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Near East

The Near East.

Inhabitants of the Near East, late nineteenth century.

The Near East is a term commonly used by Western archaeologists, geographers, and historians, less commonly by Western journalists and commentators, to refer to the region encompassing Anatolia (the Asian portion of modern Turkey), the Levant (Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine), Georgia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The alternative term Middle East?preferred in some political and economic contexts?is not used by Near Eastern archaeologists and historians.

Background

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 an Armenian Genocide 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 western parts of Iran.^[1]