Europe 1977: Cold War Rivalry in the Middle East

View full map and options for mobile…

Political map of Europe & the Mediterranean on 15 Jun 1977 (The Cold War: Cold War Rivalry in the Middle East), showing the following events: Britain, Denmark, and Ireland become members of the EEC; Yom Kippur War; 1973 Oil Crisis; Turkish invasion of Cyprus; Lebanese Civil War begins; Portuguese and Spanish transitions to democracy.

Jan 1973Britain, Denmark,
and Ireland
join the EEC

6–25 Oct 1973Israel defeats
Arab attacks in
Yom Kippur War

17 Oct 1973–17 Mar 1974Arab states start oil embargo
to protest US support of Israel

Jul–Aug 1974Turkey invades Cyprus

Apr 1975Civil war breaks
out in Lebanon

1976End of dictatorships
in Spain and Portugal

15 June 1977

(more) (less…

31 Dec 6AD

Sep 9AD

1 Sep 16AD

1 Oct 18AD

30 Jun 26AD

29 Feb 36AD

23 Jan 41AD

16 Aug 43AD

30 Apr 47AD

31 Aug 49AD

15 Jan 54AD

31 Jul 59AD

15 Oct 60AD

15 Nov 62AD

3 Oct 66AD

7 Jun 68AD

14 Jan 69AD

14 Apr 69AD

15 Jul 69AD

24 Oct 69AD

16 Dec 69AD

14 Apr 70AD

15 Apr 74AD

24 Oct 79AD

2 Aug 84AD

29 Aug 88AD

18 Sep 96AD

5 Jul 102

8 Aug 106

11 Aug 107

19 Oct 113

23 Sep 114

14 Oct 115

15 Sep 116

10 Aug 117

17 Jul 122

30 Nov 132

26 Apr 142

31 Oct 161

24 Apr 166

27 Aug 170

3 May 175

16 Mar 180

30 Dec 192

19 Apr 193

31 Mar 194

19 Feb 197

28 Jan 198

Dec 202

sum 210

Sep 213

sum 216

8 Jun 218

28 Apr 224

6 Apr 227

fall 232

fall 235

2 Apr 238

26 Sep 1815

27 Sep 1818

28 Sep 1820

22 Apr 1821

31 Aug 1823

23 Oct 1824

14 Sep 1826

20 Oct 1827

30 Oct 1828

13 Sep 1829

14 Jun 1830

23 Sep 1830

26 Feb 1831

17 Feb 1832

21 Dec 1832

6 May 1833

27 Jul 1833

17 Jun 1834

20 Jun 1837

15 Jul 1840

27 Nov 1840

10 Sep 1844

3 Nov 1847

24 Feb 1848

21 Mar 1848

11 Apr 1848

3 May 1848

23 Jun 1848

24 Jul 1848

26 Aug 1848

29 Oct 1848

19 Dec 1848

23 Mar 1849

14 Apr 1849

9 May 1849

26 May 1849

3 Jul 1849

28 Aug 1849

29 Apr 1850

29 Nov 1850

2 Dec 1852

28 Mar 1854

5 Nov 1854

30 Mar 1856

1 Apr 1857

24 Jan 1859

4 Jun 1859

25 Aug 1859

3 Dec 1859

29 May 1860

22 Oct 1860

17 Mar 1861

24 Dec 1863

30 Oct 1864

14 Jun 1866

24 Jun 1866

22 Jul 1866

21 Dec 1867

1 Sep 1870

20 Sep 1870

28 Jan 1871

10 May 1871

2 Jan 1878

17 Mar 1878

20 Oct 1878

15 Nov 1884

4 Jan 1894

19 Sep 1898

8 Apr 1904

31 Mar 1906

7 Oct 1908

1 Jul 1911

17 May 1912

23 Apr 1913

31 Jul 1913

25 Sep 1913

28 Jun 1914

4 Aug 1914

5 Sep 1914

26 Dec 1914

26 Apr 1915

4 Nov 1915

21 Feb 1916

20 Sep 1916

12 Jan 1917

6 Apr 1917

11 Jul 1917

7 Nov 1917

1 Dec 1917

20 Mar 1918

18 Jul 1918

20 Sep 1918

25 Oct 1918

8 Nov 1918

11 Nov 1918

4 Dec 1918

10 Jan 1919

9 Apr 1919

28 Jun 1919

10 Sep 1919

27 Nov 1919

6 Apr 1920

4 Jun 1920

10 Aug 1920

12 Nov 1920

20 Mar 1921

23 Aug 1921

28 Jun 1922

28 Oct 1922

8 Nov 1923

1 Dec 1925

30 Jan 1933

7 Mar 1936

20 Jul 1936

13 Mar 1938

2 Nov 1938

15 Mar 1939

23 Aug 1939

16 Sep 1939

11 Mar 1940

21 Apr 1940

25 May 1940

21 Jun 1940

7 Sep 1940

3 Nov 1940

26 Feb 1941

16 Apr 1941

21 Jun 1941

31 Aug 1941

4 Dec 1941

20 Jan 1942

27 Jun 1942

16 Sep 1942

8 Nov 1942

22 Nov 1942

29 Dec 1942

22 Feb 1943

19 Mar 1943

12 Jul 1943

30 Sep 1943

29 Jan 1944

20 Jun 1944

30 Aug 1944

17 Oct 1944

24 Dec 1944

24 Mar 1945

2 May 1945

14 May 1945

13 Jul 1945

19 Apr 1946

10 Feb 1947

…less)

1 Aug 1948

7 Oct 1949

21 Sep 1955

7 Nov 1956

22 Feb 1958

26 Jun 1963

26 May 1972

15 Jun 1977

25 Apr 1982

10 Nov 1989

3 Oct 1990

28 Feb 1991

27 Jun 1991

19 Aug 1991

(more) (less…

6 Sep 1991

9 Dec 1991

25 Dec 1991

22 Jun 1992

1 Nov 1993

12 Jun 1999

13 Apr 2003

16 Aug 2008

19 Mar 2011

18 Mar 2014

23 May 2014

17 Jul 2014

7 Oct 2015

27 Oct 2017

31 Jan 2020

…less)

The Cold War

-27–68 The Julio-Claudian Dynasty 68–96 The Flavian Dynasty 96–192 The Nerva–Antonine Dynasty 192–235 The Severan Dynasty 235–285 The Crisis of the Third Century 285–1815 NO MAPS FOR THIS PERIOD YET 1815–1848 Congress Europe 1848–1850 The Springtime of Peoples 1850–1859 The Crimean War 1859–1862 Italian Unification 1862–1871 German Unification 1871–1914 Imperial Europe 1914–1918 The Great War 1918–1922 Armistice Europe 1922–1939 The Rise of Fascism 1939–1942 World War II: Blitzkrieg 1942–1945 World War II: Fall of the Third Reich 1945–1990 The Cold War 1990–2010 Post-Cold War Europe 2010–pres The Crisis of Europe

Europe

The Arctic North America South America

Northern Africa Sub-Saharan Africa

Northern Eurasia Europe Eastern Mediterranean

Asia Pacific Southern Asia East Asia

Australasia

Game of Thrones

Cold War Rivalry in the Middle East

19 Apr 1946 The Iron Curtain Descends 10 Feb 1947 Paris Peace Treaties 1 Aug 1948 Berlin Airlift 7 Oct 1949 NATO and the Two Germanys 21 Sep 1955 Warsaw Pact 7 Nov 1956 Suez Crisis 22 Feb 1958 Arab Nationalism 26 Jun 1963 Berlin Wall 26 May 1972 Detente 15 Jun 1977 Cold War Rivalry in the Middle East 25 Apr 1982 Islamic Resurgence 10 Nov 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall

In 1967, Israel conquered large swathes of Arab territory, which Soviet-supported Egypt and Syria attempted to retake in 1973. When they failed, the Arab world retaliated against US support of Israel with an oil embargo against the West. Further instability in the region occurred when ethnic tensions between Greeks and Turks in Cyprus prompted a Turkish invasion of that island and Palestinian refugees helped set off a civil war in Lebanon.

About this map

Download map (without labels)

Main Events

1 Jan 1973 Britain, Denmark, and Ireland become members of the EEC ▲

Britain, Denmark, and Ireland become members of the EEC in wikipedia

6–25 Oct 1973 Yom Kippur War ▲

Following their defeat in the Six Day War, Egypt and Syria launched a sneak attack on Israel during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur (hampering mobilization). Initially, the Egyptians and Syrians had the upper hand, but after 19 days of fighting, the Israeli Army had crossed into Africa and were nearing Damascus. The Soviet Union began mobilizing against Israel, but backed down after the United States began mobilizing in turn, ending the war. in wikipedia

17 Oct 1973–17 Mar 1974 1973 Oil Crisis ▲

In October 1973 the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC)—who’s component nations produced about 75% of the world’s oil at the time—decided to cut oil production to force the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands to end their support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Beginning with a 5% cut on 17 October, oil production was dropped to 25% of pre-embargo levels by December, contributing to a global recession and causing tensions between the US and its European allies. The embargo was lifted in March 1974 after negotiations following the end of the Yom Kippur War. in wikipedia

20 Jul–18 Aug 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus ▲

In response to the Greek-backed coup in Cyprus in July 1974, the Republic of Turkey launched Operation Atilla, landing troops at Kyrenia in the island’s north. Invoking its rights under the London-Zürich Agreements to protect the Turkish population, Turkey proceeded to capture 3% of Cyprus before the UN Security Council was able to impose a ceasefire on 22 July. After further clashes, a second Turkish offensive in mid-August fanned out to occupy 36% of the island before a final ceasefire that month left the Republic of Cyprus divided, with a de facto Northern Cyprus under Turkish occupation and separated from the south by a UN Buffer Zone. in wikipedia

13 Apr 1975 Lebanese Civil War begins ▲

The movement of Palestinian refugees and militants to Lebanon—especially after the Six-Day War (1967) and Black September (1970)—further destabilized a republic which was already precariously balanced between a Christian and Muslim population under the authority of a mandatorily majority-Christian government. In April 1975 fighting broke out in Beirut between the Kateeb Christian militia (Phalangists) and the leftist-aligned Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), leading to the division of the city (the Green Line). The Muslim and leftist Lebanese National Movement (LNM) soon threw its weight behind the PLO and by early 1976 had seized much of the country, prompting Christian forces to reorganize as the Lebanese Front. Suspicious of the LNM, Syria invaded Lebanon in June in support of the government. in wikipedia

15 Dec 1976 Portuguese and Spanish transitions to democracy ▲

In 1974, the Portuguese military, coupled with civil protesters, overthrew the Estado Novo regime of António de Olveira Salazar, establishing a pathway to democracy. Soon after, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco restored the monarchy, appointing Prince Juan Carlos as his successor after his death. Instead, Juan Carlos restored civil authority to Parliament, holding a referendum for a new constitution to take effect in 1978. in wikipedia