur
A map shows the territories that Israel
and its neighbors fought over during the
Arab-Israeli wars. At the end of the Yom
Kippur War in 1974 Israel controlled the
area marked in orange.
158 Arab-Israeli Wars BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
War, Israel pushed both armies back into
their own territory but in turn suffered
heavy losses. After fighting ceased early
in 1974, the UN established neutral
zones between those countries and
Israel.
Ongoing Tensions
On March 26, 1979, Israel and Egypt
signed a peace treaty. Tensions continued,
however, between Israel and other
Arab communities. The Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) attacked
Israel from camps in Lebanon in 1982.
On June 5, 1982, Israel invaded the
country. The PLO eventually left, but
some Israeli troops remained in the
country until 2000.
In the late 1970s Israelis began to build
settlements on the land that it occupied
on the Gaza Strip andWest Bank. In
1987 the growth of these settlements
caused Palestinians to protest. Demonstrations
and riotsknown as the intifada
(uprising)broke out and
continued until the early 1990s. In 1993
Israel agreed to start turning over control
of some of the occupied territories
to the Palestinians. In 2000, however, a
new intifada erupted. It stalled peace
talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
#More to explore
Arabs Egypt Israel Jerusalem
Middle East Palestine Palestine
Liberation Organization Syria
Arabs
An Arab is someone whose native language
is Arabic. The term was first used
to describe people who lived in a part of