The Middle East is one of the most strategically and historically significant regions on Earth, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east. It is home to some of the world's oldest civilisations — Mesopotamia, birthplace of writing and the wheel, lies in modern-day Iraq; the Nile Valley of Egypt saw pharaohs rule for 3,000 years. Today the region encompasses 17 countries and over 400 million people, united by geography but divided by history, religion and politics.

Few parts of the world have seen as much geopolitical turbulence in recent decades. The Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman — transformed themselves into global players on the back of vast oil and gas reserves discovered from the 1930s onwards. Meanwhile Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Palestine have been shaped by conflict, displacement and international intervention. Israel, founded in 1948, remains at the heart of one of the world's most intractable disputes.

The Middle East is also the cradle of the three great Abrahamic faiths — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — and cities like Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina and Baghdad carry enormous religious and cultural weight. Understanding the map of the region means understanding why borders were drawn by European powers after World War I, why some nations are oil-rich deserts and others ancient mountain kingdoms.