Near East

The Near East is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, as well as Anatolia, Egypt, and occasionally the Balkan and Arabian Peninsulas. The term was coined in the 19th century by modern Western geographers and was originally applied to the Ottoman Empire, but today has varying definitions within different academic circles. The term Near East was used to refer to the part of the Orient nearest to Europe, as opposed to the Middle East and the Far East, together known as the “three Easts”; it was a separate term from the Middle East during earlier times and official British usage. As of 2024, both terms are used interchangeably by politicians and news reporters to refer to the same region. Near East, Middle East, and Far East are all Eurocentric terms.