Book contents
- Nomads in the Middle East
- Series page
- Nomads in the Middle East
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Additional material
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Preface
- Maps
- Debate between Sheep and Grain
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Nomads in the Establishment of the Caliphate
- 3 The Rise of New Peoples and Dynasties
- 4 Turkic Tradition and Seljuqid Rule
- 5 Mongol Conquest and Rule
- 6 After the Mongols: Timurids, Turkmen and Ottomans
- 7 The Rise of Nomad Tribes,1500–1800
- 8 Nomads in the Modern Middle East
- 9 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - Nomads in the Modern Middle East
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 November 2021
- Nomads in the Middle East
- Series page
- Nomads in the Middle East
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Additional material
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Preface
- Maps
- Debate between Sheep and Grain
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Nomads in the Establishment of the Caliphate
- 3 The Rise of New Peoples and Dynasties
- 4 Turkic Tradition and Seljuqid Rule
- 5 Mongol Conquest and Rule
- 6 After the Mongols: Timurids, Turkmen and Ottomans
- 7 The Rise of Nomad Tribes,1500–1800
- 8 Nomads in the Modern Middle East
- 9 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
At the beginning of the nineteenth century nomads held considerable power in Iran and the Ottoman Empire. In Ottoman lands, westernizing reforms in landholding and local administration undermined tribal power and led to increasing sedentarization. In Iran, tribes and nomads remained central to the military, and retained power through World War I. In both states, the government controlled nomads by incorporating tribal leadership into government structure. New concepts of nationalism portrayed nomads as backwards and alien. World War I and the Constitutional Revolution of Iran brought an upsurge of nomad activity, but from the 1930s the Mandate powers, the Turkish Republic, and the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran worked actively to suppress nomadism. Even more important was the revolution in transportation and weaponry. The steamship, telegraph and railway replaced many caravan routes, destroying the market for camels. The machine gun and airplane made cavalry obsolete, while the truck ended the usefulness of caravans and the need for nomad guards over trade routes. Thus, nomads lost much of their usefulness to the state.
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- Nomads in the Middle East , pp. 199 - 230Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021