Near East

Near East

N0040700 (nîr) A region of southwest Asia generally defined as including Asia Minor, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Near East is sometimes considered also to include the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, and the area around the Nile River in northeast Africa.

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Near Eastern adj.Near Easterner n.

Near East

n 1. (Placename) another term for the Middle East 2. (Placename) (formerly) the Balkan States and the area of the Ottoman Empire

Near′ East′

n. a geographical region usu. considered to encompass the countries of SW Asia, including Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the other nations of the Arabian Peninsula. Compare Middle East (def. 1). Near′ East′ern, adj.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Near East - the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century; "the Middle East is the cradle of Western civilization"Middle East, MideastOperation Desert Storm - the United States and its allies defeated Iraq in a ground war that lasted 100 hours (1991)Six Day War, Six-Day War, Arab-Israeli War - tension between Arabs and Israeli erupted into a brief war in June 1967; Israel emerged as a major power in the Middle EastArab-Israeli War, Yom Kippur War - Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in October 1973 (on Yom Kippur); Israel counterattacked and drove the Syrians back and crossed the Suez Canal into Egyptzarf - an ornamental metal cup-shaped holder for a hot coffee cuppita, pocket bread - usually small round bread that can open into a pocket for fillingfalafel, felafel - small croquette of mashed chick peas or fava beans seasoned with sesame seedsFertile Crescent - a geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and EuphratesIsrael - an ancient kingdom of the Hebrew tribes at the southeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea; founded by Saul around 1025 BC and destroyed by the Assyrians in 721 BCIsrael, State of Israel, Yisrael, Zion, Sion - Jewish republic in southwestern Asia at eastern end of Mediterranean; formerly part of PalestineArab Republic of Egypt, Egypt, United Arab Republic - a republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 BCIran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Persia - a theocratic Islamic republic in the Middle East in western Asia; Iran was the core of the ancient empire that was known as Persia until 1935; rich in oilAl-Iraq, Irak, Iraq, Republic of Iraq - a republic in the Middle East in western Asia; the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia was in the area now known as IraqLevant - the former name for the geographical area of the eastern Mediterranean that is now occupied by Lebanon, Syria, and IsraelHashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Jordan - an Arab kingdom in southwestern Asia on the Red SeaState of Kuwait, Koweit, Kuwait - an Arab kingdom in Asia on the northwestern coast of the Persian Gulf; a major source of petroleumLebanese Republic, Lebanon - an Asian republic at east end of MediterraneanKingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia - an absolute monarchy occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia; vast oil reserves dominate the economySyria, Syrian Arab Republic - an Asian republic in the Middle East at the east end of the Mediterranean; site of some of the world's most ancient centers of civilizationRepublic of Turkey, Turkey - a Eurasian republic in Asia Minor and the Balkans; on the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, the Young Turks, led by Kemal Ataturk, established a republic in 1923

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