Near East
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Near East is a term commonly used by archaeologists, geographers and historians, less commonly by journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing Anatolia (modern Turkey), the Levant (modern Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), Armenia, and Mesopotamia (Iraq and eastern Syria). The alternative term Middle East — preferred in some political and economic contexts — is not used by Near Eastern archaeologists and historians. An alternative non-Eurocentric designation in recent years has been 'Southwest Asia', although this term has yet to achieve widespread use.
The term, Near East, came into use in the 1890s, when European powers were faced with two critical situations in the "east".[1] The Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895 occurred in the Far East, while Armenian genocides and instability involving the Cretans and Macedonians were occurring in the Near East.[1] British archaeologist D.G. Hogarth published The Nearer East in 1902, which helped to define the term and its extent, including Albania, Montenegro, southern Serbia and Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt, all the Ottoman lands, the entire Arabian peninsula, and portions of Iran.[1]
In Europe, "Near East" is the preferred term due to the evident geographical proximity.
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