Middle East

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Lore & Background

The history of the Middle East is among the richest ever recorded as it was the first region to be settled by modern humans outside of Africa and the first region in which writing systems were developed. Situated at the intersection of Africa, Europe, and Asia, the Middle East was home to several cradles of civilization and has been recognized by both local and foreign populations as a region of great strategic importance for millennia. All of the core Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) originated and have their holiest sites in the Middle East. The term 'Middle East' may have originated with the India Office of the United Kingdom in the 1850s, but became more widely known through the United States, particularly after American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term to 'designate the area between Arabia and India' in 1902. Mahan first used the term in his September 1902 article 'The Persian Gulf and International Relations' for the British journal National Review. His article was reprinted in The Times and followed by a 20-article series entitled 'The Middle Eastern Question' by British historian and diplomat Valentine Chirol, which expanded the definition. Until World War II, it was customary to refer to areas centred on Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean as the 'Near East' in juxtaposition with the 'Far East'. The Middle East was then defined as the area from Mesopotamia to Burma. In the late 1930s, the Cairo-based Middle East Command was established for the British Armed Forces. After that time, the term 'Middle East' gained broader usage across both Europe and the United States. The Middle East Institute was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1946. The first official use of the term 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 Libya on the west and Pakistan on the east, Syria and Iraq on the North and the Arabian peninsula to the south, plus the Sudan and Ethiopia.' In 1958, the State Department explained that the terms 'Near East' and 'Middle East' were interchangeable, and defined the region as including only Egypt, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Reader's Guide

Today, the bulk of Middle Eastern countries (13 out of 18) are part of the Arab world. The three most populous Middle Eastern countries are Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, while Saudi Arabia is the largest Middle Eastern country by area. Arabs are the most widespread ethnic group in the region, followed by Turks, Persians, Kurds, Jews, and Assyrians. Significant geographical features or regions that constitute the Middle East are the Arabian Peninsula, Anatolia, the Levant and Mesopotamia (together comprising the Fertile Crescent), and the Iranian plateau. Most parts of the Middle East exhibit a hot and arid climate, especially in the Arabian and Egyptian regions. However, a number of major rivers provide irrigation to support agriculture in certain areas, such as the Nile in Egypt, the Tigris and the Euphrates in Mesopotamia, and the Jordan River in the Levant. Conversely, the Levantine coast and most of Turkey collectively boast a relatively temperate Mediterranean climate, which yields dry summers with cool and wet winters. A group of Middle Eastern countries that are located along the Persian Gulf—commonly called the Gulf Arab states—have vast reserves of petroleum, which has served as a critical economic resource and accordingly influenced regional politics. Owing to the Middle East's aridity and pervasive dependence on the fossil fuel industry, it is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change and water scarcity.

Did You Know?

• The term 'Middle East' may have originated with the India Office of the United Kingdom in the 1850s.
• Alfred Thayer Mahan first used the term in his September 1902 article 'The Persian Gulf and International Relations'.
• The first official use of the term by the U.S. government was in the 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine.
• In 1958, the State Department defined the region as including only Egypt, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.