10 maps that explain the Middle East April 6th, 2015

The Middle East is known for its ancient history and as the region where Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism emerged. Now the region is attracting attention as the most turbulent. It is with him that most of the news is connected at the moment.

The most ancient states on the planet existed in the Middle East, but the current state of the region is of particular interest.

What is happening in Yemen, the agreement on Iran's nuclear program, Saudi Arabia's actions in the oil market - all this forms the news flow and greatly influences the global economy.

Middle Eastern countries

The Middle East now includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Georgia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestinian National Authority, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Politically, the Middle East has rarely been stable, but instability is now extremely high.

Arabic dialects in the Middle East

This map shows the enormous extent of the different dialects of Arabic and the great linguistic diversity.

This situation takes us back to the caliphates of the 6th and 7th centuries, which spread the Arabic language from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa and the Middle East. But over the past 1,300 years, individual dialects have become very distant from each other.

And where the distribution of the dialect does not coincide with state borders, that is, with the boundaries of communities, various problems may arise.

Shiites and Sunnis

The history of Islam's division between Sunnis and Shiites began with the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. Some Muslims argued that power should pass to Ali, who was Muhammad's son-in-law. As a result, the struggle for power was lost by Ali's supporters in the civil war, who were precisely called Shiites.

Nevertheless, a separate branch of Islam has emerged, which now includes about 10-15% of Muslims around the world. However, only in Iran and Iraq do they constitute a majority.

Today the religious confrontation has turned into a political one. Shiite political forces led by Iran and Sunni political forces led by Saudi Arabia are fighting for influence in the region.

This is a campaign against the Cold War within the region, but it often develops into real military clashes.

Ethnic groups of the Middle East

The most important color on the map of Middle Eastern ethnic groups is yellow: Arabs, who form the majority in almost all Middle Eastern countries, including North African countries.

The exceptions are Israel, where Jews predominate (pink), Iran, where the population is Persian (orange), Turkey (green) and Afghanistan, where ethnic diversity is generally high.

Another important color on this card is red. Ethnic Kurds do not have their own country, but are strongly represented in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

Oil and gas in the Middle East

The Middle East produces about a third of the planet's oil and about 10% of its gas. The region accounts for about a third of all natural gas reserves, but it is more difficult to transport.

Most of the extracted energy resources are exported.

The region's economies are heavily dependent on oil supplies, and this wealth has also led to many conflicts in the past few decades.

The map shows the main hydrocarbon reserves and transportation routes. Energy resources are largely concentrated in three countries that have historically competed with each other: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The most interesting thing is that the confrontation has been actively supported by the United States since the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

The importance of the Suez Canal for world trade

The facility that forever changed world trade is located in the Middle East.

After Egypt opened the canal in 1868 after 10 years of work, the 100-mile man-made route firmly connected Europe and Asia. The importance of the canal to the world was so obvious and great that after the British conquered Egypt in 1880, the world's leading powers signed a treaty that remains in effect to this day, declaring that the canal would forever be open to trade and warships of any country.

Today, about 8% of all global trade flows occur through the Suez Canal.

Oil, trade and military in the Strait of Hormuz

The world economy also depends heavily on the narrow strait between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. In 1980, US President Jimmy Carter issued the “Carter Doctrine,” which required the US to use military force to protect its access to Persian Gulf oil.

After this, the Strait of Hormuz became the most militarized stretch of water on the entire planet.

The US deployed large naval forces to protect exports during the Iran-Iraq War and later during the Gulf War. Now forces remain there to prevent Iran from blocking the canal.

Apparently, as long as the world remains dependent on oil and the Middle East remains unsettled, the armed forces will remain in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's nuclear program and a possible Israeli attack plan

Iran's nuclear program has raised many questions from other states, but Israel's reaction was one of the strongest, since these countries have far from friendly relations.

The Iranian authorities are trying to convince the whole world that the program is exclusively peaceful. However, UN sanctions led to the fact that Iran's economy faced great difficulties, since it was impossible to export oil.

At the same time, Israel fears that Iran could develop nuclear weapons and use them against it, and Iran may be concerned that it will always be under the threat of an Israeli strike if it does not possess weapons.

The threat of the "Islamic State"

The Islamic State threat still remains strong. The situation in Libya is rapidly deteriorating, despite Egypt's bombing of positions of militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization. Every day they manage to expand their spheres of influence in the country.

Libya may soon be completely under the control of IS militants. There is a threat to Saudi Arabia, since the leaders of the Islamic State have already stated that it is part of the “holy caliphate” that needs to be liberated from the “wicked.”

There is a serious possibility of a cessation of supplies from Libya altogether, as well as problems with transportation. In early February, US President Barack Obama sent an appeal to the US Congress asking for permission to use military force against IS for a period of three years.

Yemen - a new point of risk

The Shia Zaidi rebels, whose paramilitary wing the Houthis captured Sanaa, Yemen's capital, in February 2015, forcing Yemen's Saudi-loyal President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee, are beginning to expand their spheres of influence.

Their success may push the Shiites from Saudi Arabia to start an armed struggle with the country's authorities.

The civil war Yemen is slipping into could become a new episode of confrontation between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, which is the richest country in the region and also has the largest oil reserves in the world.

At the same time, most of the kingdom’s proven reserves are located in the southern regions of the country, populated mainly by Shiites and located in close proximity to the border with Yemen, the total length of which is about 1.8 thousand km.

The Middle East is known for its ancient history and as the region where Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism emerged. Now the region is attracting attention as the most turbulent. It is with him that most of the news is connected at the moment.

The most ancient states on the planet existed in the Middle East, but the current state of the region is of particular interest.

What is happening in Yemen, the agreement on Iran's nuclear program, Saudi Arabia's actions in the oil market - all this forms the news flow and greatly influences the global economy.

MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES

The Middle East now includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Georgia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestinian National Authority, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Politically, the Middle East has rarely been stable, but instability is now extremely high.

ARABIC DIALECTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

This map shows the enormous extent of the different dialects of Arabic and the great linguistic diversity.

This situation takes us back to the caliphates of the 6th and 7th centuries, which spread the Arabic language from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa and the Middle East. But over the past 1,300 years, individual dialects have become very distant from each other.

And where the distribution of the dialect does not coincide with state borders, that is, with the boundaries of communities, various problems may arise.

SHIITES AND SUNNIS

The history of Islam's division between Sunnis and Shiites began with the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. Some Muslims argued that power should pass to Ali, who was Muhammad's son-in-law. As a result, the struggle for power was lost by Ali's supporters in the civil war, who were precisely called Shiites.

Nevertheless, a separate branch of Islam has emerged, which now includes about 10-15% of Muslims around the world. However, only in Iran and Iraq do they constitute a majority.

Today the religious confrontation has turned into a political one. Shiite political forces led by Iran and Sunni political forces led by Saudi Arabia are fighting for influence in the region.

This is a campaign against the Cold War within the region, but it often develops into real military clashes.

ETHNIC GROUPS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

The most important color on the map of Middle Eastern ethnic groups is yellow: Arabs, who form the majority in almost all Middle Eastern countries, including North African countries.

The exceptions are Israel, where Jews predominate (pink), Iran, where the population is Persian (orange), Turkey (green) and Afghanistan, where ethnic diversity is generally high.

Another important color on this card is red. Ethnic Kurds do not have their own country, but are strongly represented in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

OIL AND GAS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The Middle East produces about a third of the planet's oil and about 10% of its gas. The region accounts for about a third of all natural gas reserves, but it is more difficult to transport.

Most of the extracted energy resources are exported.

The region's economies are heavily dependent on oil supplies, and this wealth has also led to many conflicts in the past few decades.

The map shows the main hydrocarbon reserves and transportation routes. Energy resources are largely concentrated in three countries that have historically competed with each other: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The most interesting thing is that the confrontation has been actively supported by the United States since the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUEZ CANAL FOR WORLD TRADE

The facility that forever changed world trade is located in the Middle East.

After Egypt opened the canal in 1868 after 10 years of work, the 100-mile man-made route firmly connected Europe and Asia. The importance of the canal to the world was so obvious and great that after the British conquered Egypt in 1880, the world's leading powers signed a treaty that remains in effect to this day, declaring that the canal would forever be open to trade and warships of any country.

Today, about 8% of all global trade flows occur through the Suez Canal.

OIL, TRADE AND MILITARY IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

The world economy also depends heavily on the narrow strait between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. In 1980, US President Jimmy Carter issued the “Carter Doctrine,” which required the US to use military force to protect its access to Persian Gulf oil.

After this, the Strait of Hormuz became the most militarized stretch of water on the entire planet.

The US deployed large naval forces to protect exports during the Iran-Iraq War and later during the Gulf War. Now forces remain there to prevent Iran from blocking the canal.

Apparently, as long as the world remains dependent on oil and the Middle East remains unsettled, the armed forces will remain in the Strait of Hormuz.

IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AND POSSIBLE ISRAELIAN ATTACK PLAN

Iran's nuclear program has raised many questions from other states, but Israel's reaction was one of the strongest, since these countries have far from friendly relations.

The Iranian authorities are trying to convince the whole world that the program is exclusively peaceful. However, UN sanctions led to the fact that Iran's economy faced great difficulties, since it was impossible to export oil.

At the same time, Israel fears that Iran could develop nuclear weapons and use them against it, and Iran may be concerned that it will always be under the threat of an Israeli strike if it does not possess weapons.

THE THREAT OF THE "ISLAMIC STATE"

The Islamic State threat still remains strong. The situation in Libya is rapidly deteriorating, despite Egypt's bombing of positions of militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization. Every day they manage to expand their spheres of influence in the country.

Libya may soon be completely under the control of IS militants. There is a threat to Saudi Arabia, since the leaders of the Islamic State have already stated that it is part of the “holy caliphate” that needs to be liberated from the “wicked.”

There is a serious possibility of a cessation of supplies from Libya altogether, as well as problems with transportation. In early February, US President Barack Obama sent an appeal to the US Congress asking for permission to use military force against IS for a period of three years.

The Middle East is known for its ancient history and as the region where Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism emerged. Now the region is attracting attention as the most turbulent. It is with him that most of the news is connected at the moment.

The most ancient states on the planet existed in the Middle East, but the current state of the region is of particular interest.

What is happening in Yemen, the agreement on Iran's nuclear program, Saudi Arabia's actions in the oil market - all this forms the news flow and greatly influences the global economy.

MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES

The Middle East now includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Georgia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestinian National Authority, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Politically, the Middle East has rarely been stable, but instability is now extremely high.

ARABIC DIALECTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

This map shows the enormous extent of the different dialects of Arabic and the great linguistic diversity.

This situation takes us back to the caliphates of the 6th and 7th centuries, which spread the Arabic language from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa and the Middle East. But over the past 1,300 years, individual dialects have become very distant from each other.

And where the distribution of the dialect does not coincide with state borders, that is, with the boundaries of communities, various problems may arise.

SHIITES AND SUNNIS

The history of Islam's division between Sunnis and Shiites began with the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. Some Muslims argued that power should pass to Ali, who was Muhammad's son-in-law. As a result, the struggle for power was lost by Ali's supporters in the civil war, who were precisely called Shiites.

Nevertheless, a separate branch of Islam has emerged, which now includes about 10-15% of Muslims around the world. However, only in Iran and Iraq do they constitute a majority.

Today the religious confrontation has turned into a political one. Shiite political forces led by Iran and Sunni political forces led by Saudi Arabia are fighting for influence in the region.

This is a campaign against the Cold War within the region, but it often develops into real military clashes.

ETHNIC GROUPS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

The most important color on the map of Middle Eastern ethnic groups is yellow: Arabs, who form the majority in almost all Middle Eastern countries, including North African countries.

The exceptions are Israel, where Jews predominate (pink), Iran, where the population is Persian (orange), Turkey (green) and Afghanistan, where ethnic diversity is generally high.

Another important color on this card is red. Ethnic Kurds do not have their own country, but are strongly represented in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

OIL AND GAS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The Middle East produces about a third of the planet's oil and about 10% of its gas. The region accounts for about a third of all natural gas reserves, but it is more difficult to transport.

Most of the extracted energy resources are exported.

The region's economies are heavily dependent on oil supplies, and this wealth has also led to many conflicts in the past few decades.

The map shows the main hydrocarbon reserves and transportation routes. Energy resources are largely concentrated in three countries that have historically competed with each other: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The most interesting thing is that the confrontation has been actively supported by the United States since the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

IMPORTANCE OF THE SUEZ CANAL FOR WORLD TRADE

The facility that forever changed world trade is located in the Middle East.

After Egypt opened the canal in 1868 after 10 years of work, the 100-mile man-made route firmly connected Europe and Asia. The importance of the canal to the world was so obvious and great that after the British conquered Egypt in 1880, the world's leading powers signed a treaty that remains in effect to this day, declaring that the canal would forever be open to trade and warships of any country.

Today, about 8% of all global trade flows occur through the Suez Canal.

OIL, TRADE AND MILITARY IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

The world economy also depends heavily on the narrow strait between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. In 1980, US President Jimmy Carter issued the “Carter Doctrine,” which required the US to use military force to protect its access to Persian Gulf oil.

After this, the Strait of Hormuz became the most militarized stretch of water on the entire planet.

The US deployed large naval forces to protect exports during the Iran-Iraq War and later during the Gulf War. Now forces remain there to prevent Iran from blocking the canal.

Apparently, as long as the world remains dependent on oil and the Middle East remains unsettled, the armed forces will remain in the Strait of Hormuz.

IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM AND POSSIBLE ISRAELIAN ATTACK PLAN

Iran's nuclear program has raised many questions from other states, but Israel's reaction was one of the strongest, since these countries have far from friendly relations.

The Iranian authorities are trying to convince the whole world that the program is exclusively peaceful. However, UN sanctions led to the fact that Iran's economy faced great difficulties, since it was impossible to export oil.

At the same time, Israel fears that Iran could develop nuclear weapons and use them against it, and Iran may be concerned that it will always be under the threat of an Israeli strike if it does not possess weapons.

THE THREAT OF THE "ISLAMIC STATE"

The Islamic State threat still remains strong. The situation in Libya is rapidly deteriorating, despite Egypt's bombing of positions of militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization. Every day they manage to expand their spheres of influence in the country.

Libya may soon be completely under the control of IS militants. There is a threat to Saudi Arabia, since the leaders of the Islamic State have already stated that it is part of the “holy caliphate” that needs to be liberated from the “wicked.”

There is a serious possibility of a cessation of supplies from Libya altogether, as well as problems with transportation. In early February, US President Barack Obama sent an appeal to the US Congress asking for permission to use military force against IS for a period of three years.

YEMEN – A NEW RISK POINT

The Shia Zaidi rebels, whose paramilitary wing the Houthis captured Sanaa, Yemen's capital, in February 2015, forcing Yemen's Saudi-loyal President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee, are beginning to expand their spheres of influence.

Their success may push the Shiites from Saudi Arabia to start an armed struggle with the country's authorities.

The civil war Yemen is slipping into could become a new episode of confrontation between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, which is the richest country in the region and also has the largest oil reserves in the world.

At the same time, most of the kingdom’s proven reserves are located in the southern regions of the country, populated mainly by Shiites and located in close proximity to the border with Yemen, the total length of which is about 1.8 thousand km.

Every day in the news on TV and on the Internet we come across the concept of “East”: Near, Middle, Far... But what states are we talking about in this case? Which countries belong to the above regions? Despite the fact that this concept is partly subjective, there is still a list of states that are located on the territory of the mentioned lands. You will learn about this and much more from our article.

What is the East?

If everything is clear with this concept in determining the cardinal directions, then in the case of geography a variety of questions may arise. The East is a region that includes the territories of some areas of Asia and Africa. This concept is contrasted with the West, which means Europe and the USA.

The East is divided into the following regions:

• The Middle East, which includes western Asia and northern Africa.
• Middle East - some
• Far East - territories of southern and south-eastern Asia.

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Middle Eastern countries

This region is named for its geographical location, and those located on its territory play an important role in the economies of states around the world, since they are the most important place for oil production.

Middle Eastern countries:

• Azerbaijan (located in the Transcaucasus, capital - Baku);
• Armenia (territory of Transcaucasia, capital - Yerevan);
• Bahrain (Asian island state, capital - Manama);
• Egypt (located in Africa, capital - Cairo);
• Georgia (located in the Transcaucasus, capital - Tbilisi);
• Israel (located in South-West Asia, capital - Jerusalem);
• Jordan (located in Asia, bordering Israel, capital - Amman);
• Iraq (located in the Tigris and Euphrates Valley, capital - Baghdad);
• Iran (borders Iraq, capital - Tehran);
• Yemen (located on the Arabian Peninsula, capital - Sana'a);
• Qatar (located in South-West Asia, capital - Doha);
• Cyprus (an island in the Mediterranean Sea, the capital is Nicosia);
• Kuwait (located in South-West Asia, capital - Kuwait);
• Lebanon (located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the capital is Beirut);
• UAE (Asian capital - Abu Dhabi);
• Oman (located on the Arabian Peninsula, capital - Muscat);
• Palestine (partially recognized country, capital - Rammala);
• Saudi Arabia (located on the Arabian Peninsula, capital - Riyadh);
• Syria (located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the capital is Damascus);
• Türkiye (located in South-West Asia, capital - Ankara).

Features of the region

The countries of the Near and Middle East are different. Since ancient times, these lands have been considered important transport arteries connecting Asia, Europe and Africa. The main population of these territories has always been nomadic peoples, who eventually settled and founded cities.

It was here that at one time such ancient states as Babylon, Persia, Caliphate, Assyria and so on were located. A lot of research was carried out on the territory of these regions, which resulted in the discovery of ancient cultures. The Middle East is inhabited mainly by Arabs, Turks, Persians and Jews. Islam is recognized as the dominant religion here.

East is a delicate matter

For Europeans, Eastern culture is full of charm and mystery. This is a world of fairy tales, architectural landmarks and secrets hidden deep in history. Let's get to know some of them:

Bottom line

The list of Eastern countries includes many states with a rich history and cultural heritage. According to historians, not only was civilization born here, but these states still have significant influence on the whole world. The countries of the Middle East, as well as the Middle and Far East, differ significantly from European countries in their cultural and religious characteristics, but they all continue to successfully interact and actively cooperate in the political and economic arenas.