EAST: HISTORY, CULTURE, CUSTOMS AND COUNTRIES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The East is a term of daily and pedagogical use with which in Western culture the territories that occupy the Asian continent are usually identified, dividing them in turn into the Near East, the Middle East (or Middle East) and the Far East (or Far East).

The term had its origins in the Ancient Age, when the Greeks called eastern peoples or territories all those who were to the east of their geographical location; that is, all the territory that extended from the east coast of the Aegean Sea to the point where the Sun rose.

Buddhism is one of the religions practiced in the East. Source: pixabay.com

This notion of the world was accepted because at that time the world was mainly categorized into two large continents: Asia and Europe. Therefore, it was convenient for the West to name the Asian territories as Eastern.

History

In 1685 the German historian Cristóbal Cellarius introduced the first classical division of the ages of history: he divided them into ancient, middle and modern. Later the contemporary age was added to refer to the history from the middle of the 18th century to the present.

The ancient age is presented as that period in history in which the first civilizations of the world arose, which later gave way to contemporary civilizations. It has its beginning at the origin of the world and its end in the 4th millennium BC, with the creation of writing.

Within the ancient age we can identify the emergence of the so-called first civilization of humanity: the Sumerians. Its origin is in the second half of the IV millennium BC. C., in the region that was formerly known as Mesopotamia and today is the Republic of Iraq.

With the growth and development of civilizations, urban planning and cities were consolidated, and with these arose a monarchical system ruled by local governors who sought to conquer the territories near their city.

Among the first transformations that the development of the Sumerian people gave to the culture of humanity are the worship of divine figures in spaces only intended for this, the temples, the notion of the city and the system of the monarchy as a form of government, as well as the beginning of the written language with cuneiform symbols.

Rise of Egyptian civilization

While the civilization in Mesopotamia was on the rise, simultaneously in the vicinity of the Nile River, northeast of today's African continent, another type of civilization began to develop: the Egyptians.

Like the Sumerians, the Egyptians organized themselves in a monarchical system, uniting several neighboring territories and forming a state.

The system of government of the Egyptian state was also monarchical in nature. This gave rise to the first dynasties, which left an indelible legacy in our history with the most dominant architectural constructions of antiquity: pyramids, tombs and temples.

Like the Mesopotamian civilization, the Egyptians created a form of written expression, hieroglyphs. This type of writing consisted of the use of representations of objects and beings through the use of symbols.

During the II millennium BC. C. there was a development of Semitic civilizations throughout the territories of southwest Asia (Near East), which led to the consolidation of great empires.

In the 18th century a. C. the Assyrian people consolidated as an empire known for having control of trade in the territory of Anatolia, today Turkey. Simultaneously, the Amorite dynasty of Hammurabi - belonging to the western civilizations - took the territories of Sumer and Akkad from Mesopotamia.

Expansions in the Middle East

In the 16th century a. C. the Hittite Empire of Anatolia began its expansion. At the same time, the Mitanni people - who were rooted in the Euphrates area, today the territory of Syria - began their growth as an empire and faced the other dynasties that were consolidating in the nearby territories.

Ending the 1st millennium BC. C. the use of iron metallurgy (product of new populations such as the Philistines) was introduced and the cities of Phenicia of Sidon and Tire were created.

Thanks to their expansion throughout the Middle East, at the beginning of the 9th century the Assyrians formed one of the largest unified states up to that time. His conquest spread throughout the western part of the Zagros mountain range.

At the beginning of the 6th century BC. C., Nabucondosor II (king of Babylon) managed to subdue the Assyrian territories.

Rise of the Persian Empire

The Persian Empire in the Achaemenid era, 6th century BC. C. Map of the Achaemenid Empire.jpg: William R. Shepherdderivative work: Rowanwindwhistler

In the 6th century BC. The Persian Empire arose. It took the territories of Egypt and the Middle East, extending up to the Zagros mountain range along Iran and Iraq. Thanks to this action, he carried out a commercial unification that was left in the hands of a satrap (governor).

In 334 a. C. the king of Macedonia, Alexander the Great, began the conquest of the eastern territories, which were in the hands of the Persian Empire.

Magno was successful and managed to consolidate the greatest empire of antiquity, which was brutally dismembered by his generals after his death in 323 BC. This event began the time of the Hellenistic kingdoms.

Already in the second century a. C. the Roman Empire had spread throughout the southern European region and throughout the Mediterranean. This allowed to start the conquest of Eastern Europe and the territories that were there. The result was the consolidation of the Eastern Roman Empire and, later, the Byzantine Empire.

Oriental culture and customs

The territories of the Asian continent, today made up of 48 nations, grew somewhat isolated from the rest of the world. Due to its geographical position, territories such as East Asia (Far East) could develop without any influence from Western culture.

Due to this they were consolidating a very own cultural character and quite differentiated from the rest of the western territories. They generated in their inhabitants a great rootedness towards their values ​​and beliefs, and a solid sense of belonging was generated through several generations.

The main feature of oriental culture lies in the great importance it gives to self-love, as well as to the rational notion of happiness beyond the visceral; In other words, this culture establishes that happiness is found in reason and in the acceptance of the inner being.

Religion

As for religion, the Orientals created their own doctrines. The most prominent throughout time have been Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Hinduism, and Jainism.

Gastronomy

In the diet of the inhabitants of the East there is a large consumption of fish and seafood, as well as rice as the main companion. Steamed or raw vegetables are also widely consumed, and sauces accompany the vast majority of their preparations.

The consumption of sweets or junk food is not so present in the oriental diet. Some researchers estimate that this may have an influence on the fact that the eastern population in general is very healthy and long-lived.

Medicine

Oriental medicine is based on a philosophy according to which the mind is capable of being trained by the person. The use of preventive and alternative medicine predominates.

Among the techniques most used by oriental medicine to prevent diseases are the consumption of medicinal herbs and acupuncture.

In addition to the above, within the main customs and characteristics of the eastern peoples the following can be identified:

- Due to his way of being so traditional, we find a marked act of veneration or show of respect and gratitude, especially towards the elderly. For example, in India it is customary to touch the feet of the elderly or parents to show respect.

- In East Asia people tend to lean forward in welcome, appreciation or apology.

- The sense of belonging of the oriental is so internalized that there is a strong conviction regarding their beliefs and ideologies. For this reason, it is not common for them to question their traditions or the way in which their society works.

- Elders are considered figures of authority and respect; in fact, the youngest go to them when they need some life advice. Their decisions regarding the future of the children in the family are held sacred and any decisions they make are respected.

- In general, it is the children who take care of their parents once they get old.

- In some societies the figure of arranged marriages still exists, just as it existed in the time of their ancestors. They believe that people do not marry for love, but that this is a consequence of marriage.

- Within the upper classes, sultans are allowed to have love affairs with more than one woman; This is known as the harem.

- The lunar calendar is used. Unlike the western calendar, this one does not take as reference the solar cycles but those of the moon; one month of the lunar calendar corresponds to 29.53 solar days.

- The clothing that Orientals usually wear to attend funerals is white.

Eastern countries

Eastern civilization is located mainly on the Asian continent, so the countries within this continent are those that are considered oriental.

However, from a cultural and political point of view, the eastern region is subdivided into three regions, differentiated mainly by presenting a somewhat individual ancient history.

Middle east

The Middle East - or the Near East in its most common sense - is made up of the countries that are located to the southwest of the Asian continent.

The border area is taken as bordering the countries of Eastern Europe, and even some Eastern countries belong to the European territory: such is the case of Turkey, which has a region within the European territory and another within Asia.

The distribution of the countries that make up this region of the East is still the subject of discrepancy between historians and geographers. Some of them take into consideration what they have called the Middle West, which is nothing more than a literal translation of the Anglo-Saxon term Middle East.

Taking as reference the daily mentions in the mass media and considering a geopolitical concept, we can say that the countries that make up the Middle East are the following:

- Armenia.

- Saudi Arabia.

- Bahrain.

- Azerbaijan.

- Qatar.

- Egypt.

- Cyprus.

- United Arab Emirates.

- Iraq.

- Georgia.

- Iran.

- Yemen.

- Jordan.

- Lebanon.

- Kuwait.

- Israel.

- Oman.

- Turkey.

- Syria.

middle East

The term Middle East was first used in 1902 by Alfred Mahan, who referred to the northern and eastern countries of India in a political context. However, the term was expanded for strategic reasons and included territories that are part of the Middle East.

There is no total agreement regarding which countries make up this region. If we consider the classification proposed by the Royal Spanish Academy, the countries of the Middle East are the following:

- Pakistan.

- India.

- Afghanistan.

- Nepal.

- Bhutan.

- Sri Lanka.

- Maldives and some neighboring areas.

- Bangladesh.

Far or Far East

The Far East region refers to the territories of East Asia. Within the Eastern division, these are the ones that have the least problems when determining their territories and culturally they developed with little Western influence.

The countries that make up the Far East are as follows:

- Burma.

- Cambodia.

- Brunei.

- China.

- South Korea.

- North Korea.

- Philippines.

- Japan.

- Indonesia (the Moluccas and Western New Guinea are not considered).

- Laos Laos.

- Mongolia.

- Vietnam.

- Malaysia.

- The Federal District of the Far East of Russia.

- Thailand.

- Singapore.

- East Timor.

- Taiwan.

Eastern civilizations of history

Phoenicians

It was a civilization characterized by its great skills at sea. They settled in a small territory that today is known as Lebanon, where they gave more prominence to the development of fishing than that of agriculture.

Its expansion interests were not very great. They concentrated on developing commerce and not on the creation of an empire, so that each city had independence within the state. Tire was the most representative city of this civilization.

Aramaeans and Hittites

Arameans are credited with the greatest contributions to the language in the Near East. These settlers mostly occupied territories in Syria.

For their part, the Hittites are credited with the use of iron metallurgy and the use of the horse as a means of transportation. They settled in Anatolia and were responsible for stopping the conquest of Egypt.

Persians

It was a civilization that developed throughout the Near East and took elements from the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations.

They were known for carrying out important infrastructure works, such as road systems that served to communicate different cities. In addition, they are credited with the unification and use of the payment currency throughout the entire Empire.

Thanks to the influence of the Persian Empire, a unification of the Near East took place. They were initially settled in Iran, until in 556 a. They expanded and conquered the Near East. Its capital was Persepolis.

The Persian Empire is known as the first empire that managed to unify nations, consolidating differentiated institutions and systems for different peoples. One of the standards that characterized the Persian Empire was justice and tolerance within communities and towards defeated people.

Hebrews

Also called Israelites, they were characterized as the only ancient civilization that worshiped only one God.

Its origins date back to the time of Abraham, who was responsible for the movement of the people from Mesopotamia to Palestine. They are considered the forerunners of Judaism.

References

1. González-Conde, María Pilar. "Ancient Near East" Available at the Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library. Retrieved on July 24, 2019 at Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library: cervantesvirtual.com
2. López, Julio. "Historical-cultural sense of the East: a perspective from the Greek heroes" (2017) Available at Universidad de la Rioja. Retrieved on July 24, 2019 at the University of La Rioja: dialnet.unirioja.es
3. González, Luis. "Middle East: Middle East or Middle East?" Available from the European Commission. Retrieved on July 24, 2019 in the European Commission: ec.europa.eu
4. Mold "The cultural differences between East and West, perfectly explained in these infographics" (2018). Available in Xataka. Retrieved on July 24, 2019 in Xataka: magnet.xataka.com
5. Michelini, Michael. "The Differences between East and West In Terms Of Culture and Education" (2019) Available in Global from Asia. Retrieved on July 24, 2019 in Global from Asia: globalfromasia.com
6. Wang, Mendy. "Eastern vs. Western Culture ”Available from Feng Chia University. Retrieved on July 24, 2019 from Feng Chia University: fcu.edu.tw
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