War and transformation in the Middle East

BERLIN – Since ancient times, the vast region that we call the Middle East has formed the bridge between Western and Southern Asia, Africa, and Europe. As the center of the Neolithic agricultural revolution – in the “Fertile Crescent” between the Euphrates, southeastern Anatolia, the Persian Gulf, and the eastern Mediterranean – it was humanity’s original breadbasket, where the first high civilizations arose. The Middle East was also an intellectual crossroads, with ideas transmitted between South Asia, the Nile Valley, and the eastern Mediterranean. The region gave rise to most of the great world religions that continue to shape humanity to this day: Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. And in the modern era, industrialization has further underscored the Middle East’s centrality, owing to its vast hydrocarbon reserves and its role as a conduit of global trade – especially after the construction of the Suez Canal, the most important waterway for commercial exchange between Europe and East Asia. Not only have the region’s inhabitants played an extraordinarWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times