The term “Levant” often heard in the news roughly corresponds to which of the following regions?
(a) Region along the eastern Mediterranean shores
(b) Region along North African shores stretching from Egypt to Morocco
(c) Region along Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa
(d) The entire coastal areas of Mediterranean Sean
Explanation
The term “Levant” corresponds to the following region:
(a) Region along the eastern Mediterranean shores
To provide more context, the Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, it includes the historic areas of Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and Syria. The Levant is bounded by the Taurus Mountains to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, the northern Arabian Desert to the south, and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. The region has been described as the “crossroads of Western Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Northeast Africa.”
Learn more
- The Levant is part of the Fertile Crescent and was home to some of the ancient Mediterranean trade centers, such as Ugarit, Tyre, and Sidon.
- The region has been a center point for civilization for thousands of years, and its name comes from the French word “lever,” which means “to rise,” referring to the direction of the east where the sun rises each day.
- The modern-day Levant includes countries such as Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, part of Syria, and western Jordan, with an estimated population of over 44 million people.
- The Levant has a rich history and has been influenced by various peoples and cultures due to its strategic location as a crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe.
