The Near East is a geographical Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C.). Four historical traditions in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and term that covers different countries for archeologists and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other. The term originally applied to the Balkan states The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km2 (212,000 sq mi) and a population of about 55 million people in Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and even volatile, as there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region". A related UN paper adds that "every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct&, but now generally describes the countries of Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East - which describes geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than location within Asia. Due to this perceived Eurocentrism, international organizations such as between the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a completely separate and Iran Iran (Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and formerly known as Persia, is a country in Central Eurasia and Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was widely known as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are, especially in historical contexts.[1]

The term, as used by Western archaeologists Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of past human societies, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data which they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes. Due to the fact that archaeology employs a wide range of different procedures, it can be, geographers A geographer is a scientist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's physical environment and human habitat, and historians A historian is an individual who studies and writes about history, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all events in time. If the individual is concerned with events preceding written history, the, refers to the region encompassing Anatolia Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the western two-thirds of the Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia to the northeast, the Armenian Highland to the east, Mesopotamia to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea (the Asian portion of modern Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country situated in the Anatolian peninsula, located in Western Asia, and Eastern Thrace, located in southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest;), the Levant The Levant (Arabic: ‎ ash-Shām, also known as المشرق (Mashriq)) describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the (Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية‎), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest, Lebanon Lebanon (pronounced /ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لُبْنَان‎ Lubnān; French: Liban), officially the Republic of Lebanon[nb 1] (Arabic: اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّة اَللُّبْنَانِيَّة al-Jumhūrīyah al-Lubnānīyah; French: République libanaise), is a country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, Jordan Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia. It borders Saudi Arabia to the southeast, Iraq to the east, Syria to the north, Palestine and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea. Jordan's only port is at its southern tip, at the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba, which it shares with Israel, Egypt, and, Cyprus Cyprus (pronounced /ˈsaɪprəs/ ; Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipros]; Turkish: Kıbrıs), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [cipriaˈci ðimokraˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti) is an Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey, Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the and the Palestinian territories The territories, which were originally contained within the British Mandate of Palestine, were captured and occupied by Jordan and by Egypt in the late 1940s, and captured and occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. "Palestinian territories" is one of a number of designations for these areas. In 1980 Israel annexed East Jerusalem), Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwestern Iran (Iraq Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūrīyat Al-Irāq, Kurdish: كؤماری عه‌راق‎, Komara Îraqê, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܥܸܪܵܩ) is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the) and, occasionally, Transcaucasia The South Caucasus is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Transcaucasus. More specifically, the South Caucasus area spans the southern portion of the Caucasus Mountains and its lowlands, lying between the two continents of Europe and Asia and extending from the (Georgia Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო, IPA: [sɑkʰɑrtʰvɛlɔ] ; English pronunciation: /ˈdʒɔrdʒə/ ( listen)) is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia,, Armenia Armenia /ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան, transliterated : Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the and Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (pronounced /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ az-ər-bye-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is one of the six independent Turkic states in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to). In modern political and journalistic contexts, this region is usually subsumed into the wider Middle East The Middle East is a region that encompasses southwestern Asia and Egypt. In some contexts, the term has recently been expanded in usage to sometimes include Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and North Africa. It's often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern, while the terms Near East or West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East - which describes geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than location within Asia. Due to this perceived Eurocentrism, international organizations such as are preferred in archaeological, geographic and historical contexts. The term has been referred to as eurocentric Eurocentrism is a term coined during the period of decolonization in the later 20th century to refer to the practice of viewing the world from a European perspective, with an implied belief, either consciously or subconsciously, in the preeminence of European culture. The term Eurocentrism implies criticism of the concerns and values at the.[2]

Contents

Background

Inhabitants of the Near East, late nineteenth century The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires. This paved the way for the growing influence of the British Empire, the German Empire and the United States, spurring military conflicts but also advances in science and exploration

The term Near East came into use in the 1890s, when European Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the powers Power in international relations is defined in several different ways. Political scientists, historians, and practitioners of international relations have used the following concepts of political power: were faced with two critical situations in the "east".[3] The Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. (Title: simplified Chinese: 中 in 1894–1895 occurred in the Far East The Far East is a term used in English mostly equivalent to East Asia (including the Russian Far East) and Southeast Asia, sometimes to the inclusion of South Asia for economic and cultural reasons. British archaeologist D.G. Hogarth David George Hogarth was a British archaeologist and scholar associated with T. E. Lawrence and Arthur Evans published The Nearer East in 1902, which helped to define the term and its extent, including the Balkan The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. The region has a combined area of 550,000 km2 (212,000 sq mi) and a population of 55 million people.[citation needed] Pennisula[4] (Albania Albania ( /ælˈbeɪniə/ al-BAY-nee-ə, Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria, Gheg Albanian: Shqipnia/Shqypnia), officially known as the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, pronounced [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo[a] to the northeast,, Montenegro Montenegro ( /ˌmɒntɨˈneɪɡroʊ/ or /ˌmɒntɨˈniːɡroʊ/) (Montenegrin: Crna Gora, Црна Гора, listen (help·info)) (meaning "Black Mountain" in Montenegrin) is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the, southern Serbia 2 Titular rulers of Serbia in Hungarian exile claimed Serbian throne until 1540. Belgrade fell to Ottomans only in 1521. Serbia was briefly reestablished by Jovan Nenad 1526–7, Bulgaria Bulgaria (pronounced /bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ Bulgarian: България, transliterated: Bulgaria, pronounced [bɤ̞lˈɡarijɐ]), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Република България, transliterated: Republika Bulgaria, [rɛˈpublikɐ bɤ̞lˈɡarijɐ]), is a country in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: and Greece Greece (English: /ˈɡriːs/ ; Greek: Ελλάδα, Elláda, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen); Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: [helːás]), also known as Hellas and officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on), Egypt Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ; Arabic: مصر‎ Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Arabic: مِصْر Miṣr [ˈmisˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: مَصْر Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, kīmi; Egyptian: 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula, all the Ottoman The Ottoman Empire was a regime that lasted from 1299 to 1923 lands, the entire Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia. The area is an important part of the Middle East and plays a critically important geopolitical role because of its vast reserves of oil and natural gas, and western parts of Iran Iran (Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and formerly known as Persia, is a country in Central Eurasia and Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was widely known as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are.[3]

There is general agreement concerning the list of Near East countries in the current geo-political context, as can be seen from the scope of activity of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the U.S. Department of State[5] and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy[6]. All North African North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes seven countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, and countries are included, whilst the South Caucasus The South Caucasus is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Transcaucasus. More specifically, the South Caucasus area spans the southern portion of the Caucasus Mountains and its lowlands, lying between the two continents of Europe and Asia and extending from the countries (Armenia Armenia /ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան, transliterated : Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the, Georgia Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო, IPA: [sɑkʰɑrtʰvɛlɔ] ; English pronunciation: /ˈdʒɔrdʒə/ ( listen)) is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (pronounced /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ az-ər-bye-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is one of the six independent Turkic states in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to) are not considered part of the Near East in the modern context. USAID puts the South Caucasus countries in its Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the and Eurasia Eurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface (36.2% of the land area). Often considered a single continent, Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia (with Eurasia being a portmanteau of the two), concepts which date back to classical antiquity and the borders for which are regional bureau.[7] The Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus is also included in several definitions of the Near East, based on its geographical location as well as its cultural and historical background.[8][9][10][11][12] USAID places Cyprus in their reports on the Near East.[13] Additionally, the Near East University is situated in the country's capital, Nicosia.

Territories and regions

The Near East is an ambiguous term which may apply to different territories and regions depending on specific interpretations.

Country Bureau of Near East Affairs[5] Washington Institute for Near East Policy[6] United States Agency for International Development[13] The Library of Congress: Near East Section[8]
Cyprus – – + +
Egypt + + + +
Iran + + – +
Iraq + + – +
Israel + + + –
Jordan + + + +
Lebanon + + + +
North Africa + + + +
Oman + + – +
Palestinian Authority + + – +
Persian Gulf States + + – +
Saudi Arabia + + – +
Turkey – + – +
Yemen + + + +

Legend: + included; – excluded

Source for European Males

Recent genetic studies have found that most European males are descended from neolithic farmers originating from the Near East. This is in contrast to the mitochondrial DNA analysis which suggests that European women are descended from hunter-gatherers. (See PLoS Biology)

See also

References

  1. ^ Near East, Oxford Dictionary of English, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2003.
  2. ^ Philip Shukry Khoury, Joseph Kostiner, Tribes and state formation in the Middle East, University of California Press, 1990, p.127.
  3. ^ a b Davidson, Roderic H. (1960). "Where is the Middle East?". Foreign Affairs 38: p. 665–675.
  4. ^ Eric Hobsbawn, The Age of Empire: 1875-1914, Pantheon Books, 1987, ISBN 0394563190, p.17,
  5. ^ a b Countries covered by the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State
  6. ^ a b
  7. ^ South Caucasus countries in USAID classification
  8. ^ a b Countries of the Near East Section, The Library of Congress
  9. ^ "Egypt and the Near East", Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents
  10. ^ Simmons, Alan H., The Neolithic Revolution in the Near East: Transforming the Human Landscape, (2007)
  11. ^ Washington Post: Near East
  12. ^ Hall, H. R., The Ancient History of the Near East: From the Earliest Times to the Battle of Salamis, Methuen, (1913)
  13. ^ a b United States. Agency for International Development [AID]. Office of Development Information and Utilization, "Near East, Afghanistan: selected statistical data by sex" which states that: "...individual reports have been prepared for the following countries of the Near East: Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and the Yemen Arab Republic."

Categories: Near East | Western Asia

Personal tools
Namespaces
">
Variants
Views
">
Actions
Search">
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Wed Jul 28 04:31:38 2010. [ refresh local cache ]
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

[Hide]▼
'Near East' News
Two-car wreck leads to power outage, fire - Shelby Star
news.google.com
Two-car wreck leads to power outage, fire

Shelby Star

"We saw him drive up through there and hit a pole," said Joyce Daugherty, who lives near East Avenue. Jeff Bivins said he saw the white car cross the ...
Google News Search: Near East,
Wed Feb 24 08:58:04 2010
'Near East' Images
686862899 5 53 jpg
kingsportlibrary.org
686862899 5 53 jpg
366px x 450px | 118.70kB

[source page]



Yahoo Images Search: Near East,
Mon Jun 7 10:30:06 2010
'Near East' Blogs
What Makes Civilization?: The Ancient Near East and the Future of ...
heritage-key.com
What Makes Civilization?: The Ancient Near East and the Future of ...

Lyn

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GM

Publication subtitle: The Ancient . Near East. and the Future of the West Month of publication: July Day of publication: 15 Number of Pages: 224 pages.

Google Blogs Search: Near East,
Sat Jul 24 07:36:10 2010
'Near East' Answers
What's the social and economic changes that took place in the ancient Near East?
Q. What's the social and economic changes that took place in the ancient Near East that made possible the beginning of what we call civilization.
Asked by L - Tue Jul 28 02:53:26 2009 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments

A. supersonic
Answered by Danielle O'Brien - Tue Jul 28 03:08:03 2009

Yahoo Answers Search: Near East,
Sat Jul 24 05:07:58 2010
[Hide]▲