Near & Middle East

The term Near East was coined in the 19th century when Westerners divided the “Orient” into three parts: the Near East, the Middle East, and the Far East. The Near East included the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans; the Middle East ranged between the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia; and the Far East encompassed Asian countries facing the Pacific Ocean. However, in the early 20th century (as Europe geared up for World War II), the term Middle East began to be used by the British military to refer to both regions and it soon became the dominant term. (Though for all intents and purposes, both Middle East and Near East refer to the same region when used today.)

Today, the Middle East is considered the region spanning from Morocco (Northern Africa) to the Arabian Peninsula and Iran (Western Asia). (The acronym MENA—Middle East and North Africa—may also be used.) While Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria seem like geographical outliers, their similar sentiment, religion, and policies have led them to be considered part of the region. Other countries, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan (in South Asia), are often lumped in with the Middle East because of current events, although they may not technically belong.

Both Near and Middle East are Eurocentric terms—it is Western English-speaking historians who named the region on the basis of its position relative to Europe. With recent trends to de-Westernize core education, the term Middle East seems a bit old-fashioned, but it's the best we have for now.

Did you find this review helpful?
39 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Used Books & Materials
Adara
by Beatrice Gormley
from Eerdmans
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Ancient Near East - Coloring Book
from Bellerophon Books
for 4th-9th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Arabs in the Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi & Veronique Ageorges
from Millbrook Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Arabs in the Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi & Veronique Ageorges
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Assyrians
by Elaine Landau
from Millbrook Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Illustrated Jewish Bible
by Laaren Brown & Lenny Hort
Revised Edition from DK Children
for 1st-6th grade
in World Religions, Cults and Sects (Location: XAP-WRCS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Companion
by Charles F. Baker III and Rosalie F. Baker
2nd edition from Cobblestone Publishing
for 5th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Crusades: Iron Men & Saints
by Harold Lamb
from International Collectors Library
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cultural Atlas for Young People: Ancient Mesopotamia
by Erica C. D. Hunter
3rd edition from Facts On File
World History Reference/Atlas for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Desert Storm
by John Perritano
from Q2A Media
for 3rd-6th grade
in 20th Century: 1976-1999 (Location: HISW-20C4)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Early Civilization
Usborne Illustrated World History
by Anne Millard & Jane Crisholm
from Usborne
Ancient History Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Fall of Constantinople
by Ruth Tenzer Feldman
from Twenty-first Century Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
First Civilizations
History of Everyday Things
by Giovanni Caselli
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
God King
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Joanne Williamson
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $9.50 (4 in stock)
Guide to Egypt
by Michael March
from Highlights for Children
for 1st-6th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
Habibi
by Naomi Shihab Nye
Reissue from Simon Pulse
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Holy Land
The Ancient World
by Peter Connolly
from Oxford University
Ancient Israel Reference for 4th-6th grade
in Israel (Location: HISW-ANIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
I Give You My Colt
by Alice Geer Kelsey, illustrated by Helen Torrey
from Longmans, Green & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World
from Kingfisher
for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical & Cultural Atlases (Location: HISRF-ATLAS)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
by Shilpa Mehta-Jones
from Crabtree Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$8.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Living Water in the Desert
Hidden Heroes #6
by Rebecca Davis
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Machines, Buildings, Weaponry of Biblical Times
by Max Schwartz
from Fleming H Revell Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Israel (Location: HISW-ANIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mecca
for 4th-6th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Mummies Made in Egypt
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
Non-fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Old Testament History - Greenleaf Guide
by Robert & Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
Ancient History Reference for 2nd-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$11.95 $8.00 (3 in stock)
On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Once the Hodja
by Alice Geer Kelsey, illustrated by Frank Dobias
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Persian Empire
Cultures of the Past
by Karen Zeinert
from Benchmark Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Red Sea
by Leighton Taylor, photography by Norbert Wu
from Blackbirch Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
by John Yeoman (reteller), illustrated by Quentin Blake
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Shadows of Ghadames
by Joelle Stolz, translated from the French by Catherine Temerson
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Step Into Mesopotamia
by Lorna Oakes
from Hermes House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Student Bible Atlas
by Tim Dowley
from Augsburg Fortress
Atlas/Biblical Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$7.50 (3 in stock)
Usborne Ancient World
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Fiona Chandler & Anne Millard
from Usborne
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$14.99 $9.00 (3 in stock)
Usborne Book of the Ancient World
by Jane Chisholm & Anne Millard
from Usborne
for 5th-12th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Usborne World History: Ancient World
by Fiona Chandler
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Visual Dictionary of Ancient Civilizations
by DK Publishing
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Sumerian Slave!
by Jacqueline Morley
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ancient Mesopotamia & Persia (Location: HISW-ANME)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Young Person's History of Israel
by David Bamberger
2nd Ed from Behrman House
for 4th-6th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
$5.00 (1 in stock)