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.

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Ancient Israelites and Their Neighbors
by Marian Broida
from Chicago Review Press
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in Israel (Location: HISW-ANIS)
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Ancient Near East - Coloring Book
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Beggar's King
by Howard C. Emmons
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Behold Your Queen
by Gladys Malvern
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Bobby’s Friends
by Phia van den Berg
from Inheritance Publications
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Breadwinner, The
by Deborah Ellis
from Groundwood Books
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Bring Your Eyes and See
International Adventures
by Steve Goode, Mary Goode
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$12.00
Classical Companion
by Charles F. Baker III and Rosalie F. Baker
2nd edition from Cobblestone Publishing
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Crusades: Iron Men & Saints
by Harold Lamb
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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
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$15.00 (1 in stock)
Fall of Constantinople
by Ruth Tenzer Feldman
from Twenty-first Century Books
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First Civilizations
History of Everyday Things
by Giovanni Caselli
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Flood of Noah
by Bodie Hodge, Laura Welch
from Master Books
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$15.99
For the Temple - MP3 CD
by Jim Hodges
from Jim Hodges Productions
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Henty Audio Books (Location: CD-Henty)
$14.00
God King
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Joanne Williamson
from Bethlehem Books
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Golden Bull
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Great Empires - CD-ROM
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$12.00
Gulf War 1991
by Alastair Finlan
from Osprey Publishing
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Living Water in the Desert
Hidden Heroes #6
by Rebecca Davis
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Machines, Buildings, Weaponry of Biblical Times
by Max Schwartz
from Fleming H Revell Co.
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Old Testament History - Greenleaf Guide
by Robert & Cynthia Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
Ancient History Reference for 2nd-8th grade
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On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
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On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$9.99
Other Words for Home
by Jasmine Warga
First Ed from Balzer & Bray
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2020 Newbery Honor Book
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$16.99
Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Reprint from Laurel-Leaf Books
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Step Into Mesopotamia
by Lorna Oakes
from Hermes House
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Stories of the East from Herodotus
by Alfred J. Church
Ill from Yesterday's Classics
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Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
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Story of the Persian War
by Alfred J. Church
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Student Bible Atlas
by Tim Dowley
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Student Bible Atlas
by Tim Dowley
from Augsburg Fortress
Atlas/Biblical Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$12.99
Turtle of Oman
by Naomi Shihab Nye
from Greenwillow Books
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$7.99
Under the Persimmon Tree
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
from Square Fish Publishing
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$13.99
Unveiling the Kings of Israel
by David Down
from Master Books
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$27.99
Usborne Ancient World
Usborne Internet-Linked
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Usborne Book of the Ancient World
by Jane Chisholm & Anne Millard
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Usborne World History: Ancient World
by Fiona Chandler
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Victory on the Walls
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Frieda Clark Hyman
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Visual Dictionary of Ancient Civilizations
by DK Publishing
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