Misplaced Pages

#36963

77-787: Like much of Southwestern Asia , the Southern Levant is an arid region consisting mostly of desert and dry steppe , with a thin strip of wetter, temperate climate along the Mediterranean coast. Geographically it is dominated by the Jordan Valley , a section of the Great Rift Valley bisecting the region from north to south, and containing the Sea of Galilee , the Jordan River and the Dead Sea –

154-472: A Neolithic (New Stone Age). The following Chalcolithic period includes the first evidence of metallurgy with copper making its appearance. However, as stone technology remains prevalent, the name, Chalcolithic (Copper/Stone) age combines the two. Bronze is used for the following periods, but is actually a misnomer for a good part of that time. An Early Bronze Age is divided into three major phases, Early Bronze I, II and III, but copper and not bronze

231-511: A few thousand meters high, and can close down airports for short periods of time. These winds can last for a full day at the beginning and end of the season, and for several days during the middle of the season. The shamal is a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times

308-653: A massive altar called the Witness by the Jordan River. This causes the "whole congregation of the Israelites" to prepare for war. They first sent a delegation to the Transjordanians, accusing them of making God angry and suggesting their land may be unclean. In response to this, the Transjordanians said that the altar is not for offerings, but is only a "witness". The western tribes were satisfied and return home. Assis argues that

385-483: A military and trade road along the fortified Limes Arabicus . The Incense Route comprised a network of major ancient land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with Eastern and Southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant and Egypt through Northeastern Africa and Arabia to India and beyond. The incense land trade from South Arabia to

462-589: A serious problem to the Pharisees because many marriages with Ammonite (and Moabite) wives had taken place in the days of Nehemiah ( Nehemiah 13:23 ). The men had married women of the various nations without conversion, which made the children not Jewish. The legitimacy of David 's claim to royalty was disputed on account of his descent from Ruth, the Moabite. King David spent time in the Transjordan after he had fled from

539-604: A year. West Asia contains large areas of mountainous terrain. The Anatolian Plateau is sandwiched between the Pontus Mountains and Taurus Mountains in Turkey . Mount Ararat in Turkey rises to 5,137 m (16,854 ft). The Zagros Mountains are located in Iran, in areas along its border with Iraq. The Central Plateau of Iran is divided into two drainage basins . The northern basin

616-522: Is Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert), and Dasht-e-Lut is the southern basin. In Yemen , elevations exceed 3,700 m (12,100 ft) in many areas, and highland areas extend north along the Red Sea coast and north into Lebanon . A fault zone also exists along the Red Sea, with continental rifting creating trough -like topography with areas located well below sea level . The Dead Sea , located on

693-604: Is Latin and means "across" or beyond, and so "Transjordan" refers to the land on the other side of the Jordan River . The equivalent term for the west side is the Cisjordan – literally, "on this side of the [River] Jordan". Both terms reflect the biblical perspective, as different regions were seen when looked at from the Holy Land . The Tanakh 's Hebrew : בעבר הַיַּרְדֵּן מִזְרָח הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ‎ , romanized :  bʿēḇer hayyardēn mizrāḥ haššemeš , lit.   'beyond

770-631: Is a geographical term with more consistency. It excludes most of Egypt and the northwestern part of Turkey , and includes the southern part of the Caucasus . West Asia covers an area of 5,994,935 km (2,314,657 sq mi), with a population of about 313 million. Of the 20 UN member countries fully or partly within the region, 13 are part of the Arab world . The most populous countries in West Asia are Iran , Turkey , Iraq , Saudi Arabia and Yemen . In

847-536: Is among the most extensively excavated regions in the world. The Southern Levant is amongst the oldest inhabited parts of Eurasia, being on one of three plausible routes by which early hominins could have dispersed out of Africa (along with the Bab al Mandab and the Strait of Gibraltar ). Homo erectus left Africa and became the first hominin species to colonise Europe and Asia approximately two million years ago, probably via

SECTION 10

#1732841701037

924-569: Is followed by a Mamluk period after the conquering power. In 1516–17 the Ottoman Empire conquered the region and gave its name to the period that lasted until 1917–18, when the British conquered it in World War I . Western Asia West Asia , also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia , is the westernmost region of Asia . As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions,

1001-587: Is followed by the Roman period, with an Early and Late Roman sub-period. The 4th century is recognised as the beginning of the Byzantine period, that lasted until the Arab conquest of the region. The following period is known as Early Arab and sub-periods by the names of reigning dynasties. The Crusader conquest of the region is known, appropriately as the Crusader period , which in part overlaps with Ayyubid rule, and it

1078-619: Is generally broken down into two sub-periods, Middle Bronze IIa and Middle Bronze IIb. Some scholars acknowledge a Middle Bronze III. The next period is known as Late Bronze and is often sub-divided into Late Bronze I and II. The introduction of iron , although relatively rare, especially in the earliest phases, caused the following phase to be named the Iron Age . It is variously sub-divided into Iron I, Iron II and sometimes Iron III, with subdivisions becoming increasingly popular as sequences become better known. Some archaeologists suggest that there in

1155-572: Is sometimes called " Assyrian " and the following period is universally known as the Persian period. The 333 BCE conquest of the region by Alexander the Great is accepted as the beginning of the Hellenistic period. The Deuterocanonical book 2 Maccabees records: "Apollonius the son of Tharseas, who at that time was governor of Celesyria and Phenicia", Celesyria being the transliteration of Coele-Syria . It

1232-715: The Ammonites and Moabites as the "children of Lot". Throughout the Bible, the Ammonites and Israelites are portrayed as mutual antagonists. During the Exodus , the Israelites were prohibited by the Ammonites from passing through their lands ( Deuteronomy 23:4 ). In the Book of Judges , the Ammonites work with Eglon , king of the Moabites against Israel. Attacks by the Ammonites on Israelite communities east of

1309-511: The Arabian Peninsula numbering more than 3 million. Christian communities have played a vital role in West Asia. Judaism is the predominant religion in Israel , and there are small ancient Jewish communities in West Asia such as in Turkey (14,300), Azerbaijan (9,100), and Iran (8,756). The Druze Faith or Druzism originated in West Asia. It is a monotheistic religion based on

1386-453: The Baháʼí Faith , Yarsanism , Yazidism , Zoroastrianism , Mandaeism , and Shabakism . The economy of West Asia is diverse and the region experiences high economic growth. Turkey has the largest economy in the region, followed by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Petroleum is the major industry in the regional economy, as more than half of the world's oil reserves and around 40 percent of

1463-460: The Cisjordan and Transjordan . The Huleh basin feeds into the upper Jordan, which moves southward through a natural basalt barrier into the Sea of Galilee before dropping several hundred metres as it flows through the Jordan Valley . The Jordan River terminates at the Dead Sea , whose banks, at 400 metres (1,300 feet) below sea level, are the world's lowest point on dry land. The archaeology of

1540-583: The East Bank , or the Transjordanian Highlands ( Arabic : شرق الأردن ), is the part of the Southern Levant east of the Jordan River , mostly contained in present-day Jordan . The region , known as Transjordan, was controlled by numerous powers throughout history. During the early modern period , the region of Transjordan was included under the jurisdiction of Ottoman Syrian provinces. After

1617-659: The Great Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule during the 1910s, the Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by Hashemite Emir Abdullah , and the emirate became a British protectorate . In 1946, the emirate achieved independence from the British and in 1949 the country changed its name to the "Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan", after the Jordanian annexation of the West Bank following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . The prefix trans-

SECTION 20

#1732841701037

1694-492: The Gulf of Oman . The population of West Asia was estimated at 272 million as of 2008, projected to reach 370 million by 2030 by Maddison (2007; the estimate excludes the Caucasus and Cyprus). This corresponds to an annual growth rate of 1.4% (or a doubling time of 50 years), well above the world average of 0.9% (doubling time 75 years). The population of West Asia is estimated at 4% of world population , up from about 39 million at

1771-855: The Late Bronze Age collapse the Amorites of Syria disappeared after being displaced or absorbed by a new wave of semi-nomadic West Semitic-speaking peoples known collectively as the Ahlamu . Over time, the Arameans emerged as the dominant tribe amongst the Ahlamu; with the destruction of the Hittites and the decline of Assyria in the late 11th century BCE, they gained control over much of Syria and Transjordan. The regions they inhabited became known as Aram (Aramea) and Eber-Nari . The Book of Numbers (chapter 32 ) tells how

1848-512: The Rift Valley , and less than 50 millimetres (2.0 inches) in the eastern deserts and the Negev . Across the region, precipitation is both highly seasonal―most rain falls between October and May, and hardly any in the summer—and subject to large, unpredictable inter-annual variation. Temperature is also highly variable, with cool winters and hot summers. The Jordan River bisects much of the region into

1925-544: The Tigris and Euphrates rivers contribute very well. West Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid , and can be subject to drought , but it also contains vast expanses of forest and fertile valleys. The region consists of grasslands , rangelands , deserts , and mountains . Water shortages are a problem in many parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water, while salinization and pollution threaten water supplies. Major rivers, including

2002-574: The Tigris and Euphrates , provide sources for irrigation water to support agriculture . There are two wind phenomena in West Asia: the sharqi and the shamal . The sharqi (or sharki ) is a wind that comes from the south and southeast. It is seasonal, lasting from April to early June, and comes again between late September and November. The winds are dry and dusty, with occasional gusts up to 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour) and often kick up violent sand and dust storms that can carry sand

2079-655: The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD), West Asia excludes the Arabian Peninsula and includes Afghanistan . The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) excludes Egypt and includes Afghanistan. The United Nations Environment Programme excludes Cyprus , Israel , Turkey , and Iran from West Asia. The term West Asia is used pragmatically and has no "correct" or generally accepted definition. Its typical definitions overlap substantially, but not entirely, with definitions of

2156-631: The eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea , in the world region known variously as the Near East , the Middle East or Western or Southwestern Asia . It is bordered to the east, southeast and southwest by the Syrian , Arabian and Sinai deserts, respectively. Some definitions include parts of these deserts in the region. The Litani River in southern Lebanon is commonly considered the dividing line between

2233-510: The Far East across the eastern desert while other caravans brought myrrh and frankincense from the south. The region of Hauran then called "Auranitis" came under the control of the Nabataean kingdom. And the city of Bosra then called "Bostra" became the northern capital of the kingdom while its southern capital was Petra . After Pompey 's military conquest of Syria, Judaea, and Transjordan. Control of

2310-683: The Jordan is portrayed as "a barrier to the promised land ", but in Deuteronomy 1:7 and 11:24 , the Transjordan is an "integral part of the promised land." Unlike the other tribal allotments in Joshua, the Transjordanian territory was not divided by lot. Jacob Milgrom suggests that it is assigned by Moses rather than by God. Lori Rowlett argues that in the Book of Joshua, the Transjordanian tribes function as

2387-672: The Jordan towards the sunrise', is translated in the Septuagint to Ancient Greek : πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου, , romanized :  translit. péran toú Iordánou, , lit.   'beyond the Jordan';, which was then translated to Latin : trans Iordanen , lit.   'beyond the Jordan' in the Vulgate . However, some authors give the Hebrew : עבר הירדן , romanized :  ʿēḇer hayyardēn , lit.   'beyond

Southern Levant - Misplaced Pages Continue

2464-447: The Jordan were the impetus behind the unification of the tribes under Saul ( 1 Samuel 11:1–15 ). According to both Books of Kings ( 14:21–31 ) and Books of Chronicles ( 12:13 ), Naamah was an Ammonite. She was the only wife of King Solomon to be mentioned by name in the Tanakh as having borne a child. She was the mother of Solomon's successor, Rehoboam . The Ammonites presented

2541-654: The Jordan', as the basis for Transjordan, which is also the Modern Hebrew usage. Whereas the term "East" as in "towards the sunrise" is used in Arabic : شرق الأردن , romanized :  Sharq al ʾUrdun , lit.   'East of the Jordan'. The Shasu were Semitic-speaking cattle nomads in the Levant from the late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. In a 15th-century BCE list of enemies inscribed on column bases at

2618-584: The Jordan, that Josephus et al. called Perea . Jerash was a prominent central community for the surrounding region during the Neolithic period and was also inhabited during the Bronze Age . Ancient Greek inscriptions from the city, and the literary works of Iamblichus and the Etymologicum Magnum indicate that the city was founded as "Gerasa" by Alexander the Great or his general Perdiccas , for

2695-697: The Southern Levant and the Northern Levant (i.e. Syria ), or sometimes the Orontes River , also in Lebanon. For the most part, the climate of the Southern Levant is arid or semi-arid , however a narrow strip along the coast experiences a temperate , Mediterranean climate due to its proximity to the sea. Average annual rainfall decreases sharply away from the coast, from over 1,000 millimetres (39 inches) per year in Galilee , to 200–400 millimetres (7.9–15.7 inches) in

2772-623: The Southern Levant. During this phase of the Pleistocene epoch the region was wetter and greener, allowing H. erectus to find places with fresh water as it followed other African animals that were dispersing out of Africa at the same time. One such location was ' Ubeidiya , on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee , where some of the oldest hominin remains in Eurasia have been discovered, dating to between 1.2 million and 1.5 million years ago. Several Stone Ages , when stone tools prevailed and make up

2849-628: The Zarqa. Since Og's territory was not on the route to Canaan, it was "more naturally part of the Promised Land", and so the Manassites' status is less problematic than that of the Reubenites or Gadites. In Joshua 1 , Joshua affirms Moses' decision and urges the men of the two-and-a-half tribes to help in the conquest, which they are willing to do. In Joshua 22 , the Transjordanian tribes returned and built

2926-525: The basic conventions indicate a number of Stone Ages , followed by a Copper/Stone Age, in turn followed by a Bronze Age . The names given to them, derived from the Greek , are also used widely for other regions. The different ages in turn are often divided up into sequential or sometimes parallel chrono-cultural facies, sometimes called “cultures” or “periods”. Sometimes their names are derived from European prehistory , at other times from local sites, often where they were first discovered. Archaeologically, it

3003-471: The beginning of the 20th century, or about 2% of world population at the time. The most populous countries in the region are Turkey and Iran , each with around 79 million people, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia with around 33 million people each, and Yemen with around 29 million people. Numerically, West Asia is predominantly Arab , Persian , Turkish , and the dominating languages are correspondingly Arabic , Persian and Turkish , each with of

3080-412: The biblical writers. Horst Seebass argues that in Numbers "one finds awareness of Transjordan as being holy to YHWH ." He argues for this based on the presence of the Cities of Refuge there, and because land taken in a holy war is always holy. Richard Hess , on the other hand, asserts that "the Transjordanian tribes were not in the land of promise." Moshe Weinfeld argues that in the Book of Joshua,

3157-447: The border between the West Bank , Israel , and Jordan , is situated at 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level, making it the lowest point on the surface of the Earth . Rub' al Khali , one of the world's largest sand deserts, spans the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, parts of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Jebel al Akhdar is a small range of mountains located in northeastern Oman, bordering

Southern Levant - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-737: The boundary between the Aegean and Anatolian plate in eastern Turkey is also seismically active. Several major aquifers provide water to large portions of West Asia. In Saudi Arabia, two large aquifers of Palaeozoic and Triassic origins are located beneath the Jabal Tuwayq mountains and areas west to the Red Sea. Cretaceous and Eocene -origin aquifers are located beneath large portions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia, including Wasia and Biyadh which contain amounts of both fresh water and saline water . Flood or furrow irrigation, as well as sprinkler methods, are extensively used for irrigation , covering nearly 90,000 km (35,000 sq mi) across West Asia for agriculture. Also,

3311-488: The bulk of artifacts, are followed by periods when other technologies came into use. They lent their names to the different periods. The basic framework for the southern Levant is, as follows: Paleolithic or Old Stone Age is often divided up into phases called, from early-to-late: Lower Paleolithic , Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic. An Epipaleolithic (latest Paleolithic) period, also known as Mesolithic (transition to Neolithic) follows and is, in turn succeeded by

3388-430: The city was later transferred to Herod the Great and his heirs until 106 CE, when Bosra was incorporated into the new Roman province of Arabia Petraea . The Herodian kingdom of Judaea was a client state of the Roman Republic from 37 BCE, and included Samaria and Perea . And when Herod died in 4 BCE, the kingdom was divided among his sons into the Herodian Tetrarchy . Provincia Arabia Petraea or simply Arabia,

3465-488: The dominant language in Israel in the second half of the 20th century, and Neo-Aramaic (spoken by modern Arameans , Assyrians , and Chaldeans ) and Greek both remain present in their respective territories as minority languages. Significant native minorities include, in alphabetical order: Arameans , Assyrians , Chaldeans , Druze , Jews , Lurs , Mandeans , Maronites , Shabaks and Yezidis . Religion in West Asia (2020) Four major religious groups (i.e.

3542-504: The earliest sites for urban settlements, it also corresponds to the western parts of the Fertile Crescent . The Southern Levant refers to the lower half of the Levant but there is some variance of geographical definition, with the widest definition including Israel , Palestine , Jordan , Lebanon , southern Syria and the Sinai Desert . In the field of archaeology, the southern Levant is "the region formerly identified as Syria-Palestine and including Canaan ." Many scholars studying

3619-403: The half-tribe of Manasseh. Some of these traditions provide only an idealized picture of Israelite possessions east of the Jordan; others are no more than vague generalizations. Num 21.21–35, for example, says only that the land the people occupied extended from Wadi Arnon to Wadi Jabbok , the boundary of the Amorites . There is some ambiguity about the status of the Transjordan in the mind of

3696-458: The inverse of the Gibeonites (mentioned in Joshua 9 ). Whereas the former have the right ethnicity, but wrong geographical location, the latter have the wrong ethnicity, but are "within the boundary of the 'pure' geographical location." According to Genesis , ( 19:37–38 ), Ammon and Moab were born to Lot and Lot's younger and elder daughters, respectively, in the aftermath of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . The Bible refers to both

3773-412: The latter), Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, UAE, and Yemen as West Asian countries. By contrast, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in its 2015 yearbook includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, and excludes Israel (as Other) and Turkey (as Europe). Unlike the UNIDO, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) excludes Iran from West Asia and includes Turkey, Georgia, and Cyprus in

3850-411: The lowest point on the Earth's land surface. The Southern Levant has a long history and is one of the areas of the world most intensively investigated by archaeologists. It is considered likely to be the first place that both early hominins and modern humans colonised outside of Africa. Consequently, it has a rich Stone Age archaeology, stretching back as early as 1.5 million years ago. With one of

3927-456: The northwest and north, the region is delimited from Europe by the Turkish Straits and drainage divide of the Greater Caucasus , to the southwest, it is delimited from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez , while to the northeast and east, the region adjoins Central Asia and South Asia . The region is located east of Southern Europe and south of Eastern Europe . The Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in eastern Iran naturally delimit

SECTION 50

#1732841701037

4004-414: The order of 70 million speakers, followed by smaller communities of Kurdish , Azerbaijani , Hebrew , Armenian and Neo-Aramaic . The dominance of Arabic and Turkish is the result of the medieval Arab and Turkic invasions beginning with the Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD, which displaced the formerly dominant Aramaic in the region of Syria , and Greek in Anatolia, although Hebrew became

4081-453: The part of Asia known in classical antiquity, as opposed to the reaches of "interior Asia", i.e. Scythia , and "Eastern Asia" the easternmost reaches of geographical knowledge in classical authors, i.e. Transoxania and India . In the 20th century, "Western Asia" was used to denote a rough geographical era in the fields of archaeology and ancient history , especially as a shorthand for "the Fertile Crescent excluding Ancient Egypt " for

4158-449: The purpose of settling retired Macedonian soldiers (γῆρας— gēras —means "old age" in Ancient Greek). It was a city of the Decapolis, and is one of the most important and best preserved Ancient Roman cities in the Near East . The Nabataeans ' trading network was centered on strings of oases that they controlled. The Nabataean kingdom reached its territorial zenith during the reign of Aretas III (87-62 BCE), when it encompassed parts of

4235-413: The purposes of comparing the early civilizations of Egypt and the former. Use of the term in the context of contemporary geopolitics or world economy appears to date from at least the mid-1960s. The region is surrounded by eight major seas; the Aegean Sea , the Black Sea , the Caspian Sea , the Persian Gulf , the Arabian Sea , the Gulf of Aden , the Red Sea , and the Mediterranean Sea . To

4312-427: The rebellion of his son Absalom ( 2 Samuel 17–19 ). The Decapolis is named from its ten cities enumerated by Pliny the Elder (23–79). What Pliny calls Decapolis , Ptolemy (c. 100–c. 170) calls Cœle-Syria . Ptolemy does not use the term "Transjordan", but rather the periphrasis "across the Jordan". And he enumerates the cities; Cosmas, Libias , Callirhoe , Gazorus, Epicaeros—as being in this district—east of

4389-461: The region (clockwise): the Aegean Sea , the Sea of Marmara , the Black Sea , the Caspian Sea , the Persian Gulf , the Gulf of Oman , the Arabian Sea , the Gulf of Aden , the Red Sea , the Gulf of Aqaba , the Gulf of Suez , and the Mediterranean Sea . West Asia contains the majority of the similarly defined Middle East . The Middle East is a political term that has changed many times depending on political and historical context while West Asia

4466-415: The region from Balochistan and South Asia. Three major tectonic plates converge on West Asia, including the African , Eurasian , and Arabian plates. The boundaries between the tectonic plates make up the Azores-Gibraltar Ridge , extending across North Africa , the Red Sea , and into Iran. The Arabian Plate is moving northward into the Anatolian plate (Turkey) at the East Anatolian Fault , and

4543-482: The region's archaeology have adopted the term Levant (including northern and southern halves) as the "term of choice" due to it being a "wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus" that does not have the "political overtones" of Syria-Palestine. A survey of North American dissertations shows the "overwhelming emphasis and scope of these works has been the southern Levant, an area formerly identified as Syria-Palestine including Canaan", but with most modern Ph.D. dissertations using

4620-422: The region's sports organisations are the West Asia Basketball Association , West Asian Billiards and Snooker Federation , West Asian Football Federation , and the West Asian Tennis Federation . "Western Asia" was in use as a geographical term in the early 19th century, before " Near East " became current as a geopolitical concept. In the context of the history of classical antiquity , "Western Asia" could mean

4697-663: The region. In the United Nations geopolitical Eastern European Group , Armenia and Georgia are included in Eastern Europe, whereas Cyprus and East Thracian Turkey are in Southern Europe. These three nations are listed in the European category of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). National members of West Asian sports governing bodies are limited to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The Olympic Council of Asia 's multi-sport event West Asian Games are contested by athletes representing these 13 countries. Among

SECTION 60

#1732841701037

4774-444: The regions of Amurru and Apu to the north. As such, parts of Canaan and southwestern Syria became tributary to the pharaohs of ancient Egypt before the Late Bronze Age collapse . When Canaanite confederacies centered on Megiddo and Kadesh came under the control of the New Kingdom of Egypt . However, the empire's control was sporadic, and not strong enough to prevent frequent local rebellions and inter-city conflict. During

4851-404: The southern Levant is generally conceived as a series of phases or stages in human cultural and evolutionary development based, for the most part, on tool technology for early pre-historic, proto-historic and early historic periods. Later phases are generally associated with historical periods and are named accordingly. While there is no single, accepted sequence that all archaeologists agree upon,

4928-486: The subregion consists of Anatolia , the Arabian Peninsula , Iran , Mesopotamia , the Armenian highlands , the Levant , the island of Cyprus , the Sinai Peninsula and the South Caucasus . The region is separated from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt , and separated from Europe by the waterways of the Turkish Straits and the watershed of the Greater Caucasus . Central Asia lies to its northeast, while South Asia lies to its east. Twelve seas surround

5005-417: The teachings of figures like Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad and Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle . The number of Druze people worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% living in Syria , 35% to 40% living in Lebanon , and less than 10% living in Israel ; recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora. There are also important minority religions like

5082-435: The temple of Soleb built by Amenhotep III , six groups of Shasu are noted; the Shasu of S'rr , the Shasu of Rbn , the Shasu of Sm't , the Shasu of Wrbr , the Shasu of Yhw , and the Shasu of Pysps . Some scholars link the Israelites and the worship of a deity named Yahweh with the Shasu. The Egyptian geographical term Retjenu is traditionally identified as an area covering Sinai and Canaan south of Lebanon, with

5159-436: The terms Middle East , Eastern Mediterranean , and Near East (which is historically familiar but widely deprecated today). The National Geographic Style Manual as well as Maddison 's The World Economy: Historical Statistics (2003) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) include only Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Palestine (called West Bank and Gaza in

5236-409: The terms 'Israel' and 'Canaan'. The term "Southern Levant" has also been criticized as imprecise and an awkward name. The term Southern Levant has been described in academic discourse as a "at least a strictly geographical" description of the region, avoiding religious and political connotations of names such as " Canaan ", " Holy Land ", " Land of Israel ", or "Palestine". The Southern Levant lies on

5313-448: The territory of modern Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. Bosra is located in a geographical area called the Hauran plateau. The soil of this volcanic plateau made it a fertile region for the cultivation of domesticated cereals during the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution . The city was noted in Egyptian documents of the 14th century BCE, and was situated on the trade routes where caravans brought spices from India and

5390-511: The transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, the large cultural differences are explained by foreign invasion, that is, the introduction of new ethnicity. More recent evidence indicates that the large culture changes were not the result of a foreign invasion. Rather, the Iron Age people of the southern Levant were related to their Bronze Age predecessors. The post-Iron Age is generally thought of as historical and accordingly names of periods reflect this. The very latest Iron Age phase

5467-472: The tribes of Reuben and Gad came to Moses to ask if they could settle in the Transjordan. Moses is dubious, but the two tribes promise to join in the conquest of the land , so Moses grants them this region to live in. The Tribe of Manasseh is not mentioned until verse 33. David Jobling suggests that this is because Manasseh settled in the land that previously belonged to Og north of the Zarqa , while Reuben and Gad settled Sihon 's land, which lay south of

5544-977: The two largest religions in the world: Christianity and Islam , plus Judaism and Druze faith ) originated in West Asia. Islam is the largest religion in West Asia, but other faiths that originated there, such as Judaism and Christianity , are also well represented. In Armenia and Georgia , Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy respectively are the predominant religions, and there are still different ancient communities of Eastern Christians in Azerbaijan . There are still large ancient communities of Eastern Christians (such as Assyrians , Middle Eastern Christians and Arab Christians ) in Lebanon , Iraq , Iran , Turkey , Syria , Jordan , Israel and Palestine numbering more than 3 million in West Asia. There are also large populations of expatriate workers which include sizeable Christian communities living in

5621-545: The unusual dimensions of the altar suggest that it "was not meant for sacrificial use", but was, in fact, "meant to attract the attention of the other tribes" and provoke a reaction. Per the settlement of the Israelite tribes east of the Jordan, Burton MacDonald notes; There are various traditions behind the Books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and 1 Chronicles' assignment of tribal territories and towns to Reuben, Gad, and

5698-578: The world's natural gas reserves are located in the region. Notes: Ramallah is the actual location of the government, whereas the proclaimed capital of Palestine is Jerusalem , which is disputed . Jerusalem is the proclaimed capital of Israel and the actual location of the Knesset , Israeli Supreme Court , etc. Due to its disputed status, most embassies are in Tel Aviv . British Overseas Territory Transjordan (region) Transjordan ,

5775-581: Was a frontier province of the Roman Empire beginning in the 2nd century. It consisted of the former Nabataean kingdom in the southern Levant, Sinai Peninsula, and northwestern Arabian peninsula. The Lordship of Oultrejordain (Old French for "beyond the Jordan"), also called the Lordship of Montreal, otherwise Transjordan, was part of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem . Roman roads The King's Highway

5852-576: Was a trade route of vital importance to the ancient Near East. It began in Egypt and stretched across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba. From there it turned northward across Transjordan, leading to Damascus and the Euphrates River. During the Roman period the road was called Via Regia (Orient) . Emperor Trajan rebuilt and renamed it Via Traiana Nova (viz. Via Traiana Roma), under which name it served as

5929-431: Was the most common metal in use, while stone technology continued to contribute the bulk of tools . Early Bronze III is followed by another period, alternately named Early Bronze IV, Middle Bronze I, Intermediate Bronze or Early Bronze-Middle Bronze. In this period the name is apt; true bronze (a tin alloy of copper ) makes its appearance in this time span. The next period is generally known as Middle Bronze II and

#36963