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The Middle East (or, formerly more common, the Near East) is a region that spans southwestern Asia and northern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East. The corresponding adjective to the Middle East is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner.

The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, and throughout its history the Middle East has been a major centre of world affairs. The Middle East is also the historical origin of three of the world’s major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Middle East generally has an arid and hot climate, with several major rivers providing for irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas. Many countries located around the Persian Gulfmarker have large quantities of crude oil. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.

Etymology

The term "Middle East" may have originated in the 1850s in the British India Office, and became more widely known when Americanmarker naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term. During this time the British and Russian Empiresmarker were vying for influence in Central Asia, a rivalry which would become known as The Great Game. Mahan realized not only the strategic importance of the region, but also of its center, the Persian Gulfmarker. He labeled the area surrounding the Persian Gulf as the Middle East, and said that after the Suez Canalmarker, it was the most important passage for Britain to control in order to keep the Russians from advancing towards British India. Mahan first used the term in his article "The Persian Gulf and International Relations," published in September 1902 in the National Review, a British journal.

The Middle East, if I may adopt a term which I have not seen, will some day need its Malta, as well as its Gibraltar; it does not follow that either will be in the Persian Gulf.
Naval force has the quality of mobility which carries with it the privilege of temporary absences; but it needs to find on every scene of operation established bases of refit, of supply, and in case of disaster, of security.
The British Navy should have the facility to concentrate in force if occasion arise, about Aden, India, and the Persian Gulf.


Mahan's article was reprinted in The Times and followed in October by a 20 article series entitled "The Middle Eastern Question," written by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol. During this series Sir Ignatius expanded the definition of the "Middle East" to include "those regions of Asia which extend to the borders of Indiamarker or command the approaches to India." After the series ended in 1903, The Times removed quotation marks from subsequent uses of the term.

Until World War II, it was customary to refer to areas centered around Turkeymarker and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean as the "Near East," while the "Far East" centered on Chinamarker, and the Middle East then meant the area from Mesopotamia to Burmamarker, namely the area between the Near East and the Far East. In the late 1930s, the British established the Middle East Command, which was based in Cairomarker, for its military forces in the region. After that time, the term "Middle East" gained broader usage in Europe and the United States, with the Middle East Institute founded in Washington, D.C.marker in 1946, among other usage.

Criticism and usage

[[File:Middle East (orthographic projection).svg|300px|thumb|

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Many have criticized the term Middle East due to its implicit Eurocentrism. In contemporary Western academic & media venues, the term is often bandied about by both Europeans and non-Europeans; this stands in contrast to the similar designation, Mashriq, which is deployed primarily in Arabic-language contexts.

The description Middle has also led to some confusion over changing definitions. Before the First World War, "Near East" was used in English to refer to the Balkans and the Ottoman Empire, while "Middle East" referred to Iranmarker, Afghanistanmarker, and Central Asia, Turkestan, and the Caucasus. In contrast, "Far East" referred to the countries of East Asia (e.g. China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, etc.). Some critics usually advise using an alternative term, such as "Western Asia", which is the official designation of the UN.

With the disappearance of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, "Near East" largely fell out of common use in English, while "Middle East" came to be applied to the re-emerging countries of the Islamic world. However, the usage of "Near East" was retained by a variety of academic disciplines, including archaeology and ancient history, where it describes an area identical to the term Middle East, which is not used by these disciplines (see Ancient Near East).

The first official use of the term "Middle East" by the United States government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine, which pertained to the Suez Crisis. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles defined the Middle East as "the area lying between and including Libyamarker on the west and Pakistanmarker on the east, Syriamarker and Iraqmarker on the North and the Arabian peninsula to the south, plus the Sudanmarker and Ethiopiamarker." In 1958, the State Departmentmarker explained that the terms "Near East" and "Middle East" were interchangeable, and defined the region as including only Egyptmarker, Syriamarker, Israelmarker, Lebanonmarker, Jordanmarker, Iraqmarker, Saudi Arabiamarker, Kuwaitmarker, Bahrainmarker, and Qatarmarker.

The Associated Press Stylebook says that Near East formerly referred to the farther west countries while Middle East referred to the eastern ones, but that now they are synonymous. It instructs:
Use Middle East unless Near East is used by a source in a story.
Mideast is also acceptable, but Middle East is preferred.


At the United Nations, the numerous documents and resolutions about the Middle East are in fact concerned with the Arab-Israeli conflict, in particular the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and, therefore, with the four states of the Levant. The term Near East is occasionally heard at the UN when referring to this region.

Translations

There are terms similar to "Near East" and "Middle East" in other European languages, but since it is a relative description, the meanings depend on the country and are different from the English terms generally. In German the term "Naher Osten" (Near East) is still in common use (nowadays the term "Mittlerer Osten" is more and more common in press texts translated from English sources, albeit having a distinct meaning) and in Russian Ближний Восток or "Blizhniy Vostok", Bulgarian Близкия Изток, Polish Bliski Wschód or Croatian Bliski istok (meaning Near East in all the four Slavic languages) remains as the only appropriate term for the region. However, some languages do have "Middle East" equivalents, such as the French Moyen-Orient, Swedish Mellanöstern, Spanish Oriente Medio or Medio Oriente, and the Italian Medio Oriente..

Perhaps due to the influence of the Western press, the Arabic equivalent of “Middle East,” “‫الشرق الأوسط‬” (“ash-sharq-l-awsat”), has become standard usage in the mainstream Arabic press, comprehending the same meaning as the term “Middle East” in North American and Western European usage. The Persian equivalent for Middle East is خاورمیانه (Khāvarmiyāneh).

Territories and regions

Country, with flag Area

(km²)		 Population Density

(per km²)		 Capital GDP (Total) Per capita Currency Government Official languages
Anatoliamarker:
Turkeymarker1 783,562 73,914,000 91 Ankaramarker $1.028 trillion The World Bank: World Economic Indicators Database. GDP (PPP) 2008. Data for the year 2008. Last revised on July 1, 2009. (2008) $13,920 The World Bank: World Economic Indicators Database. Population 2008. Data for the year 2008. Last revised on July 1, 2009. (2008) Turkish lira Parliamentary democracy Turkish
Arabian Peninsula:
665 656,397 987 Manamamarker $26.970 billion (2008) $34,605 (2008) Bahraini Dinar Constitutional monarchy Arabic
17,820 3,100,000 119 Kuwait Citymarker $137.190 billion (2008) $39,849 (2008) Kuwaiti dinar Constitutional Hereditary Arabic
212,460 3,200,000 13 Muscatmarker $66.889 billion (2008) $24,153 (2008) Omani Rial Absolute monarchy Arabic
11,437 793,341 69 Dohamarker $94.249 billion (2008) $85,867 (2008) Qatari Riyal Absolute monarchy Arabic
1,960,582 23,513,330 12 Riyadhmarker $593.385 billion (2008) $23,834 (2008) Riyal Absolute monarchy Arabic
82,880 5,432,746 30 Abu Dhabimarker $184.984 billion (2008) $38,830 (2008) UAE dirham Federal Constitutional Monarchy Arabic, English
527,970 18,701,257 35 Sanaámarker $55.433 billion (2008) $2,412 (2008) Yemeni rial Republic Arabic
Fertile Crescent:
Gaza Stripmarker 360 1,376,289 3,823 Gazamarker $770 million (2008) $2,900 (2008) Israeli new sheqel Palestinian National Authority Hamas Arabic
437,072 31,001,816 70.93 Baghdadmarker $202.3 billion (2008) $6,500 (2008) Iraqi dinar Parliamentary democracy Arabic, Kurdish
20,770 7,465,000 290 Jerusalemmarker2 $200.630 billion (2008) $28,206 (2008) Israeli new sheqel Parliamentary democracy Hebrew, Arabic
92,300 5,307,470 58 Ammanmarker $32.112 billion (2008) $5,314 (2008) Jordanian dinar Constitutional monarchy Arabic
10,452 3,677,780 354 Beirutmarker $49.514 billion (2008) $13,031 (2008) Lebanese pound Republic Arabic, French, English, Armenian
185,180 17,155,814 93 Damascusmarker $94.408 billion (2008) $4,748 (2009) Syrian pound Presidential republic Arabic
West Bankmarker 5,8603 2,500,0005 4323,4 Ramallahmarker Israeli new sheqel Palestinian National Authority Fatah Arabic
Iranian Plateau:
1,648,195 71,208,000 42 Tehranmarker $819.799 billion (2008) $11,250 (2008) Iranian rial Islamic republic Persian
Mediterranean Seamarker:
9,250 792,604 90 Nicosiamarker $22.703 billion (2008) $29,830 (2008) Euro Republic Greek, Turkish
North Africa:
1,001,449 77,498,000 74 Cairomarker $442.640 billion (2008) $5,898 (2008) Egyptian pound Semi-presidential republic (democracy) Arabic


Source:

Notes:

1 The figures for Turkey includes Eastern Thrace, which is not a part of Anatolia.

2 Under Israeli law. The UN doesn't recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

3 Includes the whole of the West Bank, according to the pre-1967 boundaries.

4 In addition, there are around 400,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, of which half are in East-Jerusalem.


Greater Middle East

Country, with flag Area

(km²)		 Population Density

(per km²)		 Capital GDP (Total) Per capita Currency Government Official languages
Caucacus:
Armeniamarker 29,800 2,968,586 111.7 Yerevanmarker $18.715 billion (2008) $5,272 (2008) Armenian dram Presidential republic Armenian
Azerbaijanmarker 86,600 8,621,000 97 Bakumarker $74.734 billion (2008) $8,620 (2008) Azerbaijani manat Presidential republic Azerbaijani
Georgiamarker 20,460 4,630,841 99.3 Tbilisimarker $21.812 billion (2008) $4,957 (2008) Georgian lari Presidential democratic republic Georgian
Iranian Plateau:
647,500 31,889,923 46 Kabulmarker $21.340 billion (2008) $758 (2008) Afghani Islamic republic Persian, Pashto
880,940 169,300,000 206 Islamabadmarker $439.558 billion (2008) $2,738 (2008) Pakistani Rupee Islamic republic Urdu, English, Punjabi Pashto
Central Asia:
2,724,900 15,217,711 5.4 Astanamarker $177.545 billion (2008) $11,416 (2008) Kazakhstani tenge Presidential republic Kazakh, Russian
447,400 27,372,000 59 Tashkentmarker $71.501 billion (2008) $2,629 (2008) Uzbekistani som Presidential republic Uzbek
488,100 5,110,023 9.9 Ashgabatmarker $30.091 billion (2008) $5,710 (2008) Turkmenistani manat Presidential republic Turkmen
143,100 7,215,700 45 Dushanbemarker $13.041 billion (2008) $2,019 (2008) Somoni Unitary presidential republic Tajik
199,900 5,356,869 26 Bishkekmarker $11.580 billion (2008) $2,180 (2008) Kyrgyzstani som Unitary presidential republic Kyrgyz, Russian
North Africa:
2,381,740 33,333,216 14 Algiersmarker $233.098 billion (2008) $6,698 (2008) Algerian dinar Presidential republic Arabic
446,550 33,757,175 70 Nouakchottmarker $6.221 billion (2008) $2,052 (2008) Ouguiya Military junta Arabic
163,610 10,102,000 62 El Aaiunmarker Moroccan dirham Arabic
1,759,540 6,036,914 3 Tripolimarker $90.251 billion (2008) $14,533 (2008) Libyan dinar Jamahiriya Arabic
446,550 33,757,175 70 Rabatmarker $136.728 billion (2008) $4,349 (2008) Moroccan dirham Constitutional monarchy Arabic
163,610 10,102,000 62 Tunismarker $82.226 billion (2008) $7,962 (2008) Tunisian dinar Republic Arabic
Northeast Africa:
23,200 496,374 34 Djiboutimarker $1.877 billion (2008) $2,392 (2008) Djiboutian franc Parliamentary republic Arabic, French, Somali, Afar
117,600 4,401,009 37 Asmaramarker $3.739 billion (2008) $747 (2008) Nakfa Provisional government Tigrinya, Arabic
637,661 9,588,666 13 Mogadishumarker $5.524 billion (2008) $600 (2008) Somali shilling Semi-presidential republic Somali, Arabic
2,505,813 39,379,358 14 Khartoummarker $87.885 billion (2008) $2,305 (2008) Sudanese pound Dictatorship (democracy) Arabic
Source:


History

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem


The Middle East lies at the juncture of Eurasia and Africa and of the Mediterranean Seamarker and the Indian Oceanmarker. It is the birthplace and spiritual center of the Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Yezidi, and in Iran, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and the Bahá'í Faith. Throughout its history the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs; a strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area.

The earliest civilizations, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, originated in the Fertile Crescent and Nile Valley regions of the ancient Near East, as well as the civilizations of the Levant, Persia, and Arabian Peninsula. The Near East was first unified under the Achaemenid Empire followed later by the Macedonian Empire and later Iranian empires, namely the Parthian and Sassanid Empires. However, it would be the Arab Caliphates of the Middle Ages, or Islamic Golden Age, that would first unify the entire Middle East as a distinct region and create the dominant ethnic identity that persists today. The Turkic Seljuk, Ottoman and Safavid empires would also later dominate the region.

The modern Middle East began after World War I, when the Ottoman Empire, which was allied with the defeated Central Powers, was partitioned into a number of separate nations. Other defining events in this transformation included the establishment of Israelmarker in 1948 and the departure of European powers, notably Britainmarker and Francemarker. They were supplanted in some part by the rising influence of the United Statesmarker.

In the 20th century, the region's significant stocks of crude oil gave it new strategic and economic importance. Mass production of oil began around 1945, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates having large quantities of oil. Estimated oil reserves, especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran, are some of the highest in the world, and the international oil cartel OPEC is dominated by Middle Eastern countries.

During the Cold War, the Middle East was a theater of ideological struggle between the two superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union, as they competed to influence regional allies. Of course, besides the political reasons there was also the "ideological conflict" between the two systems. Moreover, as Louise Fawcett argues, among many important areas of contention, or perhaps more accurately of anxiety, were, first, the desires of the superpowers to gain strategic advantage in the region, second, the fact that the region contained some two thirds of the world's oil reserves in a context where oil was becoming increasingly vital to the economy of the Western world [...] Within this contextual framework, the United States sought to divert the Arab world from Soviet influence. Throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, the region has experienced both periods of relative peace and tolerance and periods of conflict and war. Current issues include the US Occupation of Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Various ethnic and religious types in the Middle East, 19th century


The Middle East is home to numerous ethnic groups, including Arabs, Turks, Persians, Jews, Kurds, Aramean Syriacs, Armenians, Azeris, Circassians, Greeks and Georgians.

Religions

The Middle East is very diverse when it comes to religions, most of which originated there. Islam in its many forms is by far the largest religion in the Middle East, but other faiths, such as Judaism and Christianity, are also important. There are also important minority religions like Bahá'í, Yazdanism, Zoroastrianism.

Languages

Languages of the Middle East span many different families, including Indo-European, Afro-Asiatic, and Altaic.

Arabic, in its sometime mutually unintelligible numerous varieties, is the most widely spoken language in the Middle East, being official in all the Arab countries. It is also spoken in some adjacent areas in neighbouring Middle Eastern non-Arab countries. It is a Semitic language. Second most-numerous language is Persian, and while it is confined to Iranmarker and some border areas in neghbouring countries, the country is one of the region's largest and most populous. It is an Indo-European language. Third most numerous is the Turkish language, also confined to Turkey (also one of the region's largest and populous countries) and areas with neighbouring countries. It is an Altaic language with origins in Central Asia.

Other languages spoken in the region include Syriac (a form of Aramaic), Armenian, Azeri, Berber languages, Circassian, Gilaki language and Mazandarani languages, Hebrew, Kurdish, Luri, and other Turkic languages, Somali and Greek. In Turkey, Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian, and Gagauz languages are spoken, in addition to the Turkish language. Several modern South Arabian languages are also spoken.

English is also spoken, especially among the middle and upper class, in countries such as Egyptmarker, Jordanmarker, Israelmarker, Iraqmarker, and Kuwaitmarker. French is spoken in Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Egypt. Urdu is spoken in many Middle Eastern countries, such as Arab states the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Qatar, which have large numbers of Pakistanimarker immigrants. The largest Romanian-speaking community in the Middle East is found in Israelmarker, where Romanian is spoken by 5% of the population. Romanian is spoken mostly as a secondary language by people from Arab-speaking countries that made their studies in Romaniamarker. It is estimated that almost half a million Middle Eastern Arabs studied in Romania during the 1980s. Russian language is also spoken by a large portion of the Israeli population, due to emigration in the late 1990s.

Economy



Middle Eastern economies range from being very poor (such as Gaza and Yemen) to extremely wealthy nations (such as Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia). Overall, , according to the CIA World Factbook, all nations in the Middle East are maintaining a positive rate of growth.

According to the World Bank's World Development Indicators database published on July 1, 2009, the three largest Middle Eastern economies in 2008 were Turkey ($ 794,228,000,000), Saudi Arabia ($ 467,601,000,000) and Iran ($ 385,143,000,000) in terms of Nominal GDP. The World Bank: World Economic Indicators Database. GDP (Nominal) 2008. Data for the year 2008. Last revised on July 1, 2009. In regards to nominal GDP per capita, the highest ranking countries are Qatar ($93,204), the UAE ($55,028), Kuwait ($45,920) and Cyprus ($32,745). Turkey ($ 1,028,897,000,000), Iran ($ 839,438,000,000) and Saudi Arabia ($ 589,531,000,000) had the largest economies in terms of GDP-PPP. The World Bank: World Economic Indicators Database. GDP (PPP) 2008. Data for the year 2008. Last revised on July 1, 2009. When it comes to per capita (PPP)-based income, the highest-ranking countries are Qatar ($86,008), Kuwait ($39,915), the UAE ($38,894), Bahrain ($34,662) and Cyprus ($29,853). The lowest-ranking country in the Middle East, in terms of per capita income (PPP), is the autonomous Palestinian Authority of Gaza and the West Bank ($1,100).

The economic structure of Middle Eastern nations are different in the sense that while some nations are heavily dependent on export of only oil and oil-related products (such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait), others have a highly diverse economic base (such as Cyprus, Israel, Turkey and Egypt). Industries of the Middle Eastern region include oil and oil-related products, agriculture, cotton, cattle, dairy, textiles, leather products, surgical instruments, defence equipment (guns, ammunition, tanks, submarines, fighter jets, UAVs, and missiles). Banking is also an important sector of the economies, especially in the case of UAE and Bahrain.

With the exception of Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon and Israel, tourism has been a relatively undeveloped area of the economy, due in part to the socially conservative nature of the region as well as political turmoil in certain regions of the Middle East. In recent years, however, countries such as the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan have begun attracting greater number of tourists due to improving tourist facilities and the relaxing of tourism-related restrictive policies.

Unemployment is notably high in the Middle East and North Africa region, particularly among young people aged 15–29, a demographic representing 30% of the region’s total population. The total regional unemployment rate in 2005, according to the International Labor Organization, was 13.2%, and among youth is as high as 25%, up to 37% in Moroccomarker and 73% in Syriamarker.

See also



Notes

References



External links




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