How many countries does the Middle East include? Why is it called the Middle East?

Divided eastward from Europe (France) into the Near East (Eastern Europe, Turkey), the Middle East (Arabia, Central Asia), and the Far East (China, East Asia)

"Middle East ” or “Middle East” refers to the eastern and southern regions of the Mediterranean, a large area from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. Geographically, the “Middle East” is also the subregion of Africa and Eurasia.

"Middle East" is not an official geographical term. Generally speaking, it includes Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, Palestine, the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia) and Sudan , Mauritania and Somalia are generally considered to belong to the Middle East countries due to their historical and cultural reasons. Although Turkey and Cyprus are geographically part of the Middle East, they themselves consider themselves to belong to Europe; Afghanistan in the north is sometimes closely related to the Middle East.

The so-called Near East, Middle East, and Far East are all names given by Western countries (mainly Western European countries) to the vast areas in the East based on the Western Mediterranean, the maritime route from their region to Asia. These series of words probably appeared in the early stages of European colonial and imperialist countries' expansion abroad, especially to the East. They became popular in the 19th century and are still used today. It was originally called the "East" in general. Because the area was too vast, it was further called the Near East, the Middle East and the Far East based on the distance from them. As for what Europeans call "the East" and even Asia itself, the so-called "far", "near" and the so-called "East" should be exactly reversed. The "Western Regions" in our country's history, in a broad sense It once included the "Middle East" and the western regions of later generations, which is a proof. To put it bluntly, the "Near East", "Middle East" and "Far East" are nothing but a reflection of "Eurocentrism". This is because for a long time, the "West" has gained power in the world, and these regions cannot withstand scrutiny. Name, so that it can pass without hindrance.

As far as Western Europe, which "created" the names of these regions, is concerned, as the names imply, the Near East is closer, the Far East is farther (or even the farthest), and the Middle East is neither close nor far. However, regardless of near, medium, or far, they are all relative terms. They are inherently vague, with only a general scope and no clear boundaries. Their respective scopes also depend on the times, the standpoint of the speaker, and the intentions and purposes of the user. Wait, advance and retreat, gain and shrink. For example, "Near East" originally referred to the eastern Mediterranean region. Since this region had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for a long time, it was not the same world as Western Europe. During that period, some people used it as a synonym for the Ottoman Empire. "The Near East is also called the Ottoman Empire." Some British people regard the Balkan Peninsula as the "actual" part of the Near East, that is, the core part of the Ottoman Empire, and the adjacent areas in the southeast are its extension. According to this view, Southeast Europe, India, Asia and Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean coast are all covered.

"Middle East" refers to the vast area east of the Near East, and the scope of reference can reach India and Myanmar. Later, due to changes in the political situation in the East, especially the gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire that began in the early 19th century, and the resulting changes in the political map of the Balkan Peninsula, the scope of the "Near East" gradually narrowed, moved eastward, and finally When some dictionaries explain "Near East", they say "including Libya, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, etc." Southeast Europe is obviously not included. However, this will inevitably “overlap” with the scope of reference of the “Middle East”, and the boundaries and scope of each other will become increasingly blurred. As a last resort, people often call it "Middle East" or simply summarize it as "Middle East". The term "Near East" is increasingly not used alone (for example, although Bosnia and Herzegovina was in flames and bloodshed some time ago, according to the traditional Division, the local area belongs to the Near East, but this word cannot be seen in newspapers, which shows that in people's minds, it is too old to be used anymore). Correspondingly, the scope of reference of "Middle East" has become more and more erratic. In the writings of many foreign books, periodicals and scholars, there are divergent opinions and great differences. According to an extreme view, countries as far away as North Africa and even the entire Central Asia can be included in it. This is of course a standard "one family's opinion." The official documents of some Western countries are also very confusing in the use of this word. Taking the UK as an example, officials have included Malta in Europe and Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia in Africa as part of the Middle East. We really can’t understand this kind of “geographical classification” and it’s so profound. The more popular view is that the Middle East and Southwest Asia are equated, plus Egypt in northeastern Africa. No one includes South Asian countries, and no one refers to the disputes in the Balkan Peninsula in Europe as the "Middle East". an incident. However, people's actual operation and application of this word have limited scope. More and more often, it implicitly refers only to the southwestern part of Asia. The current so-called "Middle East issues" are often the "Southwest Asia issues"; the so-called "Middle East situation" is often the "Southwest Asia situation"; the so-called "Middle East trip" is often the "Southwest Asia trip", and so on. However, it is obviously not appropriate to completely equate "Middle East" and "Southwest Asia", thinking that the two are the same thing in any situation. People still use the term "Middle East" with some restraint.

For example, Afghanistan is within the scope of Southwest Asia, and the problems there have never been labeled as "Middle East"; after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, people naturally included the three countries of the South Caucasus among the countries of Southwest Asia, but no one saw any trouble in that region. Attachment to "Middle East".

As for the "Far East" (some Western countries call it the "Ultra East"), it is larger in scope, but it is clearly separated from the Central and Near East. It is far apart, not to mention that it is separated by the Indian Ocean and the South Asian subcontinent. Incoherent. In recent usage, it generally refers to the countries and regions along the eastern Pacific coast of Asia (including what is commonly known as East Asia, Southeast Asian countries, and eastern Siberia, etc.).

It must be added that from the background and application of these series of place names, the so-called Near East, Middle East and Far East are concepts in human geography, especially political geography. To a certain extent, it is a historical and geographical concept (today, the term "Near East" is rarely mentioned separately, but in certain periods of history, such as the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, it was still a concept Words that often pop up in people's eyelids, such as "The Balkans are the gunpowder magazine of the Near East," etc.) are rarely used or not used at all in physical geography.