The 'Near East' is a modern-age term for the region formerly known as the 'Middle East,' comprising Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and part of Turkey, corresponding to ancient Urartu, Mesopotamia, Elam, Persia, the Levant, and Anatolia. The history of civilization in the ancient Near East is usually given as circa 6500 BCE to the 7th century CE.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/Near_East/.