Middle East
This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.The Middle East (term originally coined in English language)[note 1] is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.[6] Arabs constitute the main ethnic group in the region,[7] followed by Turks, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen, Yazidis, and Greek Cypriots.Conversely, the Levantine coast and most of Turkey have relatively temperate climates typical of the Mediterranean, with dry summers and cool, wet winters.[8] However, it became more widely known when United States naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in 1902[9] to "designate the area between Arabia and India".He said that, beyond Egypt's Suez Canal, the Gulf was the most important passage for Britain to control in order to keep the Russians from advancing towards British India.[14] 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.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.[15]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.[citation needed] 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.For instance, the Persian equivalent for Middle East is خاورمیانه (Khāvar-e miyāneh), the Hebrew is המזרח התיכון (hamizrach hatikhon), and the Turkish is Orta Doğu."Greater Middle East" is a political term coined by the second Bush administration in the first decade of the 21st century[30] to denote various countries, pertaining to the Muslim world, specifically Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.It is the birthplace and spiritual center of religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Manichaeism, Yezidi, Druze, Yarsan, and Mandeanism, and in Iran, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Manicheanism, and the Baháʼí Faith.Throughout its history the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs; a strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area.Other defining events in this transformation included the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the eventual departure of European powers, notably Britain and France by the end of the 1960s.Native ethnic groups of the region include, in addition to Arabs, Arameans, Assyrians, Baloch, Berbers, Copts, Druze, Greek Cypriots, Jews, Kurds, Lurs, Mandaeans, Persians, Samaritans, Shabaks, Tats, and Zazas.For the period between the 1970s and 1990s, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf in particular provided a rich source of employment for workers from Egypt, Yemen and the countries of the Levant, while Europe had attracted young workers from North African countries due both to proximity and the legacy of colonial ties between France and the majority of North African states.[citation needed] Large numbers of Kurds, Jews, Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians as well as many Mandeans have left nations such as Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey for these reasons during the last century.The six top languages, in terms of numbers of speakers, are Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, Modern Hebrew and Greek.Other Western Iranic languages spoken in the region include Achomi, Daylami, Kurdish dialects, Semmani, Lurish, amongst many others.During the antiquity, Ancient Greek was the lingua franca for many areas of the western Middle East and until the Muslim expansion it was widely spoken there as well.[46][47] It is also commonly taught and used as a foreign second language, in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.[note 3][51][52] Bengali, Hindi and Urdu are widely spoken by migrant communities in many Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia (where 20–25% of the population is South Asian), the United Arab Emirates (where 50–55% of the population is South Asian), and Qatar, which have large numbers of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian immigrants.The Middle East has recently become more prominent in hosting global sport events due to its wealth and desire to diversify its economy.[54] Middle Eastern economies range from being very poor (such as Gaza and Yemen) to extremely wealthy nations (such as Qatar and UAE).[55] When it comes to GDP PPP per capita, the highest-ranking countries are Qatar ($124,834), the United Arab Emirates ($88,221), Saudi Arabia ($64,836), Bahrain ($60,596) and Israel ($54,997).[63] These emissions are mostly from the energy sector,[64] an integral component of many Middle Eastern and North African economies due to the extensive oil and natural gas reserves that are found within the region.[67] The MENA region is especially vulnerable to such impacts due to its arid and semi-arid environment, facing climatic challenges such as low rainfall, high temperatures and dry soil.
West Asiathe Greater Middle EastMiddle East (disambiguation)list by populationUN membersBahrainCyprusIsraelJordanKuwaitLebanonSaudi ArabiaTurkeyUnited Arab EmiratesPalestineDe factoNorthern CyprusExternalAkrotiri and DhekeliaUnited KingdomInternalKurdistanRojavaOccupiedEast JerusalemGaza StripGolan HeightsWest BankUN buffersArabicEnglishHebrewKurdishPersianTurkishAbkhazAlbanianAmharicArmenianAzerbaijaniBalochiBosniakChechenChineseCircassianCrimean TatarCopticDomariFrenchBalkan Gagauz TurkishGeorgianGilakiHungarianIndonesianItalianKazakhKurbetKyrgyzJudæo-SpanishMarathiMalayalamMazanderaniNeo-AramaicNobiinQashqaiRomanianRussianSomaliSyriacSpanishPunjabiTagalogTalyshTurkmenTuroyoUkrainianUyghurYiddish10 largest cities in the Middle EastTehranIstanbulBaghdadRiyadhAnkaraAlexandriaJeddahArabian PeninsulaLevantNear EastFar EastEurocentricSouth CaucasusEast ThraceArab worldmost populous countries in the regionhistory of the Middle Eastancient timescradle of civilizationJudaismChristianityPersiansAzerisAssyriansIraqi TurkmenYazidisGreek CypriotsirrigationagricultureNile DeltaTigrisEuphratesMesopotamiaJordan RiverFertile Crescenttypical of the MediterraneanPersian Gulfpetroleuma major contributor to climate changea region that is expected to be severely adversely affected by it.Middle East and North AfricaMaghrebGreater Middle EastEast AfricaMauritaniaAfghanistanPakistan