Ancient Near East

The Ancient Near East refers to a broad region and time period that includes early civilizations in areas such as Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, and the lands around Israel and neighboring regions. The term is used by modern scholars to group societies that were connected through trade, politics, conflict, and shared ideas and these cultures produced early forms of writing, law, storytelling, and religious practice that influenced later traditions including the Hebrew bible. The label is modern and does not reflect how these societies described themselves, rather it is used when studying their shared history and cultural connections.