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54-462: Their population in 1996 exceeded 100,000 people. Initially an important Arabic zawiya or religious tribe with a semi-sedentary lifestyle, the Reguibat gradually turned during the 18th century towards camel-rearing, raiding and nomadism , in response attacks from neighboring tribes which provoked them into taking up arms and leaving the subordinate position they had previously held. This started

108-483: A wali ) lived and was buried. In the Maghreb the word can also be used to refer to the wider tariqa (Sufi order or brotherhood) and its membership. The Arabic term zāwiyah (Arabic: زاوية ) translates literally as "corner" or "nook". The term was first applied to the cells of Christian monks, before the meaning was applied to a small mosque or prayer room. In the later medieval period , it came to denote

162-517: A few thousand meters high, and can close down airports for short periods of time. These winds can last for a full day at the beginning and end of the season, and for several days during the middle of the season. The shamal is a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times

216-519: A membership of 167,019 out of a population of slightly less than three million Muslims in the country. In Morocco, an estimated 5-10% of the population in 1939 were members of one zawiya or another. During the colonial occupations of these countries some zawiyas collaborated with the authorities while others resisted. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, colonial governments in North Africa confiscated waqf properties or marginalized

270-402: A process of rapid expansion, and set the Reguibat on the course towards total transformation into a traditional warrior tribe. In the late 19th century, they had become well-established as the largest Sahrawi tribe, and were recognized as the most powerful warrior tribe of the area. The grazing lands of the Reguibat fractions extended from Western Sahara into the northern half of Mauritania ,

324-628: A specific shaykh and a specific Sufi brotherhood. The only surviving building in Cairo which is explicitly identified as a zawiya by its foundation inscription is the Zawiya of Zayn al-Din Yusuf in the Southern Cemetery , founded in 1297–98 and expanded in the early 14th century. In sub-Saharan Africa zawiyas proliferated somewhat later than in North Africa, appearing in conjunction with

378-622: A structure housing a Sufi brotherhood , especially in North Africa . In modern times, the word has still retained the earlier meaning of small prayer room in West Asia and the Muslim countries east of North Africa, where it can be used to contrast small prayer spaces with more important mosques. In the Maghreb ( Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia and Libya ) the zawiya is primarily a place for religious activities and religious instruction. It

432-624: A year. West Asia contains large areas of mountainous terrain. The Anatolian Plateau is sandwiched between the Pontus Mountains and Taurus Mountains in Turkey . Mount Ararat in Turkey rises to 5,137 m (16,854 ft). The Zagros Mountains are located in Iran, in areas along its border with Iraq. The Central Plateau of Iran is divided into two drainage basins . The northern basin

486-532: Is Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert), and Dasht-e-Lut is the southern basin. In Yemen , elevations exceed 3,700 m (12,100 ft) in many areas, and highland areas extend north along the Red Sea coast and north into Lebanon . A fault zone also exists along the Red Sea, with continental rifting creating trough -like topography with areas located well below sea level . The Dead Sea , located on

540-514: Is a building and institution associated with Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a place of worship, school, monastery and/or mausoleum . In some regions the term is interchangeable with the term khanqah , which serves a similar purpose. In the Maghreb , the term is often used for a place where the founder of a Sufi order or a local saint or holy man (e.g.

594-645: Is a geographical term with more consistency. It excludes most of Egypt and the northwestern part of Turkey , and includes the southern part of the Caucasus . West Asia covers an area of 5,994,935 km (2,314,657 sq mi), with a population of about 313 million. Of the 20 UN member countries fully or partly within the region, 13 are part of the Arab world . The most populous countries in West Asia are Iran , Turkey , Iraq , Saudi Arabia and Yemen . In

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648-411: Is the religious complex of Sidi Abu Madyan (or Sidi Boumediene), also founded by Abu al-Hasan and built around the older tomb of Abu Madyan (d. 1197). In Fez , the tomb of Idris II , a sharif (descendant of Muhammad ) and one of the city's founders, was rebuilt in the early 14th and early 15th centuries and maintained by his Idrisid descendants. In Tunis , the Zawiya of Sidi Ben 'Arus and

702-429: Is typically associated with a particular religious leader ( shaykh ) or a local Muslim saint ( wali ), who is housed here along with his family. After his death, the zawiya usually houses his tomb, commonly inside a qubba (chamber covered by a dome or pyramidal cupola ), which is sometimes a shrine that serves as the focus of a minor pilgrimage (a ziyarat ). Typically, his descendants continue to lead or maintain

756-523: The Arabian Peninsula numbering more than 3 million. Christian communities have played a vital role in West Asia. Judaism is the predominant religion in Israel , and there are small ancient Jewish communities in West Asia such as in Turkey (14,300), Azerbaijan (9,100), and Iran (8,756). The Druze Faith or Druzism originated in West Asia. It is a monotheistic religion based on

810-453: The Baháʼí Faith , Yarsanism , Yazidism , Zoroastrianism , Mandaeism , and Shabakism . The economy of West Asia is diverse and the region experiences high economic growth. Turkey has the largest economy in the region, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Petroleum is the major industry in the regional economy, as more than half of the world's oil reserves and around 40 percent of

864-496: The Gulf of Oman . The population of West Asia was estimated at 272 million as of 2008, projected to reach 370 million by 2030 by Maddison (2007; the estimate excludes the Caucasus and Cyprus). This corresponds to an annual growth rate of 1.4% (or a doubling time of 50 years), well above the world average of 0.9% (doubling time 75 years). The population of West Asia is estimated at 4% of world population , up from about 39 million at

918-548: The Tigris and Euphrates rivers contribute very well. West Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid , and can be subject to drought , but it also contains vast expanses of forest and fertile valleys. The region consists of grasslands , rangelands , deserts , and mountains . Water shortages are a problem in many parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water, while salinization and pollution threaten water supplies. Major rivers, including

972-579: The Tigris and Euphrates , provide sources for irrigation water to support agriculture . There are two wind phenomena in West Asia: the sharqi and the shamal . The sharqi (or sharki ) is a wind that comes from the south and southeast. It is seasonal, lasting from April to early June, and comes again between late September and November. The winds are dry and dusty, with occasional gusts up to 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour) and often kick up violent sand and dust storms that can carry sand

1026-761: The Tijaniyya , whose founder Ahmad al-Tijani (d. 1815) is buried in his zawiya in Fez . Another example, the Muridiyya , was of major importance in the history of Senegal . In the rest of the Islamic world, similar Sufi institutions usually went by other names such as a khanqah , takya (or takiyya in Arabic, tekke in Turkish), or dargah (shrine), though these terms sometimes had more specific meanings. In

1080-674: The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD), West Asia excludes the Arabian Peninsula and includes Afghanistan . The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) excludes Egypt and includes Afghanistan. The United Nations Environment Programme excludes Cyprus , Israel , Turkey , and Iran from West Asia. The term West Asia is used pragmatically and has no "correct" or generally accepted definition. Its typical definitions overlap substantially, but not entirely, with definitions of

1134-604: The Zawiya of Sidi Qasim al-Jalizi , two of the most important zawiyas in the city, were both established near the end of the 15th century around the tombs of important saints. Under the sharifian dynasties of the Saadis and 'Alawis in Morocco, zawiyas became more common, more socially and politically important, and architecturally more elaborate. In Marrakesh , both dynasties built funerary structures and religious complexes around

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1188-566: The waqf system that funded zawiyas as a way of diminishing their power and influence. Their influence and social importance was also undermined in the 20th century due to the opposition of Salafist and Wahhabist movements. Zawiyas and khanqahs were not established in Egypt until the Ayyubids came to power in the late 12th century. They proliferated during the Mamluk period (1250–1517) and

1242-737: The 14th century (though the current building dates from the 17th century), and the Zawiya of Sidi 'Abid al-Ghariani, which was also established in the 14th century. The first formal zawiyas in Morocco were founded under the Marinid dynasty in the 14th century as well, most notably the zawiya built in Chellah by Abu al-Hasan and the Zawiyat an-Nussak built by his successor Abu Inan in Salé . Both examples, partly ruined today, were similar to madrasas in form and function. In Algeria, another major example

1296-657: The Algerian oasis markets of the Touat and Gourara regions. Reguibat Sahrawis were very prominent in the resistance to French and Spanish colonization in the 19th and 20th century, and could not be subdued in the Spanish Sahara until 1934, almost 50 years after the area was first colonized by Spain. Since the 1970s, many Reguibat have been active in the Polisario Front 's resistance to Moroccan rule over

1350-471: The beginning of the 20th century, or about 2% of world population at the time. The most populous countries in the region are Turkey and Iran , each with around 79 million people, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia with around 33 million people each, and Yemen with around 29 million people. Numerically, West Asia is predominantly Arab , Persian , Turkish , and the dominating languages are correspondingly Arabic , Persian and Turkish , each with of

1404-686: The border between the West Bank , Israel , and Jordan , is situated at 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level, making it the lowest point on the surface of the Earth . Rub' al Khali , one of the world's largest sand deserts, spans the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, parts of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Jebel al Akhdar is a small range of mountains located in northeastern Oman, bordering

1458-849: The boundary between the Aegean and Anatolian plate in eastern Turkey is also seismically active. Several major aquifers provide water to large portions of West Asia. In Saudi Arabia, two large aquifers of Palaeozoic and Triassic origins are located beneath the Jabal Tuwayq mountains and areas west to the Red Sea. Cretaceous and Eocene -origin aquifers are located beneath large portions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia, including Wasia and Biyadh which contain amounts of both fresh water and saline water . Flood or furrow irrigation, as well as sprinkler methods, are extensively used for irrigation , covering nearly 90,000 km (35,000 sq mi) across West Asia for agriculture. Also,

1512-470: The complex legal system of inheritance distribution), and sometimes astronomy. These are still operational throughout the Maghreb, and continue to be a major educational resource in the Sahel of West Africa , from Mauritania to Nigeria . The zawiya as an institution pre-dates the arrival of formal tariqa s in North Africa and traces its origins to the qubba tombs which sometimes acted as shrines and to

1566-563: The development of Sufi brotherhoods and networks across the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Zawiyas that were established in towns and staging posts along Saharan trading routes played a major role in the dissemination of Sufism and in establishing the influence of certain tariqa s. Among the tariqa s of major importance in West Africa were the Qadiriyya , a wide-ranging order originally begun by Abdul Qadir Gilani (d. 1166), and

1620-488: The dominant language in Israel in the second half of the 20th century, and Neo-Aramaic (spoken by modern Arameans , Assyrians , and Chaldeans ) and Greek both remain present in their respective territories as minority languages. Significant native minorities include, in alphabetical order: Arameans , Assyrians , Chaldeans , Druze , Jews , Lurs , Mandeans , Maronites , Shabaks and Yezidis . Religion in West Asia (2020) Four major religious groups (i.e.

1674-600: The early Ottoman Empire , the cognate term zaviye usually designated a multi-purpose religious complex that catered to Sufis and served as a place of worship. Many important early Ottoman mosques such as the Green Mosque in Bursa , built in the early 15th century, are examples of this type. West Asia West Asia , also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia , is the westernmost region of Asia . As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions,

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1728-472: The early ribats on the frontier of the Islamic world to which holy men sometimes retired with their followers. The first zawiya buildings in Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia ) were built under Hafsid rule in the 14th century. The zawiyas of Kairouan are believed to be the oldest and are centered around the tombs of local saints. These include the Zawiya of Sidi Sahib (or Abu Zama'a al-Balawi), founded in

1782-564: The edges of southern Morocco and northern Mali , and large swaths of western Algeria (where they captured the town of Tindouf from the Tajakant tribe in 1895, and turned into an important Reguibat encampment). The Reguibat were known for their skill as warriors, as well as for an uncompromising tribal independence, and dominated large areas of the Sahara Desert through both trade and use of arms. The Reguibat have been trading in

1836-446: The later Ottoman period of Egypt (after 1517), when Sufi brotherhoods were important religious organizations for much of the population. In Mamluk Egypt a khanqah was a formal institution typically founded by an elite patron (the sultan or an emir ) and not necessarily associated with a specific Sufi order. The term zawiya , on the other hand, was for smaller, less formal institutions of popular Sufism that were usually devoted to

1890-665: The latter), Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, UAE, and Yemen as West Asian countries. By contrast, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in its 2015 yearbook includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, and excludes Israel (as Other) and Turkey (as Europe). Unlike the UNIDO, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) excludes Iran from West Asia and includes Turkey, Georgia, and Cyprus in

1944-453: The local community. Such zawiyas also historically mediated disputes between tribes or between local communities and the central government. In some cases zawiyas could provide asylum to individuals and could wield considerable political and commercial influence in the region. They were financed with the help of waqf s (also known as habous ), charitable endowments that were inalienable under Islamic law. In precolonial times, zawiyas were

1998-640: The northwest and north, the region is delimited from Europe by the Turkish Straits and drainage divide of the Greater Caucasus , to the southwest, it is delimited from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez , while to the northeast and east, the region adjoins Central Asia and South Asia . The region is located east of Southern Europe and south of Eastern Europe . The Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in eastern Iran naturally delimit

2052-470: The order of 70 million speakers, followed by smaller communities of Kurdish , Azerbaijani , Hebrew , Armenian and Neo-Aramaic . The dominance of Arabic and Turkish is the result of the medieval Arab and Turkic invasions beginning with the Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD, which displaced the formerly dominant Aramaic in the region of Syria , and Greek in Anatolia, although Hebrew became

2106-519: The part of Asia known in classical antiquity, as opposed to the reaches of "interior Asia", i.e. Scythia , and "Eastern Asia" the easternmost reaches of geographical knowledge in classical authors, i.e. Transoxania and India . In the 20th century, "Western Asia" was used to denote a rough geographical era in the fields of archaeology and ancient history , especially as a shorthand for "the Fertile Crescent excluding Ancient Egypt " for

2160-782: The primary sources for education in the area, and taught basic literacy to a large proportion of children even in quite remote mountainous areas – literacy rates in Algeria at the time of the French conquest in 1830 were higher than those of European France. Their curriculum began with memorization of the Arabic alphabet and the later, shorter suras of the Qur'an ; if a student was sufficiently interested or apt, it progressed to law ( fiqh ), theology, Arabic grammar (usually taught with ibn Adjurrum 's famous summary), mathematics (mainly as it pertained to

2214-772: The purposes of comparing the early civilizations of Egypt and the former. Use of the term in the context of contemporary geopolitics or world economy appears to date from at least the mid-1960s. The region is surrounded by eight major seas; the Aegean Sea , the Black Sea , the Caspian Sea , the Persian Gulf , the Arabian Sea , the Gulf of Aden , the Red Sea , and the Mediterranean Sea . To

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2268-509: The region (clockwise): the Aegean Sea , the Sea of Marmara , the Black Sea , the Caspian Sea , the Persian Gulf , the Gulf of Oman , the Arabian Sea , the Gulf of Aden , the Red Sea , the Gulf of Aqaba , the Gulf of Suez , and the Mediterranean Sea . West Asia contains the majority of the similarly defined Middle East . The Middle East is a political term that has changed many times depending on political and historical context while West Asia

2322-670: The region from Balochistan and South Asia. Three major tectonic plates converge on West Asia, including the African , Eurasian , and Arabian plates. The boundaries between the tectonic plates make up the Azores-Gibraltar Ridge , extending across North Africa , the Red Sea , and into Iran. The Arabian Plate is moving northward into the Anatolian plate (Turkey) at the East Anatolian Fault , and

2376-591: The region's sports organisations are the West Asia Basketball Association , West Asian Billiards and Snooker Federation , West Asian Football Federation , and the West Asian Tennis Federation . "Western Asia" was in use as a geographical term in the early 19th century, before " Near East " became current as a geopolitical concept. In the context of the history of classical antiquity , "Western Asia" could mean

2430-991: The region. In the United Nations geopolitical Eastern European Group , Armenia and Georgia are included in Eastern Europe, whereas Cyprus and East Thracian Turkey are in Southern Europe. These three nations are listed in the European category of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). National members of West Asian sports governing bodies are limited to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The Olympic Council of Asia 's multi-sport event West Asian Games are contested by athletes representing these 13 countries. Among

2484-681: The so-called Maraboutic Crisis in the 17th century the Dila Zawiya (or Dala'iyya), a Sufi order among the Berbers of the Middle Atlas , rose to power and controlled most of central Morocco, while another zawiya order based in the town of Iligh ruled the Sous region. The Zawiya al-Nasiriyya in Tamegroute , which still exists today, also ruled as an effectively independent principality to

2538-673: The southeast during this time. By the 19th century, zawiyas, both as individual institutions and as popular Sufi tariqa s, had large and widespread memberships across the population of the Maghreb. The Sanusiyya tariqa, for example, was widespread and influential in Libya and the eastern Sahara regions. In Tunisia, many zawiyas were patronized and supported by the government of the Husaynid beys . A late 19th-century French source estimated that in 1880 there were 355 zawiyas in Algeria with

2592-695: The still non-sovereign Western Sahara territory. Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz was Reguibi, as is the Moroccan CORCAS leader Khalihenna Ould Errachid . Zawiya (institution) Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities A zawiya or zaouia ( Arabic : زاوية , romanized :  zāwiyah , lit.   'corner'; Turkish : zaviye ; also spelled zawiyah or zawiyya )

2646-486: The subregion consists of Anatolia , the Arabian Peninsula , Iran , Mesopotamia , the Armenian highlands , the Levant , the island of Cyprus , the Sinai Peninsula and the South Caucasus . The region is separated from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt , and separated from Europe by the waterways of the Turkish Straits and the watershed of the Greater Caucasus . Central Asia lies to its northeast, while South Asia lies to its east. Twelve seas surround

2700-417: The teachings of figures like Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad and Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle . The number of Druze people worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% living in Syria , 35% to 40% living in Lebanon , and less than 10% living in Israel ; recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora. There are also important minority religions like

2754-436: The terms Middle East , Eastern Mediterranean , and Near East (which is historically familiar but widely deprecated today). The National Geographic Style Manual as well as Maddison 's The World Economy: Historical Statistics (2003) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) include only Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Palestine (called West Bank and Gaza in

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2808-437: The tombs of what became known as the Seven Saints of the city. The Zawiya of Idris II in Fez was lavishly rebuilt by Moulay Isma'il in the early 18th century, becoming a major landmark and marking the growing importance of shrines related to the tombs of sharifian figures. During periods of weak central rule Sufi orders and zawiyas were able to assert their political power and control large territories. In particular, during

2862-876: The two largest religions in the world: Christianity and Islam , plus Judaism and Druze faith ) originated in West Asia. Islam is the largest religion in West Asia, but other faiths that originated there, such as Judaism and Christianity , are also well represented. In Armenia and Georgia , Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy respectively are the predominant religions, and there are still different ancient communities of Eastern Christians in Azerbaijan . There are still large ancient communities of Eastern Christians (such as Assyrians , Middle Eastern Christians and Arab Christians ) in Lebanon , Iraq , Iran , Turkey , Syria , Jordan , Israel and Palestine numbering more than 3 million in West Asia. There are also large populations of expatriate workers which include sizeable Christian communities living in

2916-401: The zawiya afterwards. Some zawiyas, particularly in urban areas, are simply meeting places for local members of a wider Sufi order or brotherhood ( tariqa ), where they perform activities such as a haḍra or a dhikr . Some zawiyas, particularly in rural areas, serve as larger complexes which provide accommodation to pilgrims and contain a library, mosque, workshops, and granaries that serve

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