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?
48 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Hardcover
Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan
by Michael Sullivan, Tony O'Brien
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 5th-7th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
Arabian Nights
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Earle Goodenow, illustrator
from Grosset & Dunlap
Eastern Fairy Tales for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights
Calla Editions
by Rene Bull (Illustrator)
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 4th-9th grade
Arabs in the Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi & Veronique Ageorges
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$5.60 (2 in stock)
Ben-Gurion and the Birth of Israel
World Landmark #62
by Joan Comay, illustrated with photographs
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Cleopatra VII
Royal Diaries
by Kristiana Gregory
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Royal Diaries (Location: SER-ROYAL)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Crusades: Flame of Islam
by Harold Lamb
from New Home Library
for 5th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Crusades: Iron Men & Saints
by Harold Lamb
from Garden City Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Crusades: Iron Men & Saints
by Harold Lamb
from International Collectors Library
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Bible Lands
DK Eyewitness Series
by Jonathan Tubb
1st edition from DK Publishing
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Bible Geography and Surveys (Location: XBI-GEO)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Fall of Constantinople
World Landmark #30
by Bernadine Kielty, illustrated by Douglas Gorsline
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
First 3000 Years
by Charles B. Falls
from Viking Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
First Civilizations
History of Everyday Things
by Giovanni Caselli
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Flood of Noah
by Bodie Hodge, Laura Welch
from Master Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$15.99
Foreigner
by Gladys Malvern, illustrated by Corinne Malvern
from Longmans, Green & Co.
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Habibi
by Naomi Shihab Nye
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Holy Land in the Time of Jesus
by Norman Kotker
from Horizon Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
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)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ignatius of Antioch
Heroes of the Faith
by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 3rd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Israel
by Maida Silverman
First Edition from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in Near & Middle East (Location: HISMC-NME)
Jesus of Nazareth
World Landmark #42
by Harry Emerson Fosdick, illustrated by Steele Savage
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Lawrence of Arabia
World Landmark #52
by Alistair MacLean, illustrated by Gil Walker
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Life of Saint Paul
World Landmark #53
by Harry Emerson Fosdick, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Marathon Looks on the Sea
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Erwin Schachner
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Master Books World History Encyclopedia Volume 1
by Nancy I. Sanders
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in History Encyclopedias & Fact Books (Location: HISRF-ENC)
$33.99
Men of Athens
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Milton Johnson
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1963 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Monuments to Glory
by Daniel M. Madden, illustrated by Lili Réthi
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 6th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Myself When Young
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Youel B. Mirza, illustrated by Theodore Nadejen
1930s printing from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Overview of the Persian Gulf War, 1990
by Earle Rice Jr.
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in 20th Century: 1980-1999 (Location: HISW-20C4)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
People in Palestine
by Olivia Coolidge
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Picturesque Tale of Progress Volume 1
by Olive Beaupre Miller, Assisted by Harry Neal Baum
1949 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Picturesque Tale of Progress Volume 2
by Olive Beaupre Miller, Assisted by Harry Neal Baum
1949 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Picturesque Tale of Progress Volume 3
by Olive Beaupre Miller
1949 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Picturesque Tale of Progress Volume 5
by Olive Beaupre Miller, Assisted by Harry Neal Baum
1949 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Picturesque Tale of Progress Volume 6
by Olive Beaupre Miller, Assisted by Harry Neal Baum
1949 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Picturesque Tale of Progress Volume 7
by Olive Beaupre Miller, Assisted by Harry Neal Baum
1949 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Picturesque Tale of Progress Volume 8
by Olive Beaupre Miller, Assisted by Harry Neal Baum
1949 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Picturesque Tale of Progress: Conquests
by Olive Beaupre Miller
1935 Edition from Book House for Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
by J. C. Mardrus (French rendering from the Arabic), translated by E. Powys Mathers and illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Heritage Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
by John Yeoman (reteller), illustrated by Quentin Blake
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$6.40 (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)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Story of the Crisis in the Gulf
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Leila Merrell Foster
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Story of the Iran Hostage Crisis
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Suleiman the Magnificent
International Collectors Library
by Harold Lamb
from International Collectors Library
for 4th-8th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Teacher of Nomad Land
by Daniel Nayeri
from Levine Querido
for 4th-8th grade
2026 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.14
Young People's Story of the Ancient World (No. 2)
by Virgil M. Hillyer & E. G. Huey
from Meredith Press
for 4th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$3.20 (1 in stock)