Middle East

2. An association of oi-producing nations, including those in the Middle East. Member nations work together to control production levels and prices.
4. The modern nation of _____ was formed after World War II; many of its early settlers were survivors from Hitler's death camps in the Holocaust.
6. Governing authority in Gaza; militants backed by it infiltrated Israel, killed over a thousand people, and took hostages. Israel has responded by attacking Gaza.
8. There is a division within Islam between Shiite and ____ Muslims.
9. The Middle East has strategic importance due to its location, its command of vital sea routes, and the fact that it sits atop vast reserves of _____.
13. In 1979, Islamic militants in Iran captured the US embassy and held its 52 occupants _______ for more than a year.
14. This word refers to the scattering of Jews throughout the world, beginning in AD 70 when the Romans expelled them from Palestine.
18. _______ Hussein was leader of Iraq during the Persian Gulf Wars.
20. This Ancient civilization of the Tigris-Euphrates valley developed cuneiform writing, built ziggurats, and used a system of measurement based on the number 60.
21. In addition to Judaism and Islam, this religion originated in the Middle East as well.
22. The desire for a Jewish homeland in Palestine; can have both religious and political elements.

1. The Ottomans captured the city of Constantinople and renamed it this.
3. The Middle East stands at the ____________ of three continents: Africa, Europe, and Asia.
5. Islam spread rapidly after Muhammad's death. By 732, the Arab empire reached as far west as this European nation.
6. These people arrived around 1500 BC and conquered the Fertile Crescent region; they were known for their mastery of iron and use of iron weapons
7. Born in Mecca about AD 570 and died in AD 632.
10. The West Bank, Jerusalem, and the _____ strip are areas of territorial dispute between Israel and the Palestinians.
11. At first the Roman Empire, which controlled Palestine, tolerated Christians but later the Romans distrusted the Christians because they wouldn't show respect for Roman gods. Christians faced ________, and indeed some became martyrs.
12. Holy book of Islam
15. Anyone whose native language is Arabic.
16. This Babylonian king of around 1700 BC was known for his law code
17. The goals of the Christian crusades against Muslim lands was to check the expansion of Islam and to retake this city and the surrounding Holy Land.
19. This word refers to the shape of a fertile area that stretches from the Mediterranean to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and then to the Persian Gulf.
23. In 1956, Egyptian president Nasser nationalized this canal