Near East

The Near East is a term used to describe a region around the Eastern Mediterranean. It includes places like the Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and sometimes the Balkans. People started using this term in the 1800s to talk about areas closest to Europe in the old Ottoman Empire.

Today, the words "Near East" and "Middle East" are often used to mean the same places. Both talk about countries such as the Arabian Peninsula, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, Syria, and Turkey.

Different groups may include slightly different countries when they talk about the Near East. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations sometimes adds Afghanistan to this region. The part of the Near East that lies in Asia (not counting Egypt, the Balkans, and Thrace) is now often called West Asia.

Eastern question

Main article: Eastern question

In the early 1800s, the Ottoman Empire included parts of Europe such as the Balkans. By 1914, it had lost most of these lands to new countries like the Kingdom of Greece and the Kingdom of Serbia. The empire was often called the "sick man of Europe" because people thought it might fall apart.

The term "Near East" started being used in the middle of the 1800s to describe lands close to Europe, like parts of the Levant. This included areas ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Other faraway places like Japan and China were called the "Far East." Today, "Near East" is mostly used when talking about history in West Asia.

Background

The terms Near East and Far East describe areas of the world close to or connected with parts of the former British Empire and nearby colonies. These terms appeared together in mid-19th century journals and were used before then to describe places like the near or far east of a field or village.

Before the mid-19th century, people used these terms based on their local views. The Romans and Greeks used similar ideas, like "near Gaul" or "far Gaul." Ancient maps divided places like Asia into sections such as "Scythia this side of the Himalayas" and "Scythia beyond the Himalayas."

In the 1600s, maps began calling parts of Asia the East Indies, including China and southeast Asia. Trade companies formed to reach these distant lands. The term Near East started being used more clearly after the Crimean War (1853–1856) to describe areas around the Ottoman Empire.

Over time, Near East came to include places like the Balkans, especially during conflicts involving the Ottoman Empire. Scholars also used Near East to refer to ancient lands important to history and religion, like those around the Mediterranean Sea.

The idea of a Middle East began to appear in the early 1900s as diplomats needed a new way to describe areas between the Near East and the Far East, especially around Iran and the Persian Gulf. After World War I, Middle East became the more common term, though Near East is still used in some academic areas.

Current meaning

The terms Near East, Far East, and Middle East have been used since the 20th century, but their meanings have changed over time. This has caused confusion, and experts in political science study these changes.

In the past, the Ottoman Empire covered much of this area, but today it is made up of many different countries. Different groups and countries use the term Near East in different ways, making it hard to define clearly.

The United States is one of the main countries that still uses the term Near East. For example, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the United States Department of State deals with countries in this region. Other groups, like the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, also use this term in their work.

Different organizations, like the United Nations, UNESCO, and the Central Intelligence Agency, have their own ways of grouping these countries, often using terms like Middle East or West Asia instead of Near East. Each group has its own focus and goals, which affects how they define the region.