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According to an article in Foreign Affairs (Davison, 1960) the term Middle East was popularized by an American naval officer named Alfred Thayer Mahan in 1902, but it might have been used by the British during their years of colonialism in the region. China and Japan for example were considered to be the Far East so the region between the Far East and The West then became the Near East or the Middle East. Although at times in history the Near East denoted the Balkans, it now generally means the Middle East plus Turkey and Iran. The terms Middle East and Near East are eurocentric because they describe a region in relation to Europe or The West. Despite this, the term is now accepted and even people in the Middle East call it that (Al-Sharq Al-Awasat means Middle East in Arabic). The issue of why the Middle East is called the Middle East is an interesting example of how simple geographic names are emeshed in geopolitics and can shift in meaning over time.
For a more detailed history read: Roderic H. Davison, "Where is the Middle East?" Foreign Affairs, Vol. 38, p. 665 -675. July 1960
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BeauAccording to an article in Foreign Affairs (Davison, 1960) the term Middle East was popularized by an American naval officer named Alfred Thayer Mahan in 1902, but it might have been used by the British during their years of colonialism in the region. China and Japan for example were considered to be the Far East so the region between the Far East and The West then became the Near East or the Middle East. Although at times in the history the Near East denoted the Balkans, it now generally means the Middle East plus Turkey and Iran. The terms Middle East and Near East are eurocentric because they describe a region in relation to Europe or The West. Despite this, the term is now accepted and even people in the Middle East call it that (Al-Sharq Al-Awasatmeans Middle East in Arabic). The issue of why the Middle East is called the Middle East is an interesting example how simple geographic names are emeshed in geopolitics and can shift in meaning over time.
For a more detailed history read: Roderic H. Davison, "Where is the Middle East?" Foreign Affairs, Vol. 38, p. 665 -675. July 1960
Answer 1
They are called the middle east cause the Arab countries are located in the middle of the east side.
Answer 2
The logic underlying the question is a little nonsensical. Regions of the earth are not named for the dominant race or ethnicity of the region. The "White Countries" are called "Europe", the "Black Countries" are called "Africa", and the "Hispanic Countries" are called "Latin America". In addition, the Middle East was populated by other ethnicities long before the Arabs became the dominant ethnicity.
As to the reason that the Middle East earned its name, that came from European traders and merchants who considered the Middle East to be midway in their journey eastward to acquire spices from what was termed the "Orient" or "Far East".
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Who imperialized the middle east region?
the middle east was a large aria to control but the most common answer to who imperialised the middle east is Germany throughout ww2 The only two countries that occupied lands in the middle east are England and France
What was it called before it was the Middle East?
The Middle East as a unified land-region only came out of the Middle Ages and the redefinition of the world into Christendom and the Islamic World. Before that point, the Middle East was not a unified region and never referred to as such. The Arabian Peninsula was disregarded completely until the Rise of Islam and was called (and still called) by the natives Jazirat Al-Arabiya (جزيرة العربية ) which means the Arabian Isle. Most of the remainder of the Middle East was part of the Eastern Roman Empire or was part of Persia. The terms Mesopotamia and Levant were quite common in that period as well. When the Arabs controlled all of the Middle East and North Africa, they termed their control in two general regions of the Maghreb (مغرب) and Mashriq (مشرق) which mean the Western and Eastern Regions. The Mashriq refers to the general Arab area in Asia whereas the Maghreb refers to Africa. However, the idea of a geopolitical idea of a region that has vertices at Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and Yemen is a medieval/modern conception that has only really been referred to as the Middle East.
What is the largest city in the Middle East?
The largest city in the Middle East is Istanbul, Turkey. Wicked common mistake, Istanbul geographically is part of Europe, and Tehran is the current largest in the middle east Istanbul Does not belongs to Middle easf it, Turkey is half in Europe and half in Asia. By any mean Tehran is the larget city in Middle east
What is the hottest Middle East country?
The hottest place in the Middle East is ((Kuwait City)) the temperature their once reached 146 F.
What did the Seljuk Turks do when they conquered the Middle East?
They adopted the Islamic religion and ruled the Middle East for more than 400 years.
