This toponym is roughly synonymous with the term the Greater Middle East. New militant terrorist organizations have also taken hold in the region in recent years, most notably the Taliban in Afghanistan; al-Qaeda, which had orchestrated the September 11 attacks; and the Islamic State (IS), also known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), ISIL (Islamic State of Syria and the Levant), or Daesh, which has proclaimed its own state and caliphate with the intent of forcibly implementing its own interpretation of Islam and Sharia law. It connects to information about the Middle East and the history and geography of Middle Eastern countries. Map of Middle East and travel information about Middle East brought to you by Lonely Planet. The area has seen many rulers, from the Phoenicians, the Sumerians, the Parthians, and Romans, to the Ottomans, Arabs and Persians, and in recent history, the British and the French. Israel is the only country in the world to have Hebrew as a national language, but there are actually two official languages in the country: Hebrew and Arabic. The ethnic groups in the Middle East refers to the peoples that reside in West Asia as well as Egypt in North Africa, a transcontinental region commonly known as the Middle East.The region has historically been a crossroad of different cultures. The largest countries in the region are Saudi Arabia (800 thousand square miles or 2.1 million square kilometers), Iran (580 thousand square miles or 1.5 million square kilometers), Egypt (384 thousand square miles or 995 thousand square kilometers), and Pakistan (340 thousand square miles or 881 thousand square kilometers). The Persian Gulf, along with the Gulfs of Arden and Oman, connect the central and southern regions of the Middle East to the Arabian Sea and ultimately the Indian Ocean. Relief shown by shading and spot heights. Stretching the definition of the Middle East to include its widest borders as per the parameters outlined earlier, the population of the region rests at around 690 million people. Turkmen, another Turkic language from Central Asia, is the sole official language of Turkmenistan, though Russian has some limited recognition. The 20th century saw the formation of several new nations within the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran (which had been previously known as Persia), Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. The Middle East, sometimes also called Near East, is a region at the crossroads between Asia, Africa, and Europe, and since centuries the scene for cultural exchange, trade, and warlike conflicts. What is happening in Middle East in 200BCE Alexander the Great. The Tajiki dialect of Persian is the official language of Tajikistan, with Russian recognized as a regional language, and Dari is the Persian dialect spoken primarily in Afghanistan. Explore More Science. Aside from official and national languages, there are also a wide variety of minority languages which are a product of the diverse cultures, patterns of migration, and economic activities of the Middle East. National Geographic's map of the Middle East covers a broad geographic area ranging from northern Africa through the Fertile Crescent to the western edge of China and India. Jesus is believed to have been born in Nazareth, which is located in what is now the northern region of Israel, and indeed early Christianity traces its origins back to the Middle East. Maps of the Islamic Middle East (Princeton University) Middle East Conflict: History in Maps (BBC) Middle East Maps; The Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century (houshmadyan.org) MAPS. But the scientific research addressing this question has been very consistent. The Middle East, sometimes also called Near East, is a region at the crossroads between Asia, Africa, and Europe, and since centuries the scene for cultural exchange, trade, and warlike conflicts. The Sahara Desert, which stretches across northern Africa and which is perhaps the best-known desert in the world, reaches into the Middle East by way of Egypt. Central America. It shares the Mediterranean Sea with Africa and Europe and the Black and Caspian Seas with Eastern Europe. Relief shown by shading and spot heights. Many battles and "conquests" followed their entry into Canaan (also referred to as "The Promised Land", "Israel" or "Palestine), but the first major battle that transpired took place due south of their entry, and is known as the Battle of Jericho. The famous Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez run between Egypt’s African territory and its Sinai region bordering Israel in Asia, while the equally renowned Nile River flows from the Mediterranean Sea through Egypt and well into the African continent. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Create your own custom map of the Middle East. An alternative for the same group of countries is WANA (West Asia and North Africa). MENA is an English-language acronym referring to the Middle East and North Africa region. The past few centuries have seen the huge Persian empire conquered in a series of brilliant campaigns by the young Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, between 333 and 323 BCE.These campaigns involved armies largely recruited from amongst the city-states of Greece. This is a high resolution interactive map of J.R.R. MENA is an English-language acronym referring to the Middle East and North Africa region. The most populous countries in the Middle East include Pakistan (~193 million), Egypt (~90.6 million), Iran (~79 million), and Turkey (~78.7 million), while the least populated countries are Cyprus (~1.1 million), Bahrain (~1.4 million), Qatar (~2.4 million), and Armenia (~3 million).