Monumental Antique Near or Middle East Tribal Hand Woven Wool Runner. The patterns, heavily faded and worn, suggest Afghani, Turkish, or similar tribal influences, while also showing symbols often associated with more western parts of the Deccan Plateau, and the colors were likely originally vibrant reds, yellows, and browns. A remarkable piece of living history. 

Size: 128 x 48 in. 

The Near East is an archaic term for the transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula (now including Israel, Palestine, Syria, Cyprus, Jordan, and Turkey). Since the late 1990s Afghanistan is frequently included in this terminology. The term was invented in the 20th century by modern Western geographers and was originally applied to the Ottoman Empire, but today has varying definitions within different academic circles. The term Near East was used in conjunction with the Middle East and the Far East (China and beyond), together known as the “Three Easts,” all Eurocentric terms. It was a separate term from the Middle East during earlier times and official British usage, but the areas of Iraq and Iran in particular were sometimes ascribed to both locations. As of 2024, both terms are still used interchangeably by politicians and news reporters to refer to the same region, although the “Middle” term has become dominant in American news and publication. The part of the region that is in Asia (so, not including Egypt, the Balkans, and Thrace) is less frequently referred to as West Asia. It is most often used in museums, auction houses, and research facilities to denote specific locations within the context of national divisions prior to the 20th Century, particularly when those borders were less concretely defined due to wars, regime changes, and migrations throughout the region.